Profiles of social relations among older adults: a cross-cultural approach

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHERINE L. FIORI ◽  
TONI C. ANTONUCCI ◽  
HIROKO AKIYAMA
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Shared Network ◽  
Network Type

ABSTRACTThis study extends previous research on the profiles of social relations in three ways: (1) by including both functional and qualitative characteristics of social relations; (2) by examining the association of these profiles with mental and physical health and mortality; and (3) by exploring these profiles and associations in two cultures. Using samples of approximately 500 adults aged 60 or more years from the Social Relations and Mental Health over the Life Course studies in both the United States and Japan, separate cluster analyses were conducted for each country. The common or shared network types were labelled ‘diverse’, ‘restricted’, ‘friend-focused’ and ‘family-focused’, but in the US we found two types of ‘friend-focused’ networks (supported and unsupported) and two types of ‘restricted’ networks (structurally- and functionally-restricted). In addition, we found a unique network type in Japan: ‘married and distal’. Multivariate analyses of variance and Cox regressions revealed that whereas individuals in the functionally restricted network type had the worse physical and mental health in the US, Americans in the structurally-restricted network type had the lowest survival rates at a 12-year follow-up. Interestingly, there were no wellbeing differences by network type in Japan. The findings have been interpreted in the light of social relations theories, with special emphasis on the importance of taking a multidimensional perspective and exploring cultural variation.

Childhood Misfortune and Adult Health in a National Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyoung Lyu ◽  
Stefan Agrigoroaei
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Family Relations ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Financial Strain ◽  
National Study ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Physical And Mental Health

This study investigated the relationship between childhood misfortune and 10-year change in health and whether this relationship was mediated by the quality of social relations. We used data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) national longitudinal study, 1995–1996 (Time 1) and 2005–2006 (Time 2). Childhood misfortune was measured at Time 1 using indicators of financial strain, family structure, and abuse. Self-rated physical and mental health indicators were obtained at both occasions. The measure of quality of social relations was based on items relative to social support and social strain from spouse, friends, and family at Time 1. Mediational models showed that a higher level of childhood misfortune was associated with low-quality family relations which in turn tend to account for change in mental health. These findings suggest that childhood misfortune is associated with the quality of social relations, which in turn explain individual changes in mental health in adulthood.

scholarly journals A Faith to Move Mountains? Childhood Abuse, Religious Change, and Mental Health at Midlife

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 461-461
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Religious Importance ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Of all the various forms of adversity experienced during childhood, childhood maltreatment (emotional and physical abuse) is shown to have the largest impacts on mental health and well-being. Yet we still have a limited understanding of why some victims of early maltreatment suffer immense mental health consequences later on in the life course, while others are able to cushion the blow of these early insults. Using two waves of data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), this study considers change in religiosity as a buffer across three dimensions for victims of childhood abuse: religious importance, attendance, and the specific act of seeking comfort through religion. Results suggest that increases in religious comfort during adulthood are positively associated with adult mental health for victims of abuse, while decreases in religious comfort over time were associated with worse mental health. Changes in religious attendance and religious importance were not significant associated with mental health for victims of abuse. Taken together, my results show that the stress-moderating effects of religion for victims of childhood maltreatment are contingent on the stability or increases or decreases in religiosity over the life course, which has been overlooked in previous work.

Occupational Therapy Practitioners’ Perspectives of Mental Health Practices With Clients in Stroke Rehabilitation

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K. Simpson ◽  
Narissa M. Ramirez ◽  
Brittany Branstetter ◽  
Aileen Reed ◽  
Evan Lines
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Needs ◽  
Post Stroke ◽  
Mental Health Practices

