Older African American women's lived experiences with depression and coping behaviours

Abstract

Little is known about older African American women’s lived experiences with depression. What does depression mean to this group? What are they doing about their depression? Unfortunately, these questions are unanswered. This study examined older African American women’s lived experiences with depression and coping behaviours. The common sense model provided the theoretical framework for present study. Thirteen community-dwelling African American women aged 60 and older (M =71 years) participated. Using qualitative phenomenological data analysis, results showed the women held beliefs about factors that can cause depression including experiences of trauma, poverty, and disempowerment. Results also indicated the women believed that depression is a normal reaction to life circumstances and did not see the need to seek professional treatment for depression. They coped by use of culturally-sanctioned behaviours including religious practices and resilience. It appears these women’s beliefs about depression and use of culturally-sanctioned coping behaviours might potentially be a barrier to seeking professional mental health care, which could result in missed opportunities for early diagnosis and treatment of depression among this group. Implications for research, educational and clinical interventions are discussed.

Sustained Obesity and Depressive Symptoms over 6 Years: Race by Gender Differences in the Health and Retirement Study

“…However, Teti et al found that Black men who tackled challenges such as racism, incarceration, and unemployment demonstrated resilience amid these stressors (Teti et al, 2012). It has also been found that Black women exhibited resilience in spite of traumatic experiences (Henderson et al, 2015) and in order to cope with depression (Ward et al, 2014). It is this resilience among Blacks that allows this population to thrive and remain optimistic, thus resulting in better mental health outcomes than their counterparts.…”

“…Across all age cohorts, family satisfaction and contact with friends were found to be the most important contributing factors of general life satisfaction for Blacks (Adams and Jackson, 2000). Black-White differences may be due to culture, which shapes resilience (Keyes, 2009; Teti et al, 2012; Ward et al, 2014; Henderson et al, 2015), body image and perception (Altintas et al, 2014; Coy et al, 2014; Das and Evans, 2014; Stephen and Perera, 2014; Webb et al, 2014b; Laus et al, 2015), and social support (Adams and Jackson, 2000), all influencing mental health. Culture is a powerful influence on health outcomes as described by Kitayama et al in the cultural moderation hypothesis (Park et al, 2013).…”

“…Despite a disproportionately higher level of stress, chronic disease, and low socioeconomic status associated with their minority status (Williams, 1999; Franks et al, 2006; Gold et al, 2006), Blacks seem to have a higher chance of thriving despite all their environmental adversities, as evidenced by better mental health (Teti et al, 2012; Ward et al, 2014). Continuous exposure to adversities may have resulted in a systematic resilience for Blacks that help them maintain psychological well-being, even in the presence of new difficulties.…”

Perceived discrimination and health-related quality-of-life: gender differences among older African Americans

“…Given various forms of oppression (disempowerment, racism and sexism), older women could have long histories of experiencing perceived discrimination, which potentially can increase their risk for poor mental health. For example, Ward, Mengesha & Issa [15] found that older women in their study believed oppression is a direct cause of depression. Although we were unable to directly examine this issue in the current study, previous longitudinal research involving African-American women has shown that increased levels of discrimination were related to increased levels of depression and declines in self-reported health over time [56].…”

“…Also, increased attention has been given to perceived discrimination and its effects on health outcomes. In recent research, African-American adults believe racial discrimination and issues of oppression increase their risk for depression [14, 15]. Notably, perceived discrimination has been associated with a wide range of poor mental and physical health outcomes [16, 17], although mixed findings are reported as well [18–20].…”