Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 11
Older women living and coping with domestic violence
- Authors:
- LAZENBATT Anne, DEVANEY John, GILDEA Aideen
- Journal article citation:
- Community Practitioner, 86(2), 2013, pp.28-32.
- Publisher:
- Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association
Arguing that women aged over 50 who are victims of domestic violence are suffering in silence because the problem is often ignored by health professionals, this research aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how older women cope with domestic violence and how it affects their wellbeing. The Northern Ireland study recruited a sample of 18 women aged 50 years and older through Northern Ireland Women's Aid programmes (which coordinate outreach and refuge services for women experiencing domestic violence). Women were invited to talk about their relationships in semi-structured interviews, and the transcripts were analysed for key themes. The interrelated themes identified covered health and wellbeing, psychological effects, barriers to support and coping mechanisms. The article discusses the findings, with illustrative examples from the interviews. It concludes that the findings indicate that living in a domestically violent context has extremely negative effects on older women's wellbeing leading to severe anxiety and depression, and reports that support networks were missing for the women, both in the past and present. The authors suggest that health professionals must receive appropriate education and training to gain knowledge and skills in order to deal effectively with and support older women experiencing domestic violence.
An interpretative phenomenological analysis of African Caribbean women’s experiences and management of emotional distress
- Authors:
- SISLEY Emma J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 19(4), July 2011, pp.392-402.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
African Caribbean women are under-represented in UK mental health outpatient services, despite sociocontextual vulnerabilities which may increase emotional distress. This study aimed to explore understandings and experiences of personal distress held by African Caribbean women and examine coping choices including help-seeking from mental health services. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 African Caribbean women who were recruited following their self-referral to self-help community wellbeing workshops in central London. Interpretative phenomenological analysis of the data revealed 5 super-ordinate themes: explanations of distress; experiences of distress; managing distress; social and cultural influences; and seeking help. Gender roles and a cultural legacy of being strong and hiding distress emerged as influential in the participants’ beliefs about managing personal difficulties. This was balanced with an acknowledgement that intergenerational differences highlighted an increasing acceptance amongst the community of talking about issues and seeking professional support. The study provides support for tailoring services to individual needs using a flexible approach which empowers individuals from black and minority ethnic groups by valuing explanatory models of distress alternative to the westernised medical model. Furthermore, the findings emphasise the importance of readily available information about statutory and voluntary community resources which use language relevant to the communities they are aimed at engaging.
Intergenerational ambivalence: aging mothers whose adult daughters are mentally ill
- Authors:
- INGERSOLL-DAYTON Berit, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 92(1), January 2011, pp.114-119.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
Aging mothers with adult daughters who are mentally ill may be particularly susceptible to feelings of ambivalence. This paper uses intergenerational ambivalence theory as a framework for understanding the mixed expectations of mothers toward adult daughters who are mentally ill, as well as their efforts to reconcile these expectations. The study comprised interviews with a sample of 22 mothers aged 52–90 who had been dealing with their daughters’ mental illness for many years. The analyses focus on open-ended questions pertaining to the mother-daughter relationship. The aging mothers expressed considerable sociological ambivalence in relation to their grown daughters. A consistent issue was the conflict between supporting their daughters while simultaneously expecting them to be as independent as possible. Four strategies of managing ambivalence were identified: excusing behaviours; reducing expectations; adjusting help-giving; and confronting. The implications are that practitioners should assess for intergenerational ambivalence in their therapeutic work with aging parents, help them identify their ambivalence management strategies, and assess the extent to which these strategies are adaptive.
Cognitive coping styles of women sexually abused in childhood: a qualitative study
- Authors:
- PERROTT Katherine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(11), November 1998, pp.1135-1149.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Investigates cognitive coping strategies used by a non-clinical sample of women with a history of childhood sexual abuse, and examines whether cognitive appraisals affected their current coping strategies and psychological well-being. Concludes that some cognitive coping strategies employed after experiencing child sexual abuse impinge on later psychological well-being or subsequent relationships with other people. One of the more challenging findings to come out of the study was that women who "reframed" the sexual abuse event were more likely to have favourable mental health outcomes but were also more likely to report that their own child has been sexually abused.
