The Mental Health of the Childless Elderly

The substantial number of childless elderly in Canada and the United States raises important concerns about the nature of their family support, as well as their psychological well-being. Although the (mixed) effects of childlessness on the mental health of the elderly are well documented in the literature, little is known about the social distribution of psychological distress and depression within this population: how well the childless elderly live, the status of their mental health, and what factors affect their psychological well-being are all crucial questions that remain unanswered. This paper utilizes Pearlin et al.'s (1981) stress process model to examine psychological distress and depression among the childless elderly. Our empirical analysis uses a nationally representative sample of childless individuals aged 55 and over ( N = 2,311) from the 1996-1997 National Population Health Survey (NPHS), and generalized linear model (GLM) techniques. Generally, our results support the stress process model. We find that individual-level stressors exert a strong and consistently negative impact on psychological distress and depression. We also find significant buffering effects of (perceived) social support.     

Mistreatment and Self-Reported Emotional Symptoms: Results From the National Elder Mistreatment Study

Many community-residing older adults in the United States report past year mistreatment; however, little is known about mental health correlates of abuse. This study investigated whether a recent history of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse is associated with self-reported emotional symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression) among a representative sample of older adults. Results demonstrated that each abuse type increased likelihood of reporting emotional symptoms; when other known correlates were controlled, only emotional abuse remained a significant predictor. Additional study of mistreatment-related correlates of depression and anxiety is needed, with a focus on the often overlooked category of emotional mistreatment.     

Mistreatment and self-reported emotional symptoms: results from the National Elder Mistreatment Study

Many community-residing older adults in the United States report past year mistreatment; however, little is known about mental health correlates of abuse. This study investigated whether a recent history of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse is associated with self-reported emotional symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression) among a representative sample of older adults. Results demonstrated that each abuse type increased likelihood of reporting emotional symptoms; when other known correlates were controlled, only emotional abuse remained a significant predictor. Additional study of mistreatment-related correlates of depression and anxiety is needed, with a focus on the often overlooked category of emotional mistreatment.     

Adaptation to Parenthood During the Post-Adoption Period: A Review of the Literature

Substantial research has been conducted on new parents’ adjustment during the transition to biological parenthood. However, very little is known about adjustment experiences during the transition to adoptive parenthood. Such information could assist in creating support systems for adoptive parents similar to those that currently exist for biological parents. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine individual and relational adjustment outcomes during the transition to adoptive parenthood, limited to those studies that examined the immediate post-adoption period through 3 years post-placement. By searching six databases using a variety of keywords including post-adoption, adapt, and parent, 11 research studies were identified that reported on parental mental health, physical health, and intimate partner relationship satisfaction in the immediate post-adoption period. The studies reviewed appear to indicate that post-adoption depression is relatively common, although perhaps less so than depression among biological parents. It is difficult to draw conclusions about physical health and relationship satisfaction as only one study directly assessing each outcome was located. Findings suggest that additional research is warranted to provide a clearer characterization of physical and psychological adaptation to parenthood among adoptive parents.     

Raising network resources while raising children? Access to social capital by parenthood status,gender, and marital status

Does raising non-adult children facilitate or restrict access to social capital as network resources? Using data from a national sample of adults in the United States, I do not find evidence for the direct effect of parenthood on the three dimensions of social capital (diversity, extensity, and quality), but instead I find evidence for its interaction effects on the quality of social capital. There is marginal evidence that parenthood status is associated with the quality of social capital positively for men but negatively for women. There is evidence that parenthood status is associated with the quality of social capital positively for the married but negatively for the unmarried. Also parenthood status is associated with the quality of social capital negatively for unmarried women but positively for the other three gender-marital groups, in particular unmarried men. These findings suggest the structural interplay of parenthood status with gender and marital status, and indicate the motherhood penalty, the fatherhood premium, the single-parenthood penalty, the married-parenthood premium, and the single-motherhood penalty in reaching higher-quality, rather than more diverse and extensive, social capital.     

Parenthood,Gender and Work‐Family Time in the United States,Australia, Italy,France, and Denmark

Research has associated parenthood with greater daily time commitments for fathers and mothers than for childless men and women, and with deeper gendered division of labor in households. How do these outcomes vary across countries with different average employment hours, family and social policies, and cultural attitudes to family care provision? Using nationally representative time‐use data from the United States, Australia, Italy, France, and Denmark (N = 5,337), we compare the paid and unpaid work of childless partnered adults and parents of young children in each country. Couples were matched (except for the United States). We found parents have higher, less gender‐equal workloads than nonparents in all five countries, but overall time commitments and the difference by parenthood status were most pronounced in the United States and Australia.     

