“Can I Live”: Black American Adolescent Boys’ Reports of Police Abuse and the Role of Religiosity on Mental Health

State sanctioned violence aimed at Black individuals and communities is an issue that has pervaded American history and society since before the establishment of the United States. For Black males, anticipating and preparing for involuntary police contact, unfortunately, is an inevitable part of life. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of reports of police abuse on mental health and perceived racial out-group perceptions and the protective role of religiosity among a nationally representative sample of Black American adolescent boys (Mage = 14.98). Linear multiple regression was used to determine the interactive effects of subjective religiosity and reported police abuse on Black American adolescent boys. Higher reports of subjective religiosity were associated with lower depressive symptomatology. Reports of police abuse were associated with lower public regard beliefs (belief that society views Black Americans less favorably). Results highlight the impact experiencing police abuse has on Black adolescent boys and we conclude with implications, areas for future research and intervention points.

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Training Preservice Mental Health Counselors for Suicide Assessment: A Multiple Baseline Study

10.31234/osf.io/dpj97 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Teal Bohrer ◽

Cass Dykeman

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

The United States ◽

Multiple Baseline ◽

Future Research ◽

Probe Design ◽

Mental Health Clinicians ◽

Suicide Assessment ◽

The Impact

Rates of death by suicide continue to increase across the United States. Mental health clinicians often have contact with individuals expressing suicidal ideation, but research suggests clinicians may not be appropriately prepared to assess a client’s suicide risk. Numerous models and theories explain and assess suicidal ideation. In 2009, Thomas Joiner and his colleagues proposed the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide (IPT), which focused on three main factors strongly supported by research over the preceding decade. The present study utilized a nonconcurrent, multiple-baseline, multiple-probe design as well as a one-group pretest–posttest design to examine the impact of an IPT-based training model. Participants were preservice mental health clinicians currently enrolled in Master’s degree programs. Participants completed assessments on IPT knowledge and suicide-assessment self-efficacy, and results from this study indicated a significant increase in knowledge after completion of the training, as well as a slight decrease in self-efficacy. This study suggests that suicide-assessment training, even when done remotely, can increase suicide-assessment knowledge. Future research should explore preservice mental health clinicians’ self-efficacy as well as those factors influencing the confidence these professionals feel in their assessments of risk.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: The Role of Locus on Control and Internet Use

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17196985 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (19) ◽

pp. 6985

Author(s):

Rannveig Sigurvinsdottir ◽

Ingibjorg E. Thorisdottir ◽

Haukur Freyr Gylfason

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Locus Of Control ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Internet Use ◽

Online Survey ◽

The United States ◽

The Internet ◽

Symptoms Of Depression ◽

The Impact

The true extent of the mental health implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are unclear, but early evidence suggests poorer mental health among those exposed to the pandemic. The Internet may have differential effects, by both connecting people with resources, or reinforce the constant checking of negative information. Moreover, locus of control becomes important in an uncontrollable pandemic. The current study aimed to examine whether exposure to COVID-19 would relate to greater symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and to examine the role of internet use and locus of control. Adults in the United States and five European countries (N = 1723) answered an online survey through the website Mturk. Results show elevated psychological symptoms among those who have become infected with COVID-19 or perceive themselves to be at high risk if infected. Experience using the Internet relates to fewer symptoms, but information seeking is associated with more symptoms. Internet social capital relates to fewer symptoms of depression. Having an external locus of control relates to greater symptoms. These findings suggest that public health officials need to focus on the mental health effects of the pandemic, and that internet use and locus of control could be targets to improve mental health in the population.

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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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Psychological distress among Bhutanese refugees living in the northeast region of the United States

Journal of Refugee Studies ◽

10.1093/jrs/feab025 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ramraj Gautam ◽

Jason Rydberg ◽

Ivy Ho ◽

Bhola Siwakoti ◽

William Chadbourne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

United States ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Negative Binomial ◽

