Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Sharing voice, making connections
- Author:
- SARWAR Fosia
- Journal article citation:
- Openmind, 139, May/June 2006, pp.16-17.
- Publisher:
- MIND
The Sharing Voices project in Bradford takes a community development approach to mental health and works with local people from black and minority ethnic communities to develop new forms of support based on their own agendas and priorities. The author talks about her work with them as a community development mental health project officer.
Influence of caregiver network support and caregiver psychopathology on child mental health need and service use in the LONGSCAN study
- Authors:
- LINDSEY Michael A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 34(5), May 2012, pp.924-932.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of caregiver factors (network support and mental health problems) in relation to child need for mental health services and child service use among maltreated children and children at-risk for maltreatment. Data for this study came from children and their caregivers participating in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) study. The sample analysed for this study was 1075 8-year-old children, who were African American or Caucasian and had been reported to Child Protective Services, and their primary caregivers. Analysis showed that caregiver and child mental health needs were positively related. Caregiver network support exerted a protective effect, with greater levels of caregiver network support predictive of lower caregiver and child need. Contrary to prediction, however, caregiver network support was not directly related to child service use. Higher child need was directly related to child service use, especially among children whose caregivers had mental health problems. The findings appear to indicate that lower levels of caregiver network support may exert its impact on child service use indirectly by increasing caregiver and child need, rather than by directly increasing the likelihood of receiving services, especially for African American children.
Parenting a child with a disability: the role of social support for African American parents
- Authors:
- HA Jung-Hwa, GREENBERG Jan S., SELTZER Marsha Mailick
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 92(4), October 2011, pp.405-411.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
Having a child with a disability poses a significant risk to parents’ physical and emotional well-being. This risk may vary across different racial and ethnic groups who may face differing caregiving challenges due to their socioeconomic and environmental resources. This study examines the impact of having a child with a disability on parents’ mental and physical health among urban-dwelling African Americans. It also examines the extent to which positive and negative social interactions with family members other than the spouse moderate the impact of child’s disability on parental adaptation. Analyses are based on an African American sample collected in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin collected as part of the Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS). The analytic sample consists of 48 parents of children with a disability and 144 comparison group parents of nondisabled children. The results show that having a child with a disability is associated with more somatic symptoms such as headaches, backaches, and trouble sleeping. However, the negative consequences of the child’s disability on parents’ mental health are reduced when parents receive greater positive support from family.
The effect of psychosocial stressors on the mental health status of African American caregivers of the elderly
- Authors:
- KINGSBERRY Sheridan Quarless, SAUNDERS Marlene A., RICHARDSON Agnes
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 91(4), October 2010, pp.408-414.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
Previous studies focused on African American caregivers of the elderly indicated that they experience less caregiver burden, stress, and strain than caregivers of other ethnic groups. But newer studies point to the stress, strain, burden, and depression among contemporary African American caregivers. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the literature pertaining to the multiple stressors that affect the mental health of African American caregivers. Particular attention is paid to the psychosocial factors that affect their mental health status and well-being, such as limited economic resources, multiple caregiving roles, and dwindling social support networks. These stressors appear to affect the mental health status and well-being of African American caregivers in negative ways. This article discusses in detail the stressors, and provides recommendations that can help professionals in the aging community provide more culturally sensitive services to this at risk population.
Elder disability as an explanation for racial differences in informal home care
- Authors:
- LI Lydia W., FRIES Brant E.
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 45(2), April 2005, pp.2-6-215.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and disability levels, this study examines whether differences exist in the structure and function of community-dwelling Black and White frail elders' informal care networks. Data from in-person assessments of Michigan's Home and Community-Based Medicaid Waiver applicants were analyzed. The sample consisted of 936 Black and 3,182 White frail elderly persons. When sociodemographic characteristics were controlled for, racial differences were found in all informal care components except out-of-home chores. Differences in functional components (amount of care, scope of assistance, and personal care) were largely accounted for by disability, whereas racial differences in the structural components (source of care, living arrangement, and sole caregiver) and in-home chores were not. Findings suggest that Black elders are not better off than White elders in the receipt of informal care. Although Black elders receive more informal help, this difference is primarily because of level of disability. This study calls for heightened awareness of disability among low-income Black elders and the potential burden experienced by their caregivers
Pakistani women's use of mental health services and the role of social networks: a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative research
- Authors:
- KAPADIA Dharmi, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 25(4), 2017, p.1304–1317.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Pakistani women in the UK are an at-risk group with high levels of mental health problems, but low levels of mental health service use. However, the rates of service use for Pakistani women are unclear, partly because research with South Asian women has been incorrectly generalised to Pakistani women. Further, this research has been largely undertaken within an individualistic paradigm, with little consideration of patients’ social networks, and how these may drive decisions to seek help. This systematic review aimed to clarify usage rates, and describe the nature of Pakistani women's social networks and how they may influence mental health service use. Ten journal databases (ASSIA, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, HMIC, IBSS, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index and Sociological Abstracts) and six sources of grey literature were searched for studies published between 1960 and the end of March 2014. Twenty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Ten studies (quantitative) reported on inpatient or outpatient service use between ethnic groups. Seven studies (four quantitative, three qualitative) investigated the nature of social networks, and four studies (qualitative) commented on how social networks were involved in accessing mental health services. Pakistani women were less likely than white (British) women to use most specialist mental health services. No difference was found between Pakistani and white women for the consultation of general practitioners for mental health problems. Pakistani women's networks displayed high levels of stigmatising attitudes towards mental health problems and mental health services, which acted as a deterrent to seeking help. No studies were found which compared stigma in networks between Pakistani women and women of other ethnic groups. Pakistani women are at a considerable disadvantage in gaining access to and using statutory mental health services, compared with white women; this, in part, is due to negative attitudes to mental health problems evident in social support networks. (Publisher abstract)
Use of professional and informal support by Black men with mental disorders
- Authors:
- WOODWARD Amanda Toler, TAYLOR Robert Joseph, CHATTERS Linda M.