Following a stroke, depression and anxiety may negatively affect recovery and decrease quality of life. Occupational therapy (OT) practitioners are distinctly qualified to address both the physical and psychosocial sequelae of a stroke, including clients’ mental and emotional health. This study explored the ways in which OT practitioners address the mental health needs of clients post stroke. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was used to collect both survey and focus group data. In all, 754 OT practitioners across the United States completed an online survey, and 10 practitioners participated in focus groups. Practitioners considered their clients’ mental health needs to be a priority (68.17%); however, only 56.64% were satisfied with the care they provided related to mental and emotional health. They identified barriers that included limited time, increased productivity standards, expectations related to physical recovery, and poor educational preparation. Practitioners are motivated to improve their provision of mental health services to clients post stroke. To address the conflict between practice realities and professional values, education programs should better integrate curricular components that focus on physical and mental health.

scholarly journals QOL-51. LISTENING BEFORE WE SPEAK: A PATIENT-CENTERED APPROACH TO DEVELOPING RESOURCES FOR PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR SURVIVORS AND THEIR FAMILIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii440-iii440
Author(s):  
Kathy Riley
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Brain Tumor ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Pediatric Brain Tumor ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Pediatric Brain

Abstract In the United States, more than 28,000 children and teenagers live with the diagnosis of a primary brain tumor (Porter, McCarthy, Freels, Kim, & Davis, 2010). In 2017, an estimated 4,820 new cases of childhood primary brain and other central nervous system tumors were expected to be diagnosed in children ages 0 – 19 in the United States (Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, 2017). Survivors suffer from lifelong side effects caused by their illness or by various treatments. Commonly identified late effects of treatment include a decline in intellectual functioning and processing speed, performance IQ deficits, memory deficits, psychological difficulties, deficits in adaptive functioning (daily life skills), and an overall decrease in health-related quality of life (Castellino, Ullrich, Whelen, & Lange, 2014). To address the ongoing challenges these survivors and their families face, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) met extensively with working groups comprised of survivors and caregivers to develop the outline for a comprehensive Survivorship Resource Guidebook. In 2019, the PBTF published the guidebook which categorizes survivor and caregiver needs into three primary areas: physical and mental health, quality of life, and working the system. Expert authors included survivors and caregivers themselves in addition to medical and mental health professionals. Key outcomes discovered during the creation and production of this resource highlight how caregivers, survivors and professionals can collaborate to provide needed information and practical help to one segment of the pediatric cancer population who experience profound morbidities as a result of their diagnosis and treatment.

scholarly journals Baby Boomers Who Provide Informal Care for People Living with Dementia in the Community

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9694
Author(s):  
Christina E. Miyawaki ◽  
Erin D. Bouldin ◽  
Christopher A. Taylor ◽  
Lisa C. McGuire
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Baby Boomers ◽  
Baby Boomer ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Behavioral Risk ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Weighted Estimates

One in four Baby Boomers fills the informal caregiver role in the United States. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of Baby Boomers who are informal caregivers for people living with dementia and compare their physical and mental health status to caregivers for persons with conditions other than dementia using 2015–2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data (N = 10,602). We identified caregiving status (assisting a family member/friend with a long-term illness or disability in the past month, managing personal care, and not caring for a child/grandchild) and whether the care recipient’s major health condition was dementia. We calculated weighted estimates and used chi-square tests and log-binomial regression for comparisons of selected characteristics. Among Baby Boomer caregivers, 15.4% were caring for someone with dementia. Dementia caregivers were more likely to be female, caring for a parent/parent-in-law, and providing care longer than caregivers for persons without dementia. After adjusting for sociodemographic and caregiving characteristics, the prevalence of fair/poor health, frequent mental distress, and chronic conditions were similar across types of caregivers. Although no differences in caregiver’s physical and mental health by care recipient’s dementia status were found, we should underscore the importance of maintaining Baby Boomer caregivers’ health and well-being.

scholarly journals The COVID-19 Pandemic and Mental Health Concerns on Twitter in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Senqi Zhang ◽  
Li Sun ◽  
Daiwei Zhang ◽  
Pin Li ◽  
Yue Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Topic Modeling ◽  
The United States ◽  
Allocation Model ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Demographic Composition ◽  
The Us ◽  
Mental Health Concerns ◽  
Twitter Users

