Mental health in the subjective assessments of the region's population

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that public mental health, as an element of the total territorial resource, is exposed to numerous negative impacts. The paper considers the indices of mental health of the population of the region, the frequency of stress situations, and the choiceof methods of combating stress on the part of the population. The sociological survey of the population of the Vologda Oblast on a multi-stage zoned sample is used as a research method, the sample size is 1,500 people. The novelty of the study consists in the fact that it presents indicators that can be used to assess public mental health; such indicators include the indices of mood, enjoyment of life, anxiety, confusion and depression. The obtained indices allow us to reveal the correlation between positive and negative states that characterize public mental health. All the indicators are sensitive to the presence of symptoms of mental disorders and division of the population into groups of those who feel happy and those who feel less positive. The paper reveals the influence of the variables that make up the socio-structural health risk factor on mental well-being. For all the indices, there is a tendency toward aggravation of negative states as an individual gets older. The decrease in income and purchasing power has a negative impact on mental health: the index of being pleased with one's life goes into the negative zone. The difference between the values of mood indices between the categories of the poorest and the richest is significant - 67 points. Social and psychological risk factors for health are represented by stress events. It is confirmed that persons with the presence of signs of mental disorders often note the regularity of getting into stressful situations. The differences in strategies to combat stress of social groups identified by demographic characteristics and income level are identified. The paper considers social groups that need to be given special attention due to the increased risk of mental disorders; such groups include population of older age groups, low-income groups, and groups with low purchasing power. Representatives of these groups are more likely to use unproductive stress management strategies or to do nothing due to the lack of knowledge.