A Sociological Explanation of Baloch Women’s Social Position on their Mental Health (Case Study of Zahedan Women)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sociological effects of women's social status on mental health in Zahedan, as well as identifying the relationship between ethnicity, socio-economic base, social support, deprivation and stress levels. The method of research, survey and data gathering tool was questionnaire. Using a multi-stage cluster sampling method in Zahedan, a population of over 30 years old, including Baluchi, Fars and Sistani ethnicities, was selected as a sample of 400 individuals. In order to measure mental health, social support, stress levels, GHQ-28, Zimm and Whiton tests, and for other variables, were used as researcher-made constructors. According to the results, there was a direct and significant relationship between mental health and social support and socio-economic variables, and there was an inverse and significant relationship between mental health, stress and feelings of relative deprivation. In addition, the results showed that Baluch women had a lower socioeconomic status and lower socio-political background than Fars and Sistani women, and that the mental health of women of Baluch ethnicity was lower than that of Fars and Sistani women. The results of multivariate regression showed that socio-economic base and social support increase mental health and feel the relative deprivation and stress levels decrease mental health in women. It is imperative that policy makers focus on ways to promote social protection, reduce stress and feel the relative deprivation and fair distribution of benefits among different ethnic groups, and pay special attention to mental health, important steps to reduce poverty and deprivation in Sistan and Balochestan.