Toxic Wealth

How the Culture of Affluence Can Harm Us and Our Children

Orla Cashman, James A. Twaite

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9780313359910
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780313359927
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

This volume spotlights the unique problems that often accompany a high-income lifestyle and offers guidelines that can help individuals avoid the pitfalls wealth may bring.

Two therapists show how the culture of affluence in America creates unique problems for wealthy adults and children, often resulting in poor psycho-social adjustment, anxiety, low self-esteem, and the inability to have fun. The affluent are under tremendous pressure to achieve. They are subject to a myriad of negative stereotypes that make it difficult for them to have a normal social life. They are taken advantage of, preyed upon, and ridiculed. When they seek professional help for their problems, they may receive little sympathy.

This book is a sage and insightful primer aimed at all readers who have some wealth, whether inherited or amassed through personal effort. The consciousness-raising here includes vignettes from the treatment rooms of the authors, who have helped many wealthy individuals and families deal with the fallout from the myths with which our culture burdens them. Specific guidelines on how to deal with problems are presented.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Chapter 1: The American Dream and the Myth that Wealth Brings Happiness
• Chapter 2: The Culture of Affluence and the Unrelenting Pressure to Achieve
• Chapter 3: The Disconnect between Affluent Parents and Their Children
• Chapter 4: The Negative Aspects of Having Wealth
• Chapter 5: Promoting Class Envy and Class Warfare
• Chapter 6: Professionals’ Attitudes toward the Affluent
• Chapter 7: How to Cope with Negative Stereotypes
• Chapter 8: Raising Confident, Competent, and Connected Children
• Chapter 9: Relationship Issues among the Affluent
• Chapter 10: The Midlife Crisis among the Affluent
• Chapter 11: Substance Abuse among the Affluent
• Chapter 12: Problems with Inheritances
• Chapter 13: When We Lose Our Wealth: A Postscript for a Bad Economy
• Appendix: An Empirical Study of Professional Social Workers’ Attitudes toward the Affluent
• Notes
• Index