ABSTRACT This article discusses the foundations of a new direction in psychiatry: gerontopsychiatry. It outlines the challenges, research methods, scientific and clinical approaches, and the most common mental disorders in old age.
Burden of care is a complex construct. A gender approach could help to a further understanding of the process. However, previous publications give us inconclusive data. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of gender and other factors in the burden experienced by relatives of people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. A sample of 93 Mediterranean Caucasian caregivers (70% women) of 61 patients (87% men) responded to a structured interview and to the Spanish version of Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). The ZBI showed a 0.872 Cronbach α-coefficient. The best factorial solution included five main components explaining 62% of the variance. Of caregivers, 89% showed high levels of burden. Burden ZBI scores (from highest to lowest) accounted for: worries about patient's future, strain, interference with privacy, lack of resources and feelings of rejection towards the patient. Global burden was not associated with carer's gender but it was significant with patients' gender (p = 0.025). There were significant differences in caregiver's gender in items 'Health' (p = 0.020) and 'Loss of life control' (p = 0.027). Burden suffered by female patients' caregivers was 13 points higher (95%CI: 2–24%). In conclusion, in our sample, few relatives escaped from emotional distress and patient's gender influenced the results.
The Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire-Community Version Brief (PEDQ-CVB) is a widely used brief multidimensional measure of general racial discrimination for both students and community populations. We evaluated the factor structure and measurement equivalency of the PEDQ-CVB across diverse racial/ethnic and gender groups. The groups in the current study were Black (N = 306), Asian (N = 310), Latinx (N = 163), multiracial (N = 108), women (N = 555), and men (N = 372). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and test of competing models suggested that the four-factor and bifactor (with four specific factors and one general factor) models were best fitting and most conceptually meaningful. Based on the bifactor model, the PEDQ-CVB could be represented unidimensionally (total scale score) for applied measurement. Multi-group CFAs found evidence of measurement invariance for configural, metric, and scalar models across racial/ethnic and gender groups, suggesting that men and women, and individuals self-identifying as Black, Asian, Latinx and multiracial, interpreted PEDQ-CVB items in a similar fashion. Our findings substantiate the utility of the PEDQ-CVB as a brief general measure of racial/ethnic discrimination and the validity of results from prior studies that used the PEDQ-CVB. Study limitations and future directions for research are discussed.
This study examined the double jeopardy effect of perceived discrimination and lack of parental support on depression among adolescents of immigrant parents in the United States. Two complementary hypotheses were tested. The first hypothesis postulates the independent effects of perceived discrimination and lack of parental support, and the second hypothesis postulates that perceived discrimination and lack of parental support jointly affect perceived depression in such a way that children of immigrants who felt discriminated and did not have parental support experienced a significantly higher level of perceived depression than those who felt discriminated but had parental support. The data of this study came from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CIL), 1991–2005. The study’s sample consisted of 4110 adolescents who completed the interviews in 1992 and 1995. Ordinary least square regression was used to test the hypotheses. The results supported the study’s hypotheses, suggesting that adolescents of immigrant parents who experienced discrimination and lacked parental support suffered from a significantly higher level of perceived depression. Implications for formal and informal social services are discussed.
In Canada, high rates of anxiety, depression and suicides have resulted in mental health crises in First Nation (FN) communities. To date, Indigenous worldviews and approaches have not been fully heeded in mainstream strategies to address the complexity of living in colonial oppression, despite ongoing crises for decades. We describe perspectives of eight FN communities explaining cultural facilitators of mental wellbeing. The objective is to promote understanding of wellbeing in the context of sociocultural realities of FN communities and elaborate community-based practices. Qualitative methods involved FN partners in study design, implementation and data interpretation processes. Local research assistants collected data in all participating communities. Respondents were purposefully selected, Elders were recommended based on their knowledge of FN cultures and traditional wellness practices and awareness of health and social issues in respective communities. Results challenge specific histories of dispossession and assaults on community, language, identity, Elders, family; traditional healing practices emerged as important in enhancing mental wellbeing among FN. Culturally informed approaches aim to restore balance and harmony as pre-requisite to health. A framework based on the voices of FN in Manitoba is proposed for achieving mental wellbeing by and for FN people as an integral part of primary healthcare.
