Title:
Impact of acculturation on mental health stigma in Bosnian immigrants and refugees
Author:
Dina Kulenovic
Thesis Advisor:
Charles T. LoPresto
Committee Member:
Matthew W. Kirkhart
Committee Member:
Amanda M. Thomas
Committee Member:
Sharon Green-Henessy
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2016
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
Stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors toward mental illness have been evidenced across cultures, providing insight into the perception and treatment of mental illness within individual cultures. Western nations, particularly those that host a variety of cultures, are seemingly more tolerant of individuals with mental illness. For providers in countries that are populated by immigrants and refugees, studies of acculturation and its impact on individuals' help-seeking behaviors have attempted to increase competence in culturally sensitive treatment. Research within the United States shows foreign-born or first-born minority populations to experience the greatest discord with American health ideology and practice in comparison to later generations. Missing from the literature is an examination of how acculturation impacts existing knowledge and behavior toward mental illness, separate from conclusions drawn secondarily to help-seeking behavior. Using a non-experimental design, this study examined the impact of acculturation on mental health ideology among Bosnian immigrants and refugees. The present study utilized a sample of 117 Bosnian immigrants and refugees in the United States. Participants completed a survey assessing their knowledge of mental illness, their attitudes toward individuals with mental illness, their acceptance of individuals with mental illness, their level of acculturation to United States and Bosnian culture, as well as their level of psychological distress. Results revealed that Bosnian immigrants and refugees exhibited significantly greater knowledge about mental illness and significantly less stigmatizing behavior than Bosnians who continue to reside in Bosnia. Acculturation was not found to impact these changes among the immigrant and refugee population. Both populations consisted of equally small percentages of individuals who had actively sought mental health treatment in the past. These findings were consistent with historical and cultural characteristics of this population as a whole. This study is the first to examine how acculturation impacts existing knowledge and behavior toward mental illness, separate from conclusions drawn secondarily to help-seeking behavior. The findings offer preliminary information about mental health ideology and the respective acculturative process among Bosnian immigrants and refugees. Additionally, they provide a foundation from which treatment providers can tailor their services to these individuals.
Degree:
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
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Identifier:
KulenovicD-16