Negative Binomial Regression ◽

The United States ◽

Future Research ◽

Related Factors ◽

Bhutanese Refugees ◽

The Impact

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of psychological distress among adult Bhutanese refugees living in the United States. We recruited 376 adult Bhutanese refugees living in the northeast US region, the majority of whom were employed, married men in their 40 s who were US citizens. Using Bayesian Negative Binomial Regression modelling, we examined the impact of sociodemographic measures, health status and refugee integration measures on psychological distress outcomes. The most common predictors of depression, stress and anxiety were social connection deficits and self-reported health conditions. Other associated factors included: health access deficits, number of years living in the US, paid employment, citizenship and living in more than one US city. The findings of our study revealed that mental health outcomes in this subset of the population of Bhutanese refugees are impacted by a variety of social and health related factors. Public policy makers and practitioners need to recognize the complex issues affecting mental health of Bhutanese refugees. Advocacy for expanded culturally congruent policies and evidence based mental health services are recommended. Future research needs to examine culturally relevant concepts and measures related to mental health and integration in this population.

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Masculinity and Depression: A Longitudinal Investigation of Multidimensional Masculine Norms Among College Men

American Journal of Men s Health ◽

10.1177/1557988318785549 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 1873-1881 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Derek K. Iwamoto ◽

Jennifer Brady ◽

Aylin Kaya ◽

Athena Park

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

College Men ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

First Year ◽

Multiple Sexual Partners ◽

Masculine Norms ◽

First Year College

The transition from high school to college represents a pivotal developmental period that may result in significant maladjustment for first-year college men. Men may feel pressured to “prove” their masculinity by engaging in traditional masculine behaviors that could be negative for their overall well-being. Although adherence to multidimensional masculine norms has been associated with poorer mental health, no studies have examined the role of masculine norms on prospective depressive symptoms among first-year college men. Examining college men’s adherence to multidimensional masculine norms longitudinally can offer a promising theoretical framework to explain within-group variability in depression symptomatology. The sample included 322 men from the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Masculine norms were assessed during the beginning of their first year of college. Depressive symptomatology was assessed 6 months after the first wave of data collection. Masculine norms were positively and negatively related to prospective depression scores, such that men who endorsed the masculine norms of Self-Reliance, Playboy (i.e., desire to have multiple sexual partners), and Violence, had heightened risk, whereas men who endorsed Winning and Power Over Women were less likely to report depressive symptomatology. Distinct masculine norms appear to confer risk for depression while other norms appear to be protective. This study was the first to examine the role of multidimensional masculine norms on prospective depressive symptomatology among college men. The results suggest that practitioners working with men should consider assessing their clients’ adherence to distinct masculine norms and explore how these might be impacting their current mental health.

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Role of pharmacist during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

10.1101/2020.06.30.20143859 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marília Berlofa Visacri ◽

Isabel Vitória Figueiredo ◽

Tácio de Mendonça Lima

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Data Extraction ◽

The United States ◽

Pharmacist Intervention ◽

Future Research ◽

Patient Counseling ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Satisfactory Description ◽

The Impact

AbstractBackgroundSince the start of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in December 2019, pharmacists worldwide are playing a key role adopting innovative strategies to minimize the adverse impact of the pandemic.ObjectivesTo identify and describe core services provided by the pharmacist during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA literature search was performed in MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and LILACS for studies published between December 1st, 2019 and May 20th, 2020 without language restriction. Studies that reported services provided by pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic were included. Two independent authors performed study selection and data extraction with a consensus process. The pharmacist’s intervention identified in the included studies were described based on key domains in the DEPICT v.2.ResultsA total of 1,189 records were identified, of which 11 studies fully met the eligibility criteria. Most of them were conducted in the United States of America (n=4) and China (n=4). The most common type of publication were letters (n=4) describing the workplace of the pharmacist in hospitals (n=8). These findings showed the different roles of pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as disease prevention and infection control, adequate storage and drug supply, patient care and support for healthcare professionals. Pharmacists’ interventions were mostly conducted for healthcare professionals and patients (n=7), through one-to-one contact (n=11), telephone (n=6) or video conference (n=5). The pharmacists’ main responsibility was to provide drug information for healthcare professionals (n=7) as well as patient counseling (n=8).ConclusionsA reasonable number of studies that described the role of the pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic were found. All studies reported actions taken by pharmacists, although without providing a satisfactory description. Thus, future research with more detailed description as well as an evaluation of the impact of pharmacist intervention is needed in order to guide future actions in this and-or other pandemic.