Psychopathology and coping in survivors of intimate partner violence: associations with race and abuse severity
- Authors:
- CLEMENTS Caroline M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Aggression Maltreatment and Trauma, 28(2), 2019, pp.205-221.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The present study examined how race and abuse severity independently and interactively predicted psychopathology and coping in a sample of 206 African-American and White survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Women reported on their exposure to physical violence, their psychological symptoms, and their coping behaviours. White women reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression than African-American women. More severe abuse was generally related to more psychological symptoms and to greater denial. Interactions between race and abuse severity indicated that African-Americans reported fewer psychological symptoms than Whites at lower levels of abuse but not when abuse was very severe. African-Americans reported more coping-related substance use than Whites at the highest level of abuse severity. The implications of the findings for future research and for treatment of IPV survivors are considered. (Edited publisher abstract)
Stigmatizing reactions versus general negative reactions to partner violence disclosure as predictors of avoidance coping and depression
- Authors:
- Overstreet Nicole M., WILLIE Tiara C., SULLIVAN Tami P.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(8), 2019, pp.1734-1752.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Despite increased attention to the relation between negative social reactions to intimate partner violence (IPV) disclosure and poorer mental health outcomes for victims, research has yet to examine whether certain types of negative social reactions are associated with poorer mental health outcomes more so than others. Furthermore, research is scarce on potential mediators of this relationship. To fill these gaps, the current study examines whether stigmatizing reactions to IPV disclosure, such as victim-blaming responses and minimizing experiences of IPV, are a specific type of negative social reaction that exerts greater influence on women’s depressive symptoms than general negative reactions, such as being angry at the perpetrators of IPV. The authors also examine avoidance coping as a key mediator of this relationship. A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted to examine these relationships. Participants were 212 women from an urban northeast community who indicated being physically victimized by their male partner in the past 6 months. Findings from a multiple regression analysis showed that stigmatizing reactions, not general negative reactions, predicted women’s depressive symptoms. In addition, a multiple mediation analysis revealed that avoidance coping strategies, but not approach coping strategies, significantly accounted for the relationship between stigmatizing social reactions and women’s depressive symptoms. Findings have implications for improving support from informal and formal sources and subsequently, IPV-exposed women’s psychological well-being. (Edited publisher abstract)
Aspergirls: empowering females with Asperger syndrome
- Author:
- SIMONE Rudy
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 240p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Girls with Asperger's Syndrome tend to be less frequently diagnosed than boys, and even once symptoms have been recognised, help is often not readily available. The author, herself an Aspergirl, believes that the image of coping well presented by AS females of any age can often mask difficulties, deficits, challenges, and loneliness. She guides the reader through every aspect of both personal and professional life, from early recollections of blame, guilt, and savant skills, to friendships, romance and marriage. Employment, career, rituals and routines are also covered, along with depression, meltdowns and being misunderstood. The book draws on the reflections of more than thirty-five women diagnosed as on the spectrum, as well as some partners and parents. Through these stories the author identifies recurring struggles and areas where Aspergirls need validation, information and advice. She believes that the differences between males and females on the spectrum are mostly a matter of perception, and rejects negative views of Aspergirls aiming to empower them to lead happy and fulfilled lives.
"It's the little things": women, trauma, and strategies for healing
- Authors:
- STENIUS Vanja M.K., VEYSEY Bonita M.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(10), October 2005, pp.1155-1174.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Women recover and heal from traumatic violent experiences in many different ways. This study, which is part of the Franklin County Women and Violence Project in the United States, explores the healing experiences of 18 women who have histories of violence, substance abuse, and involvement in the mental health and/or substance abuse treatment system. Ethnographic interviews suggest that while professional intervention can be beneficial, it may not be adequate. In fact, it can be retruamatizing. The means of service delivery and treatment by individuals, service providers and others, may be more important than the actual service. Often women find that caring individuals and a safe environment yield the greatest benefit. It is not so much what people do to help, but how they do it.
Trauma, coping, and depression among women with HIV/AIDS in New York City
- Authors:
- SIMONI J.M., NG M.T.
- Journal article citation:
- AIDS Care, 12(5), October 2000, pp.567-580.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Among 230 HIV-positive women in New York city, the researchers examined the association of retrospective self-reports of sexual and physical abuse, current coping strategies and depressive symptomatology. Results revealed a high prevalence of abuse in childhood and adulthood. Childhood abuse positively correlated with the frequency of current adaptive and avoidant coping strategies. Implications for improving the psychological functioning of women living with HIV/AIDS are discussed.
Predictors of dyadic relationship quality of women in substance abuse treatment
- Authors:
- BIEGEL David E., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 3(1), 2006, pp.87-112.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The quality of relationship between family caregivers and care recipients with dual disorders can impact care recipients' well-being and treatment outcomes as well as caregivers' well-being and involvement in care. This American study examines the impact of caregiver stressors and well-being on relationship quality of family caregivers of women with substance use disorders or co-occurring substance and mental disorders. Eighty-two women receiving in-patient or out-patient substance abuse treatment and the family member/significant other, nominated by each woman, who provided her with the most social support, were interviewed in this non-experimental cross-sectional study. A stress coping model was utilized to identify the impact of family caregivers' stressors (care recipient behavioural, substance abuse, and mental health problems) and caregiver well-being (burden and depressive symptomatology) on caregivers' perceptions of the quality of their relationship with their care recipient. Findings from multiple regression analyses, across four types of caregiver well-being, show that greater perceived support to the caregiver was predicted by fewer perceived care recipient substance abuse problems, whereas higher levels of undermining of the caregiver was predicted by greater care recipient behavioural problems and by the family caregiver being a significant other of the care recipient. Care recipient classification as having a current dual disorder as compared to a current substance use disorder only was not a significant predictor of perceived support given to the caregiver or of perceived undermining of the family member. The findings suggest interventions for family caregivers need to be tailored to address different and possibly multiple groups of caregivers, specific types of stressors, and care recipient behavioural problems. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).