scholarly journals Living With COVID-19: Descriptions of Custodial Grandparents' Mental Health Stress and Social Support Networks

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 261-262
Author(s):  
Susan Kelley ◽  
Deborah Whitley
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Mental Stress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Brief Symptom Inventory ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Custodial Grandparents ◽  
The Social

Abstract Research suggests custodial grandparents (CG) with chronic health conditions, limited economic resources, and restricted social connections are at risk for adverse mental health outcomes. The growing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 seems to accentuate these findings. This paper presents preliminary descriptions of mental stress by a small sample of CG (n=26) surveyed after the onset of COVID-19. They described the social groups comprising their networks, and the methods used to engage with them. A majority of the sample (96.2%) reported experiencing mental stress since the onset of the virus; based on Brief Symptom Inventory results, five CG scored in the clinical range for stress. Food access, fear of getting sick, and grandchildren’s school requirements are leading sources of stress. Despite such challenges, CG report varying levels of social engagement with their support networks. The reported descriptions give preliminary insight how CG can maximize their social networks to build/sustain positive mental health well-being.

scholarly journals Masculinity, Social Connectedness, and Mental Health: Men’s Diverse Patterns of Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1247-1261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K. McKenzie ◽  
Sunny Collings ◽  
Gabrielle Jenkin ◽  
Jo River
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Patterns Of Practice

Men’s mental health has remained undertheorized, particularly in terms of the gendered nature of men’s social relations. While the importance of social connections and strong supportive networks for improving mental health and well-being is well documented, we know little about men’s social support networks or how men go about seeking or mobilizing social support. An in-depth understanding of the gendered nature of men’s social connections and the ways in which the interplay between masculinity and men’s social connections can impact men’s mental health is needed. Fifteen life history interviews were undertaken with men in the community. A theoretical framework of gender relations was used to analyze the men’s interviews. The findings provide rich insights into men’s diverse patterns of practice in regards to seeking or mobilizing social support. While some men differentiated between their social connections with men and women, others experienced difficulties in mobilizing support from existing connections. Some men maintained a desire to be independent, rejecting the need for social support, whereas others established support networks from which they could actively seek support. Overall, the findings suggest that patterns of social connectedness among men are diverse, challenging the social science literature that frames all men’s social relationships as being largely instrumental, and men as less able and less interested than women in building emotional and supportive relationships with others. The implications of these findings for promoting men’s social connectedness and mental health are discussed.

National Identification, A Social Cure for COVID-19? Evidence From 67 Countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bonetto ◽  
Sylvain Delouvée ◽  
Yara Mahfud ◽  
Jais Adam-Troian
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
National Identification ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mental Health Benefits

Social distancing and mass quarantines were implemented worldwide in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Prior research on the effects of social isolation has shown that such measures bear negative consequences for population health and well-being. Conversely, a growing body of evidence suggests that feeling positively identified with a group is associated with a range of physical and mental health benefits. This effect is referred to as the social cure and generalizes to various identities. In line with these findings, this study tested whether national identification could promote wellbeing and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we used survey data conducted among 67 countries (N = 46,450) which included measures of wellbeing, national identification, and subjective physical health. Mixed-model analyses revealed that national identity was indeed associated with wellbeing - despite adjustment on social belonging, COVID-19 perceived risk, exposure, and ideology. This effect did not extend to subjective health. These results suggest that the mere feeling of belonging to a national group may have mental health benefits and could be leveraged by governments. We discuss the implications of our findings within the social cure framework and their relevance for population mental health under COVID-19.

Comparing the social networks of service users with long term mental health needs living in community with those in a general adult in-patient unit

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110175
Author(s):  
Roberto Rusca ◽  
Ike-Foster Onwuchekwa ◽  
Catherine Kinane ◽  
Douglas MacInnes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Patient Group ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Practical Support ◽  
The Social

Background: Relationships are vital to recovery however, there is uncertainty whether users have different types of social networks in different mental health settings and how these networks may impact on users’ wellbeing. Aims: To compare the social networks of people with long-term mental illness in the community with those of people in a general adult in-patient unit. Method: A sample of general adult in-patients with enduring mental health problems, aged between 18 and 65, was compared with a similar sample attending a general adult psychiatric clinic. A cross-sectional survey collected demographic data and information about participants’ social networks. Participants also completed the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale to examine well-being and the Significant Others Scale to explore their social network support. Results: The study recruited 53 participants (25 living in the community and 28 current in-patients) with 339 named as important members of their social networks. Both groups recorded low numbers in their social networks though the community sample had a significantly greater number of social contacts (7.4 vs. 5.4), more monthly contacts with members of their network and significantly higher levels of social media use. The in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Conclusions: People with serious and enduring mental health problems living in the community had a significantly greater number of people in their social network than those who were in-patients while the in-patient group reported greater levels of emotional and practical support from their network. Recommendations for future work have been made.