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Social Capital, Altruistic Behavior, and Mental Health

The Oxford Handbook of Integrative Health Science ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190676384.013.36 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 190-200

Author(s):

Takeo Fujiwara ◽

Carol D. Ryff

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Capital ◽

The United States ◽

Altruistic Behavior ◽

Future Research ◽

Health It ◽

Data Set ◽

The Family ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

The Impact

Social capital matters for health, but issues of causal directionality and underlying mechanisms are not well understood. It is widely known that receiving social support is good for health, although few studies have investigated the impact of showing caring, altruistic behaviors on health of the provider. Further, as the family is a core component of society, altruistic behaviors toward children may be a unique context for evaluating the impact of such caring on the mental health of parents. This chapter provides a brief overview of prior research on social capital, altruism, and health. It then describes a series of studies conducted with the Midlife in the United States data set, including longitudinal and twin analyses, to examine the impact of altruistic behaviors on various mental health outcomes. The impact of altruistic behaviors toward children on the mental health of parents and grandparents is also considered. The chapter concludes with suggested directions for future research.

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Respiratory Syncytial Virus–associated Acute Otitis Media in Infants and Children

Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society ◽

10.1093/jpids/piaa094 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 544-550

Author(s):

Matthew Phillips ◽

Lyn Finelli ◽

Lisa Saiman ◽

Chengbin Wang ◽

Yoonyoung Choi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Syncytial Virus ◽

Otitis Media ◽

Acute Otitis Media ◽

The United States ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Strategies ◽

Syncytial Virus ◽

The Impact ◽

In Infants And Children

Abstract Despite recent declines in the incidence of acute otitis media (AOM), more than 5 million cases and 5–6 million primary AOM visits still occur in young children in the United States, resulting in $4.4 billion direct medical costs annually. Our aims in this review are to describe the role of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the etiology of AOM, discuss the prospect of prevention of RSV-associated AOM through immunization, and suggest future research strategies to assess the impact of immunization on RSV-associated AOM.

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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Religious (Dis)Affiliation and Depressive Symptomatology

Society and Mental Health ◽

10.1177/2156869317748713 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 214-230 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Matthew May

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

United States ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Religious Affiliation ◽

The United States ◽

Dropping Out ◽

Life Study ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time

Religious affiliation is generally associated with better mental health. The nonreligious, however, currently constitute one of the fastest-growing religious categories in the United States. Since most of the nonreligious were raised in religious homes, their growth raises important questions about the mental health of those who consider dropping out of religion. In this article, I use longitudinal data from the Portraits of American Life Study to examine the impact of religious affiliation on mental health. Specifically, I compare individuals who dropped out of religion (leavers) with individuals who considered dropping out (stayers) and individuals who are more consistent in their religious (stable affiliates) and nonreligious (stable Nones) affiliations. I find that stayers experience more depressive symptoms than any other group and that they experience a greater increase in depressive symptoms over time. My findings are consistent with identity theories in sociology, and they provide evidence that a strong religious or secular identity is an important contributor to mental health.

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A Silenced Population

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000470 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (6) ◽

pp. 433-442 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kim Gryglewicz ◽

Melanie Bozzay ◽

Brittany Arthur-Jordon ◽

Gabriela D. Romero ◽

Melissa Witmeier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

The United States ◽

Future Research ◽

At Risk Youth ◽

Peer Relationship ◽

Student Records ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Method Student

Abstract. Background: Given challenges that exceed the normal developmental requirements of adolescence, deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) youth are believed to be at elevated risk for engaging in suicide-related behavior (SRB). Unfortunately, little is known about the mechanisms that put these youth potentially at risk. Aims: To determine whether peer relationship difficulties are related to increased risk of SRB in DHH youth. Method: Student records (n = 74) were retrieved from an accredited educational center for deaf and blind students in the United States. Results: Peer relationship difficulties were found to be significantly associated with engagement in SRB but not when accounting for depressive symptomatology. Limitations: The restricted sample limits generalizability. Conclusions regarding risk causation cannot be made due to the cross-sectional nature of the study. Conclusion: These results suggest the need for future research that examines the mechanisms of the relationship between peer relationship difficulties, depression, and suicide risk in DHH youth and potential preventive interventions to ameliorate the risks for these at-risk youth.

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