AbstractBackgroundMental health illness is a growing problem in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health concerns (such as fear and loneliness) have been actively discussed on social media.ObjectiveIn this study, we aim to examine mental health discussions on Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and infer the demographic composition of Twitter users who had mental health concerns.MethodsCOVID-19 related tweets from March 5th, 2020 to January 31st, 2021 were collected through Twitter streaming API using COVID-19 related keywords (e.g., “corona”, “covid19”, “covid”). By further filtering using mental health keywords (e.g., “depress”, “failure”, “hopeless”), we extracted mental health-related tweets from the US. Topic modeling using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation model was conducted to monitor users’ discussions surrounding mental health concerns. Demographic inference using deep learning algorithms (including Face++ and Ethnicolr) was performed to infer the demographic composition of Twitter users who had mental health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsWe observed a positive correlation between mental health concerns on Twitter and the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Topic modeling showed that “stay-at-home”, “death poll” and “politics and policy” were the most popular topics in COVID-19 mental health tweets. Among Twitter users who had mental health concerns during the pandemic, Males, White, and 30-49 age group people were more likely to express mental health concerns. In addition, Twitter users from the east and west coast had more mental health concerns.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on mental health concerns on Twitter in the US. Certain groups of people (such as Males, White) were more likely to have mental health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

America’s Homelessness Crisis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Charley E. Willison
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Problem ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
The United States ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Chronic Homelessness ◽  
Municipal Governments ◽  
The Life Course

Homelessness is a public health problem. From rising housing costs to discriminatory lending and leasing, natural disasters, and mental illness, homelessness has many different causes and many similar effects: serious adverse consequences for physical and mental health across the life course. This chapter makes the case for homelessness as a public health problem, with chronic homelessness as scope of focus for this book. This chapter then introduces the main question of the book: If municipalities are the site of the U.S. homeless epidemic, what are municipal governments doing to address homelessness, and why? This chapter then outlines the role of governance structures in shaping municipal approaches to chronic homelessness, describes the governance system responsible for designing and delivering solutions to homelessness and chronic homelessness in the United States, and the history of homeless policy in America. Finally, this chapter lays the roadmap for the book and subsequent chapters.

Acculturative Stress and Bicultural Stress

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Romero ◽  
Brandy Piña-Watson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Acculturative Stress ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Conflict ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
The Us ◽  
Bicultural Stress

This chapter discusses the concepts of acculturative and bicultural stress, the theory and method behind the measurement, and the implications of the US immigration policy context for stress. The central sources of acculturative and bicultural stress are reviewed, including intergroup discrimination, language stress, intragroup marginalization, and family cultural conflict. In particular, literature is reviewed that examines the association between mental health and acculturative or bicultural stress. Extant research does demonstrate that degree of stress varies for individuals and that acculturative/bicultural stress is experienced not only by immigrants but also by minorities in the United States. Therefore, the present chapter reviews literature that connects the acculturative/bicultural stress process across generations. The immigration context is considered for future research in the area of acculturation and stress.

scholarly journals Declining mental health among disadvantaged Americans

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (28) ◽  
pp. 7290-7295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noreen Goldman ◽  
Dana A. Glei ◽  
Maxine Weinstein
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Epidemic ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Modest Improvement ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact

Although there is little dispute about the impact of the US opioid epidemic on recent mortality, there is less consensus about whether trends reflect increasing despair among American adults. The issue is complicated by the absence of established scales or definitions of despair as well as a paucity of studies examining changes in psychological health, especially well-being, since the 1990s. We contribute evidence using two cross-sectional waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study to assess changes in measures of psychological distress and well-being. These measures capture negative emotions such as sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness, and positive emotions such as happiness, fulfillment, and life satisfaction. Most of the measures reveal increasing distress and decreasing well-being across the age span for those of low relative socioeconomic position, in contrast to little decline or modest improvement for persons of high relative position.

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