African American Men and Women’s Attitude Toward Mental Illness, Perceptions of Stigma, and Preferred Coping Behaviors

Abstract

Background Although research focused on African Americans with mental illness has been increasing, few researchers have addressed gender and age differences in beliefs, attitudes, and coping. Objective To examine African Americans' beliefs about mental illness, attitudes toward seeking mental health services, preferred coping behaviors, and whether these variables differ by gender and age. Method An exploratory, cross-sectional survey design was used. Participants were 272 community-dwelling African Americans aged 25-72 years. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and general linear regression models. Results Depression was the most common mental illness and there were no gender differences in prevalence. Both men and women believed they knew some of the symptoms and causal factors of mental illness. Their attitudes suggested they are not very open to acknowledging psychological problems, are very concerned about stigma associated with mental illness, and are somewhat open to seeking mental health services, but they prefer religious coping. Significant gender and age differences were evident in attitudes and preferred coping. Discussion Our findings have implications for gender and age-specific psychoeducation interventions and future research. For instance, psychoeducation or community awareness programs designed to increase openness to psychological problems and reducing stigma are needed. Also, exploration of partnerships between faith-based organizations and mental health services could be helpful to African Americans.

Investigating institutional abuse survivors’ help-seeking attitudes with the Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services

“…Mackenzie, Gekoski, & Knox, 2006; ten Have et al, 2010) and being Caucasian (Ward, Wiltshire, Detry, & Brown, 2013) was correlated with more favourable attitudes. Young adults were reported to have less positive attitudes towards seeking professional help than older adults (Gonzalez, Alegria, & Prihoda, 2005; Robb, Haley, Becker, Polivka, & Chwa, 2003).…”

“…IASMHS has been used to investigate attitudes in college students (Mackenzie et al, 2004; Mojaverian, Hashimoto, & Kim, 2012; Wahto & Swift, 2016; Yousaf, Popat, & Hunter, 2015), adolescents (Munson, Floersch, & Townsend, 2010), older adults (Kessler, Agines, & Bowen, 2014), psychotherapy clients (Elkins, Swift, & Campbell, 2016), and specific ethnic groups: Alaska natives (Freitas-Murrell & Swift, 2015), South Asians (Loya, Reddy, & Hinshaw, 2010), Chinese immigrants (Tieu & Konnert, 2014), and African Americans (Ward et al, 2013; Watson & Hunter, 2015). Only a few studies screened for mental disorders (Mackenzie et al, 2006; Mesidor & Sly, 2014; Munson et al, 2010; Troeung, Gasson, & Egan, 2015; Ward et al, 2013; Watson & Hunter, 2015) and intentions to (or actual) mental health service use (Freitas-Murrell & Swift, 2015; James & Buttle, 2008; Martin & Howe, 2016; Tieu & Konnert, 2014).…”

“…Only a few studies screened for mental disorders (Mackenzie et al, 2006; Mesidor & Sly, 2014; Munson et al, 2010; Troeung, Gasson, & Egan, 2015; Ward et al, 2013; Watson & Hunter, 2015) and intentions to (or actual) mental health service use (Freitas-Murrell & Swift, 2015; James & Buttle, 2008; Martin & Howe, 2016; Tieu & Konnert, 2014). Two studies considered both mental disorders and intentions to/or actual mental health service use (Mackenzie et al, 2006; Mesidor & Sly, 2014).…”

Recognizing disordered eating in primary care patients with obesity

“…This finding may reflect a true difference in eating behaviors across racial and ethnic groups or alternatively, or it may reflect a downward bias in reporting due to stigma around mental health issues in the African-American community. 37 Compared with Caucasians, both African-Americans and Hispanics were more likely to report cognitive restraint independently of BMI. These interesting racial differences may be important to consider in the context of obesity treatment and merit exploration in future studies.…”

Stigma of mental illness and multicultural counseling self-efficacy : investigating the implications of the multicultural training environment, mental health literacy, and empathy.

“…Ward, Wiltshire, Detry, and Brown (2013) found among a sample of 272 African American men (n = 158) and women (n = 114) between the ages of 25 and 72, that participants were reluctant to disclose psychological problems and were very concerned about the stigma associated with a mental illness, but were somewhat open to seeking mental health services. This finding is in contrast with previous literature that suggested that African Americans tend to have negative views toward mental health treatment-seeking (Gary, 2005).…”