In modern day law and ethics, mental health plays a larger role in the legal system than ever before. This creates an abundance of controversy regarding what is considered an “adequate” legal defense and how mental health contributes to one being responsible for their crime. Affluenza, also known as sudden-wealth syndrome, is a relatively new term that has generated heavy debate all its own. Affluenza is a portmanteau of the word influenza and affluence, mainly because it spreads like a virus and only leaves destruction in its path. (Alpha Dictionary) It is described as a psychological malaise affecting wealthy young people and has symptoms including lack of motivation, feelings of guilt, and a sense of isolation. (Oxford Dictionary) Ultimately,
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The term was coined in the 1997 novel The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence by O’Neil in order to describe “the inability to delay gratification and tolerate frustration, a loss of future motivation, a false sense of entitlement, low self-esteem, lack of self-worth, and frequently a loss of emotional affect." (Hoffman) However the term is not even a recognized mental illness by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association, which is practically the “Holy Bible” for all psychologists. (APA) According to Christopher J. Ferguson, an associate professor and department chair of psychology at Stetson University, “[Affluenza] doesn’t even mean what Couch’s defense lawyers intended it to mean. It is generally characterized as a contagious social disease, typified by a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ materialism, spending and debt.” (Ferguson) It was originally used to describe an anxiety disorder stemming from an obsession with wealth. Couch’s defense lawyer, Scott Brown, convoluted and distorted its meaning to satisfy his defense. Ethan Couch, and others like him, may really have had a mental disorder that caused him to commit such a heinous crime, but nevertheless that disorder was not affluenza and his sense of right from wrong was not hindered at the time of the accident, thus rendering him liable for all consequences of the
The term was coined in the 1997 novel The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence by O’Neil in order to describe “the inability to delay gratification and tolerate frustration, a loss of future motivation, a false sense of entitlement, low self-esteem, lack of self-worth, and frequently a loss of emotional affect." (Hoffman) However the term is not even a recognized mental illness by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association, which is practically the “Holy Bible” for all psychologists. (APA) According to Christopher J. Ferguson, an associate professor and department chair of psychology at Stetson University, “[Affluenza] doesn’t even mean what Couch’s defense lawyers intended it to mean. It is generally characterized as a contagious social disease, typified by a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ materialism, spending and debt.” (Ferguson) It was originally used to describe an anxiety disorder stemming from an obsession with wealth. Couch’s defense lawyer, Scott Brown, convoluted and distorted its meaning to satisfy his defense. Ethan Couch, and others like him, may really have had a mental disorder that caused him to commit such a heinous crime, but nevertheless that disorder was not affluenza and his sense of right from wrong was not hindered at the time of the accident, thus rendering him liable for all consequences of the