Moving Up and Down the Ladder: Perceived Social Mobility and Emotional Dispositions Among South Florida's Immigrants

Migrating to a new country is often associated with difficulties such as social isolation, financial strain, language barriers, and cultural differences. Less is known about how social mobility brought about by migration may be related to the emotional dispositions of immigrants (also referred to as subjective well‐being). To examine this relationship, we utilize data from a representative sample of 1,268 first‐generation immigrants from 80 different countries living in South Florida. Changes in perceived social mobility between the homeland and the United States—moving up and down the socioeconomic ladder—are indeed associated with differences in immigrants' negative dispositions. We draw from literature on expectations, social comparisons, and subjective class status to explain these findings. We do not find a statistically significant association between changes in socioeconomic status and positive dispositions, which may suggest that losses outweigh migration‐related gains. Additionally, findings reveal that nondominant groups fare worse than Cubans (the dominant group in the region) with regard to dispositions. Social comparisons to the dominant ethnic group may explain this, as well as perceptions of relative deprivation experienced by groups not favored by immigration policies and underrepresented in social and economic institutions. We conclude by discussing implications on how negative emotional dispositions represent risk factors that could affect immigrants' mental health.     

African American caregivers' resources for support: Implications for children's perceived support from their caregiver

School-aged children often turn to their primary caregiver, such as a mother, father, or other close relative, for support in dealing with difficult situations. This cross-sectional, school-based study examined whether urban, lower-income African American caregivers' stressful life events, affective symptoms, and perceived support from their social network were associated with their children's perceptions of support from and conflict with the caregiver. Forty-six African American children aged 8–12 years and a primary caregiver were recruited from a partnering Midwestern United States elementary school and separately interviewed. Results showed that caregivers' report of greater support from their social network across a variety of domains was associated with children's report of greater instrumental support from their caregiver. Caregivers' report of greater attachment to members of their social network was associated with children's report of greater emotional support from their caregiver. Implications of findings for mental health promotion among children and families are discussed.     

Parents,friends, and depression: A multi-country study of adolescents in South Asia

PurposeThis study investigates the association between social support networks, as measured by parental involvement and close friendships, and depression among adolescents in South Asia.MethodsNationally representative samples of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16 + years (n = 16,592) from the Global School Based Health Surveys from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Myanmar were analyzed to provide prevalence rates of depression. Additionally, differences in past year depressive symptoms were compared cross-sectionally by social support from parents and friends, separately. This was done by computing prevalence ratios adjusting for potential confounders and demographic factors.ResultsOf all adolescent respondents in the study, 14.5% met the criteria to be screened for depression, while 50% reported having three or more close friends, and 80% reported having very involved parents. Adjusted prevalence ratios indicated that those with close friendships were much less likely to be screened for depressive symptoms compared to their counterparts, as were adolescents with very involved parents. However, low and moderate levels of parent involvement were not found to be significantly associated with adolescents' propensity for being screened for depressive.ConclusionSocial support is a social determinant of adolescent mental health in South Asia that has received little scholarly attention to date. This study highlights the importance of research and interventions involving parents and close friends in building programs for adolescents that target mental health.     

Promoting self-management of urinary incontinence in a geropsychiatric day treatment program

As the number of older adults in the United States increases, the number of older adults with mental illnesses also will increase. There will be a corresponding increase in prevalence of UI and its associated problems--medical problems, loss of independence or need for institutionalized care, diminished quality of life, and increased costs. Psychiatric nurses are in a position to help older adults with mental illnesses improve their overall health and quality of life by preventing the problems associated with untreated UI. Within their practice, psychiatric nurses have the opportunity to ensure clients receive the comprehensive assessments needed to establish their functional, physical, behavioral, emotional, and social support status--information that forms the foundation for developing individualized treatment interventions. Psychiatric nurses have the expertise to integrate physical and mental health care for older adults with mental illnesses and co-occurring conditions, such as UI. Promoting self-management of UI among older adults with mental illnesses potentially will enable them to participate in psychiatric rehabilitation programs; improve their overall health and quality of life; prevent falls and fractures that often cause them to lose their independent community living status and to be admitted to long-term care facilities; and reduce the cost to mental health care providers of managing UI in the treatment setting.     

Cross-national comparison of social support structures between Taiwan and the United States

The study compares the effects of structural bases and functional elements of social support on mental health in Taiwan and the United States, using the study conducted in the United States by Lin, Ye, and Ensel (1999) as a reference. Based on a nationally representative sample of Taiwanese adults (n = 2,835), a fundamental similarity in social support structure and function between the two countries was observed. First, the structural bases of social support had a hierarchical order in their effects on depression: Binding (presence of an intimate relationship) was the strongest in reducing depression, whereas belonging (community participation) was the weakest, with bonding (social networks) in between. Regarding the functional elements, perceived social support was a better protector of mental health than actual social support, a finding in line with previous research. On the other hand, several notable differences in the structural bases and functional elements of social support between the two societies were observed, possibly due to the differential cultural and historical characteristics.     

