Title:
African American mental health care: the role of religion and mastery
Author:
Laché Wilkins
Thesis Advisor:
Sharon Green-Hennessy
Committee Member:
Mary Jo Coiro
Committee Member:
Matthew W. Kirkhart
Committee Member:
Frank D. Golom
Committee Member:
Stephen E. Fowl
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola Univeristy Maryland
Date Created:
2021
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
A large proportion of African Americans report seeking informal sources of support while experiencing distress, defined as lifetime experience with nervousness, nervous breakdown, or depression. This study aims to determine how endorsement of mastery and level of religious participation are associated with exclusive use of informal mental health care among African Americans in distress. Specifically, it investigates if higher levels of mastery and religious participation increase the likelihood that African Americans will utilize exclusive informal mental health care. In this context, informal mental health care is defined as care sought outside of trained medical or mental health professionals.To answer this question, data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) was analyzed to determine level of mastery, religious participation, and mental health care sought among African American and non-Hispanic White adults (N = 2,983). NSAL was a nationally representative study conducted between February 2001 and March 2003 that was designed to examine the conditions of Black American lives including the mental, physical, and emotional components. The study was part of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Survey (CPES) initiative. The results showed that African Americans experiencing psychological distress had greater odds of employing exclusive informal mental health care as compared to non-Hispanic Whites. When potential predictors of exclusive informal mental health care were examined among African Americans reporting distress, mastery and level of religious participation were not significantly associated with exclusive informal care utilization.
Subject:
African Americans--Mental health
Subject:
African Americans--Religious practices
Subject:
Mental health services
Subject:
Mental health services--Religious aspects
Subject:
Religion
Subject:
Academic theses
Degree:
Master of Science
Level:
Master
Discipline:
Clinical Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
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Identifier:
WilkinsL-21