scholarly journals Renaming schizophrenia: 5 × 5

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (03) ◽  
pp. 254-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinan Guloksuz ◽  
Jim van Os
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Social ◽  
Technical Features ◽  
In The Beginning

AbstractThere had been a long way to go before we felt comfortable about even discussing the issues revolving around the concept of ‘schizophrenia’, let alone reckoning on mere semantic revision. In this editorial, we aim to extend our discussion on the reasons behind the slow death of the concept of ‘schizophrenia’ and the benefits of changing the name and embracing a spectrum approach with an umbrella psychosis spectrum disorder (PSD) category (similar to autism spectrum disorder) that goes further than a mere semantic revision. We attempted to cover the topic of the renaming by providing five most pertinent points categorised under five domains: reasons, signals, challenges, promises and steps for the change. Admittedly, even a modest revision, such as classifying all psychotic disorder categories under an umbrella category of PSD, and abolishing the term schizophrenia requires careful deliberation and some effort in the beginning, but the revision is well worth the effort considering the benefits in the long run. Renaming a particular form of mental suffering should be accompanied by a broader debate of the entire diagnosis-evidence-based-practice (EBP)-symptom-reduction model as the normative factor driving the content and organisation of mental health services that may be detached from patients’ needs and reality, overlooks the trans-syndromal structure of mental difficulties, appraises the significance of the technical features over the relational and ritual components of care, and underestimates the lack of EBP group-to-individual generalisability. Individuals may make great strides in attaining well-being by accommodating to living with mental vulnerabilities through building resilience in the social and existential domains. Changing the name and the concept of ‘schizophrenia’, which goes beyond a mere semantic revision, may become the first step that allows catalysation of the process of modernising psychiatric science and services worldwide.

Marketing dispossession

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sergius Koku ◽  
Hannah Emma Acquaye
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Real Property ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Hard Times

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mental state and the disposition of those who have fallen on hard times during the recent financial crisis and have had their homes foreclosed on or their automobiles repossessed. It also proposes an alternative process for dispossessing individuals that preserves the mental health of such individuals and the banks’ reputation. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the hermeneutics approach to analyze the predicament of those whose homes have been foreclosed on or whose properties have been repossessed by financial institutions to better understand their predicament. Findings Those whose homes have been foreclosed on or whose properties have been repossessed by financial institutions are traumatized. They feel victimized, bitter, helpless and hopeless and have poor mental state. The study draws on theories in counseling psychology to propose an alternative approach to making loans that take long time to be repaid (long-term loans), and for repossessing personal properties such as automobiles and for foreclosing on real property (homes). Research limitations/implications As a qualitative study based on a small sample, the findings of the study are limited to only those who have been studied. A further study that leads to a generalized result will be useful. Practical implications The study develops a practical framework that could be useful to financial institutions in making long-term loans and to foreclose on delinquent loans (i.e. to dispossess individuals). Social implications The proposed strategy, if implemented, could have a significant positive impact on the mental well-being of those who have fallen on financial hard times. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this is the first marketing paper that has explored the mental health of those who have defaulted on loans, and has proposed an alternative approach to making long-term loans that not only preserves the mental health of banks’ customers, but also protects the reputation and market share of banks.

scholarly journals Social Representations of e-Mental Health Among the Actors of the Health Care System: Free-Association Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margot Morgiève ◽  
Pierre Mesdjian ◽  
Olivier Las Vergnas ◽  
Patrick Bury ◽  
Vincent Demassiet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Social Representations ◽  
Free Association ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Representation ◽  
System P ◽  
The Social

BACKGROUND Electronic mental (e-mental) health offers an opportunity to overcome many challenges such as cost, accessibility, and the stigma associated with mental health, and most people with lived experiences of mental problems are in favor of using applications and websites to manage their mental health problems. However, the use of these new technologies remains weak in the area of mental health and psychiatry. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to characterize the social representations associated with e-mental health by all actors to implement new technologies in the best possible way in the health system. METHODS A free-association task method was used. The data were subjected to a lexicometric analysis to qualify and quantify words by analyzing their statistical distribution, using the ALCESTE method with the IRaMuTeQ software. RESULTS In order of frequency, the terms most frequently used to describe e-mental health in the whole corpus are: “care” (n=21), “internet” (n=21), “computing” (n=15), “health” (n=14), “information” (n=13), “patient” (n=12), and “tool” (n=12). The corpus of text is divided into 2 themes, with technological and computing terms on one side and medical and public health terms on the other. The largest family is focused on “care,” “advances,” “research,” “life,” “quality,” and “well-being,” which was significantly associated with users. The nursing group used very medical terms such as “treatment,” “diagnosis,” “psychiatry”,” and “patient” to define e-mental health. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that there is a gap between the representations of users on e-mental health as a tool for improving their quality of life and those of health professionals (except nurses) that are more focused on the technological potential of these digital care tools. Developers, designers, clinicians, and users must be aware of the social representation of e-mental health conditions uses and intention of use. This understanding of everyone’s stakes will make it possible to redirect the development of tools to adapt them as much as possible to the needs and expectations of the actors of the mental health system.

