Mental health of elderly Asians in Britain: a comparison of Hindus from nuclear and extended families of differing cultural identities

Abstract

Objective. To compare the psychological adjustment of grandmothers from nuclear and extended families within British Hindu communities, and to investigate the influence of cultural identity. Design. Interviews were carried out with Hindu grandmothers, mothers and granddaughters living in both nuclear and extended families. Setting. The sample was drawn from the total population of Asian Hindu girls aged between 13 and 17 years at four comprehensive schools in the London Borough of Redbridge. Participants. The final sample consisted of 36 and 34 sets of individuals in extended and nuclear families, respectively. Measures. Questionnaire measures were obtained of the following variables: cultural integrity, traditionalism, religious participation, ethnic identity, anxiety, depression, self‐esteem. Results. Grandmothers were better adjusted in extended families than in nuclear families. This adjustment was in part mediated by the level of traditional belief within the family. Elders whose granddaughters had an exclusively ‘Indian’ or ‘Hindu’ ethnic identity were better adjusted than those whose granddaughters included a ‘British’ ethnic identity. Conclusions. This study confirmed findings from earlier studies that grandmothers in extended families were significantly better adjusted in comparison to those from nuclear families. Ethnic identity of the adolescent, independent of its salience and commitment to the adolescent, had a significant relationship to the grandmother's mental health. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Religiosity/Spirituality and Mental Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

“…A general description of the included cross-sectional and case-control studies that investigated religiosity is provided in Table 1 . Religiosity was examined in one-hundred two studies ( 15 – 35 , 46 , 58 – 85 , 87 – 90 , 92 – 124 , 126 – 136 ) that investigated 79,918 institutionalized, hospitalized, and community-dwellers with a mean age of ~73 years (from 60 to 90.3 years). Hospitalized patients included people with cancer, depression, and anxiety.…”

“…The association between self-esteem and RS was investigated in three studies. Guglani et al ( 126 ) examined Asian Hindu grandmothers who lived in London and observed that religious participation was not significantly associated with self-esteem. Similar results were found by Krause et al ( 133 ), who noted no effects of NORA and ORA on self-esteem.…”

Religiosity/Spirituality and Mental Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

“…A general description of the included cross-sectional and case-control studies that investigated religiosity is provided in Table 1 . Religiosity was examined in one-hundred two studies ( 15 – 35 , 46 , 58 – 85 , 87 – 90 , 92 – 124 , 126 – 136 ) that investigated 79,918 institutionalized, hospitalized, and community-dwellers with a mean age of ~73 years (from 60 to 90.3 years). Hospitalized patients included people with cancer, depression, and anxiety.…”

“…The association between self-esteem and RS was investigated in three studies. Guglani et al ( 126 ) examined Asian Hindu grandmothers who lived in London and observed that religious participation was not significantly associated with self-esteem. Similar results were found by Krause et al ( 133 ), who noted no effects of NORA and ORA on self-esteem.…”

Prevalence of Occult Depression in Elderly With Chronic Co - Morbids

“…13 Thus, the supportive role of young population towards their parents is essential. It has been observed that compassionate relations within a family lower the disease rates and the ill effects especially depression 14,15 .  Depression if left untreated is associated with poor quality of life.…”

Explanatory models of common mental disorders among South Asians in high-income countries: A systematic review

“…Our results highlighted that one of the most significant issues described was conflict arising from cultural differences within families, especially between first-generation parents and their second-generation children or grandchildren. Similarly, in a recent study, it was found that grandmothers with granddaughters who considered themselves "Hindu" or "Indian" over British, had better psychological adjustment scores (Guglani et al, 2000). Second-generation children, meanwhile, have the pressure of balancing their family culture and their host country's culture, which can lead to heightened levels of stress and anxiety (Shariff, 2009).…”

Religiosity/Spirituality and Mental Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

“…A general description of the included cross-sectional and case-control studies that investigated religiosity is provided in Table 1 . Religiosity was examined in one-hundred two studies ( 15 – 35 , 46 , 58 – 85 , 87 – 90 , 92 – 124 , 126 – 136 ) that investigated 79,918 institutionalized, hospitalized, and community-dwellers with a mean age of ~73 years (from 60 to 90.3 years). Hospitalized patients included people with cancer, depression, and anxiety.…”

“…The association between self-esteem and RS was investigated in three studies. Guglani et al ( 126 ) examined Asian Hindu grandmothers who lived in London and observed that religious participation was not significantly associated with self-esteem. Similar results were found by Krause et al ( 133 ), who noted no effects of NORA and ORA on self-esteem.…”

Prevalence of Occult Depression in Elderly With Chronic Co - Morbids

“…13 Thus, the supportive role of young population towards their parents is essential. It has been observed that compassionate relations within a family lower the disease rates and the ill effects especially depression 14,15 .  Depression if left untreated is associated with poor quality of life.…”

Explanatory models of common mental disorders among South Asians in high-income countries: A systematic review

“…Our results highlighted that one of the most significant issues described was conflict arising from cultural differences within families, especially between first-generation parents and their second-generation children or grandchildren. Similarly, in a recent study, it was found that grandmothers with granddaughters who considered themselves "Hindu" or "Indian" over British, had better psychological adjustment scores (Guglani et al, 2000). Second-generation children, meanwhile, have the pressure of balancing their family culture and their host country's culture, which can lead to heightened levels of stress and anxiety (Shariff, 2009).…”

Religiosity/Spirituality and Mental Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

“…A general description of the included cross-sectional and case-control studies that investigated religiosity is provided in Table 1 . Religiosity was examined in one-hundred two studies ( 15 – 35 , 46 , 58 – 85 , 87 – 90 , 92 – 124 , 126 – 136 ) that investigated 79,918 institutionalized, hospitalized, and community-dwellers with a mean age of ~73 years (from 60 to 90.3 years). Hospitalized patients included people with cancer, depression, and anxiety.…”

“…The association between self-esteem and RS was investigated in three studies. Guglani et al ( 126 ) examined Asian Hindu grandmothers who lived in London and observed that religious participation was not significantly associated with self-esteem. Similar results were found by Krause et al ( 133 ), who noted no effects of NORA and ORA on self-esteem.…”

Prevalence of Occult Depression in Elderly With Chronic Co - Morbids

“…13 Thus, the supportive role of young population towards their parents is essential. It has been observed that compassionate relations within a family lower the disease rates and the ill effects especially depression 14,15 .  Depression if left untreated is associated with poor quality of life.…”

Explanatory models of common mental disorders among South Asians in high-income countries: A systematic review

“…Our results highlighted that one of the most significant issues described was conflict arising from cultural differences within families, especially between first-generation parents and their second-generation children or grandchildren. Similarly, in a recent study, it was found that grandmothers with granddaughters who considered themselves "Hindu" or "Indian" over British, had better psychological adjustment scores (Guglani et al, 2000). Second-generation children, meanwhile, have the pressure of balancing their family culture and their host country's culture, which can lead to heightened levels of stress and anxiety (Shariff, 2009).…”