The Influence of Parent Expectations and Parent-Child Relationships on Mental Health in Asian American and White American Families

Previous studies have suggested that Asian parents’ high academic expectations can lead to negative mental health outcomes among Asian American youth. We explore this hypothesis by analyzing data collected in an affluent, suburban high school with a large Asian American population. We examine the relationships between parent expectations, students’ relationships with their parents, and mental health outcomes among Asian American (predominantly Indian American and Chinese American) and white youth. We find that the quality of parent-child relationships is associated with mental health outcomes and that the association between parent expectations and mental health outcomes is insignificant after controlling for these relationships. We discuss significant differences by race and gender. The findings presented expand our understanding of the influence of Asian parents. They suggest that focusing on improving parent-child relationships, as opposed to altering parents’ expectations, might lead to improved mental health outcomes for Asian American youth, particularly for those in affluent communities.     

ASSESSING THE PRIVATE SAFETY NET: Social Support among Minority Immigrant Parents

Traditional assimilation paradigms argue that immigrants are particularly disadvantaged in feelings of marginality and dislocation. Given these paradigms, we explore how minority and immigrant status are associated with perceptions of social support among parents of young children. We use the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), a nationally representative sample of children in kindergarten in 1998 and 1999. Most groups of minority immigrant parents, compared to their native-born white counterparts, report lower levels of perceived social support, and this gap persists even when demographic and socioeconomic characteristics are held constant. Additionally, English language ability, but not years spent in the United States, attenuates the disadvantages that Hispanic immigrant parents face in their perceptions of social support compared with white immigrant parents. Finally, Hispanic parents report substantial variation in their perceptions of social support by ethnicity. As social support is an important predictor of parents' economic stability and children's well-being, these findings have important implications for children of immigrants, an important and increasing demographic group in the United States.     

Diagnosing Discrimination: Stress from Perceived Racism and the Mental and Physical Health Effects*

Differences in health between racial groups in the United States are significant and persistent. Many studies have documented these differences as a result of a variety of different social factors. An emerging emphasis is the impact of racism in its various forms on physical and mental health. Social stress theory conceptualizes racism as a social stresssor which can produce negative health consequences for racial minorities. This study uses binary logit and negative binomial regression models of four items from the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to test social stress theory and examine the relationship between stress symptoms from perceived racism and overall health (N = 32,585). The effect of race on the experience of emotional and physical stress symptoms from racism is substantial. Furthermore, experiencing both emotional and physical stress from perceived racist treatment is an important factor in predicting the number of poor mental and physical health days, indicating that the experience of stress from perceived racism is related to overall poorer health.     

Racial differences in depression trajectories among older women: socioeconomic, family, and health influences

Despite recent increases in life course research on mental illness, important questions remain about the social patterning of, and explanations for, depression trajectories among women in later life. The authors investigate competing theoretical frameworks for the age patterning of depressive symptoms and the physical health, socioeconomic, and family mechanisms differentiating black and white women. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, the authors use linear mixed (growth curve) models to estimate trajectories of distress for women aged 52 to 81 years (N = 3,182). The results demonstrate that: (1) there are persistently higher levels of depressive symptoms among black women relative to white women throughout later life; (2) physical health and socioeconomic status account for much of the racial gap in depressive symptoms; and (3) marital status moderates race differences in distress. The findings highlight the importance of physical health, family, and socioeconomic status in racial disparities in mental health.     

Fishing Households,Social Support,and Depression after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on mental health in the aftermath of disasters by examining depressive symptoms among residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast region 6 years after the onset of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS). Using data from the Survey of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity in Neighborhoods in the Gulf (STRONG), we test how social support and ties to the fishing industry are related to the likelihood of a positive depression screen. The results show that, among most residents of the Gulf Coast region, social support holds an inverse relationship with the likelihood of a positive depression screen. However, among fishing households, greater social support is associated with a higher probability of screening positive for depression. By showing that fishing households with greater social support are more susceptible to depressive symptoms in this setting, our results uncover a potentially important mechanism that contributes to the unique vulnerability of fishers, which in turn holds implications for differential impacts across social groups in environmental disaster contexts.     

Well‐being among adolescent boys

Most studies on mental health in the adult population have found a significant relationship between mental health and social class. No study has thoroughly examined this relationship in the adolescent population. This article, based on the Bachman, O'Malley, and Johnston “Youth in Transition” data set, tests the social class/mental state relationship among adolescents. Three separate measures—well‐being, psychiatric symptoms, and depression—are used to indicate mental state. Social class is based on a composite measure of socioeconomic level that exists within the “Youth in Transition” data set. Surprisingly, no relationship was found. These results persisted even when more traditional measures of social class based on parents’ education and the Duncan ranking of the fathers’ occupations were substituted for socioeconomic level. An alternative explanation supporting social stress is discussed in light of Thornberry's developmental hypothesis.