Can We Change the Culture to Promote Psychological Health?

Mood Prep 101 ◽

10.1093/med-psych/9780190914301.003.0019 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 255-266

Author(s):

Carol Landau

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

United States ◽

Young People ◽

Psychological Health ◽

The United States ◽

Psychological Problems ◽

College Application ◽

Individual Achievement ◽

The Way

All of the issues in this book take place in the context of a competitive, overly individualistic environment. Many educators and journalists have suggested that this is stressful to students. A study of stress in in the United States confirms that students view college application stress as detrimental to their mental health. This chapter suggests that it is incumbent upon parents and educators to lead the way in reducing the pressure, to focus more on collaboration and less on competition and individual achievement. At the same time, we need to reduce the stigma of psychological problems in order to be more humane and to encourage young people to get help when they need it.

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Employer costs of mental health claims and how psychologically healthy workplaces align with successful DM programs

International Journal of Disability Management ◽

10.1017/idm.2014.38 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Wendy Coduti

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

United States ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Emotional Disorders ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Work Performance ◽

The United States ◽

Health Claims ◽

Future Research ◽

The Impact

Mental health (MH) and disability management (DM) businesses and DM professionals are proficient at addressing employee physical health, yet promoting employee MH is often ignored. Individuals claiming long-term disability (LTD), 85% identified MH conditions as their primary disability (Carls et al., 2012). Mental health LTD expenses are often higher due to longer recovery and challenges in return to work (Salkever, Goldman, Purushothaman, & Shinogle, 2000). Financial burdens of depression, anxiety, and emotional disorders are among the greatest of any disease condition in the workforce (Johnston et al., 2009). Globally, a fifth to a quarter of employees go to work everyday with a mental illness (Lorenzo-Romanella, 2011). Health care research has shown the impact of mental illness on work performance, however many employers and researchers are unaware of the value quality MH care has on employees and costs (Langlieb, & Kahn, 2005). The American Psychological Association (APA) identified five categories of workplace practices that promote psychological health in employees including: employee involvement; work-life balance; employee growth and development; health and safety; and employee recognition (APA, 2014). Organizational benefits of the five elements include: improved quality, performance and productivity; reduced absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover; fewer accidents and injuries; improved ability to attract and retain quality employees; improved customer service and satisfaction; and lower healthcare costs (APA, 2014). The presenters will discuss employer costs of MH claims and how psychologically healthy workplaces align with successful DM programs, decreasing MH claims and costs. Opportunities for future research include the United States Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its impact on MH (Mechanic, 2012) through provisions that encourage employers to adopt health promotion programs (Goetzel et al., 2012) and opportunities for research including comparisons of multinational employers regarding MH costs in countries with single payer systems, and in those without (United States), (Tanner, 2013).

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Ethnic/Racial Identity—A Double-Edged Sword? Associations With Discrimination and Psychological Outcomes

Current Directions in Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/0963721417739348 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 170-175 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Tiffany Yip

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

United States ◽

Racial Identity ◽

Psychological Health ◽

The United States ◽

The Other ◽

Strong Sense ◽

Future Research ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Identity Exploration

Given the prominence of ethnicity/race in the United States, many youths construct an ethnic/racial identity (ERI). However, ERI development occurs against a backdrop of prejudice, oppression, and discrimination. This synthetic review explores (a) how identity and discrimination are related and (b) their association with psychological health. There is a reciprocal developmental association between ERI and discrimination, in which each informs the other. Although discrimination is detrimental for mental health, its impact depends on identity. In some cases, ERI confers protection from discrimination, and in others, it poses additional vulnerabilities. A strong sense of commitment to one’s identity confers protection against the negative effects of discrimination, while high levels of identity exploration are associated with increased vulnerability. However, the importance of ethnicity/race to one’s identity both protects from and increases vulnerabilities to discrimination. Suggestions for future research to help to disambiguate these associations are offered.

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Real-Time Mental Health Crisis Response in the United States to COVID-19

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000826 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer D. Runkle ◽

Margaret M. Sugg ◽

Shrikanth Yadav ◽

Stella Harden ◽

Jaclyn Weiser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

United States ◽

Young People ◽

Real Time ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

The United States ◽

Crisis Response ◽

Suicidal Thoughts ◽

Health Crisis ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Background: Data are scarce on assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people. Aim: To examine changes in crisis text patterns in the United States during the pandemic compared to the prepandemic period. Method: Nonintrusive data from a national digital crisis texting platform were analyzed using an interrupted time series design. Poisson regression with repeated-measures examined help-seeking patterns for stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and other mental health concerns in the pandemic (March 13 to July 20, 2020) compared to the prepandemic period (March 13 to July 20, 2019). Results: An abrupt increase in national crisis response texts occurred during the pandemic for stress and anxiety, substance abuse, bereavement, isolation, and abuse compared to the prepandemic period. Similar trends of excess texts for isolation and abuse were reported among children (relative risk [RR]abuse: 1.16, CI: 1.03, 1.31; RRisolation: 1.15, CI: 1.09, 1.21) and adolescents (RRabuse: 1.17, CI: 1.11, 1.24; RRisolation: 1.08, CI: 1.05, 1.11), bereavement among Black (RR: 1.31, CI: 1.12, 1.54) and Hispanic (RR: 1.28, CI: 1.10, 1.49) texters, and isolation and bereavement in female (RRisolation: 1.09, CI: 1.06, 1.11; RRbereavement: 1.21, CI: 1.13, 1.28) or nonconforming youth (RRisolation: 1.19, CI: 1.08, 1.32; RRbereavement: 1.50, CI: 1.08, 2.09) texters. Conversely, the risks of reporting bullying, depression, relationship issues, and suicidal thoughts as reasons for texting were significantly lower during COVID-19. Limitations: Results may underestimate crisis support-seeking in some groups because demographic data were not captured on all texters. Conclusion: Findings illuminated the real-time crisis response of young people across the United States and can inform more responsive interventions to alleviate the mental health consequences brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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