- Journal article citation:
- Research on Social Work Practice, 21(3), May 2011, pp.328-336.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This study aimed to investigate the use of different help-seeking options among African American and Caribbean black men with mental disorder. The study used data taken from the National Survey of American Life. The analytic sample included 371 African American and 138 Caribbean Black men who met diagnostic criteria for a mood disorder, an anxiety disorder, or a substance use disorder. The findings showed that 33% used both professional services and informal support, 14% relied on professional services only, 24% used informal support only, and 29% did not seek help. African American men were more likely than Caribbean Blacks to rely on informal support alone. Having co-occurring mental and substance disorders, experiencing an episode in the past 12 months, and having more people in the informal network increased the likelihood of using professional services and informal supports. Marital status, age, and socioeconomic status were also significantly related to help seeking. Almost 1 in 3 Black men with a psychiatric disorder did not receive assistance from either professional or informal helpers, suggesting a substantial amount of unmet need. However, the reliance on informal support also suggests a strong protective role that informal networks play in the lives of Black men.
Understanding the effect of ethnic density on mental health: multi-level investigation of survey data from England
- Authors:
- DASH-MUNSHI Jayati, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Medical Journal, 23.10.10, 2010, p.871.
- Publisher:
- British Medical Association
This study used a nationally representative sample of 4,281 participants, aged 16-74 years, to investigate whether living in an areas where high proportions of people of the same ethnicity live is protective for common mental health problems, and whether any protective effect was mediated by reduced exposure to racism and improved social support. Participants included Irish, black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and whit British people. Results found that for Bangladeshi people, Irish people and the combined ethnic minority sample, living in areas of higher own-group ethnic density was associated with a decreased risk of common mental health problems. Some of the ethnic groups were less likely to report discrimination and limited social support, but those associations did not fully account for the density effects.
Caregiver mental health, neighborhood, and social network influences on Mental Health needs among African American children
- Authors:
- LINDSEY Michael A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Research, 32(2), June 2008, pp.79-88.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
In this study, the authors examined the combined effects of caregiver mental health, alcohol use, and social network support/satisfaction on child mental health needs among African American caregiver-child dyads at risk of maltreatment. The sample included 514 eight-year-old African American children and their caregivers who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. A structural equation model was created with caregiver mental health/alcohol use and caregiver social network support/satisfaction as the exogenous variables and child mental health need as the endogenous variable. Caregivers with less-supportive networks and whose capacity to parent was challenged by alcohol, depression, or other mental health problems had children with elevated mental health needs. These findings confirm the need to examine the effects of caregiver influences (for example, caregiver mental health and social network support/satisfaction) on mental health among African American children at risk of maltreatment and to further explain how the social networks of caregivers are accessed when caregivers and children have mental health problems. Implications for identifying mental health needs among this vulnerable group and improving their connections to formal mental health services through social network-level interventions are discussed.
Living arrangements and social support: effects on the well-being of mothers with mental illness
- Authors:
- MOWBRAY Carol T., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Research, 29(1), March 2005, pp.41-55.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Examines the effects of living arrangements on the well-being of mothers with a serious mental illness in the USA. Analyses of data from a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study of an urban, primarily African American sample of 379 mothers with mental illness revealed few differences in parenting or social functioning between mothers living with their children and a spouse or partner and those living with their children only. However, mothers living with their children and extended family had significantly better outcomes than women in the other two living arrangements. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that living with relatives significantly related to mothers' well-being (social functioning and parenting) above and beyond relatives' provision of social support. Multilevel modeling revealed racial differences in the effects of living with relatives on functioning and parenting stress: Effects were positive for African American mothers but mixed for white American mothers.