scholarly journals Case Studies in the Culture of Professional Football Players and Mental Welfare and Wellbeing

2020 ◽  
pp. 325-329
Author(s):  
Michael Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Football Players ◽  
Professional Football ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health And Well Being

AbstractThis chapter draws on the author’s personal experience together with the findings from his qualitative research, to explore the cultural values driving problems of mental health and well-being among professional footballers. The study makes explicit the way in which players are expected to hide their experiences of being objectified—of being subject to gendered, racialised and other forms of dehumanisation—and denied a legitimate lived experience, an authentic heard voice. The chapter illustrates the importance in values-based practice of knowledge of values gained as in this instance by way of qualitative methods from the social sciences being used to fill out knowledge derived from individual personal experience.

Community Networks

2013 ◽  
pp. 187-207
Author(s):  
John M. Carroll ◽  
Mary Beth Rosson
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Social Milieu ◽  
The Social ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
Design Idea ◽  
Virtuous Cycle ◽  
University Undergraduates ◽  
Health And Well Being

The authors present a socio-technical design that illustrates how a community network health intervention can mobilize human resources across social boundaries and enhance health and well-being for people on both sides of the boundary. They specifically address how to reduce the barriers to social engagement experienced by autistic individuals who want more supportive life opportunities. The authors focus on the social milieu of an American college town, on traditional town-gown boundaries, and on possibilities for integrating social resources within this context. Their design adopts community networking to not only connect autistic persons living within an existing social milieu (university undergraduates; local autistic children and their families), but also to integrate individuals across milieus. The key design idea is that facilitating cross-milieu interactions can initiate and sustain a virtuous cycle of being helped by helping others.

The scale of the problem

Psychiatry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca McKnight ◽  
Jonathan Price ◽  
John Geddes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Clinical Medicine ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Health Organization

One in four individuals suffer from a psychiatric disorder at some point in their life, with 15– 20 per cent fitting cri­teria for a mental disorder at any given time. The latter corresponds to around 450 million people worldwide, placing mental disorders as one of the leading causes of global morbidity. Mental health problems represent five of the ten leading causes of disability worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in mid 2016 that ‘the global cost of mental illness is £651 billion per year’, stating that the equivalent of 50 million working years was being lost annually due to mental disorders. The financial global impact is clearly vast, but on a smaller scale, the social and psychological impacts of having a mental dis­order on yourself or your family are greater still. It is often difficult for the general public and clin­icians outside psychiatry to think of mental health dis­orders as ‘diseases’ because it is harder to pinpoint a specific pathological cause for them. When confronted with this view, it is helpful to consider that most of medicine was actually founded on this basis. For ex­ample, although medicine has been a profession for the past 2500 years, it was only in the late 1980s that Helicobacter pylori was linked to gastric/ duodenal ul­cers and gastric carcinoma, or more recently still that the BRCA genes were found to be a cause of breast cancer. Still much of clinical medicine treats a patient’s symptoms rather than objective abnormalities. The WHO has given the following definition of mental health:… Mental health is defined as a state of well- being in which every individual realizes his or her own po­tential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.… This is a helpful definition, because it clearly defines a mental disorder as a condition that disrupts this state in any way, and sets clear goals of treatment for the clinician. It identifies the fact that a disruption of an individual’s mental health impacts negatively not only upon their enjoyment and ability to cope with life, but also upon that of the wider community.

scholarly journals Building and Connecting: Family Strategies for Developing Social Support Networks for Adults With Down Syndrome

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E. Roll ◽  
Barbara J. Bowers
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Support Networks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Professional Resources

Being embedded in social networks is crucial for well-being and health. While this is particularly the case for people with Down syndrome (DS), our knowledge of how their support networks are developed is limited. This article investigates the role of family members in developing and maintaining the social support networks of their adult children with DS. Based on 29 interviews with family members, a grounded theory study was conducted. The Family Building and Connecting (BAC) framework was developed, which distinguishes a “building” and a “connecting” approach. The building approach includes strategies that rely on family members and close friends for building a support network for the person with DS. The connecting approach includes strategies that connect the person with DS to external and often professional resources and services. Distinguishing these approaches is important for future research and for strengthening the support networks of people with DS and their families.

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