Materialist/postmaterialist values and their association with psychological health and health locus of control: A population-based study

This study investigates the association between Ronald Inglehart's materialist/postmaterialist index, a psychological aspect of the material pathway to inequalities in health, and health locus of control and psychological health. The data used is from the 2008 public health survey in Skåne, a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study with 28,198 respondents (response rate 54%), conducted in southern Sweden during the fall of 2008. Psychological health (GHQ12), health locus of control (external vs. internal) and the four-item Inglehart's index were assessed. A Multiple Logistic Regression Model was used to control for age, sex, country of origin, socioeconomic status and interpersonal trust. External locus of control was observed among 32.7% of the respondents. Poor psychological health was found in 18.2% of the women and 13.8% of the men. Materialist values were positively associated with low socioeconomic status, while a reverse association between postmaterialist values and low socioeconomic status was observed. External health locus of control was strongly and positively associated with materialist values among both men and women. Psychological health was not associated with materialist/postmaterialist values. The materialist/postmaterialist index, a psychological aspect of the material pathway to inequalities in health, is associated with health locus of control but not with mental health.     

The negative health effects of external whistleblowing: A study of some key factors

Blowing the whistle is a pro-social behaviour which can be highly effective if wrongdoing could be corrected without any adverse consequences for the person alleging or reporting it. However it is also risky and can cost whistleblowers their jobs and economic security as well as physical health and mental well-being. The purpose of this study was to identify the negative health effects—physical, behavioral, emotional, and mental—of whistleblowing and to examine the impact on these effects of dismissal, number of employees who blew the whistle in a group, income, and the passage of time. We statistically analysed survey data from external whistleblowers who had been identified by the news media in South Korea. This research differs from previous studies that explored the negative health effects of whistleblowing but did not distinguish between internal and external reporting. Our study contributes to the literature on the negative health effects experienced by whistleblowers and has implications for how to better protect them.     

Express yourself? Ease to express one’s identity mediates the relationship between national belonging and mental health

ABSTRACT

A number of studies have reported a positive relationship between levels of national identification and well-being. Although this link is clear, the relationship is likely influenced by a number of other variables. In the current study, we examine two such variables: age and the ease with which people feel they can express their identity in the national context. Participants were drawn from three waves (2008–12) of the biannual New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS). The NZGSS consists of a number of questions related to well-being. The current study utilised the questions related to one’s sense of belonging to New Zealand, ease to express one’s identity in New Zealand, and mental health. When controlling for physical health, standard of living, and several demographic control variables, there was a clear relationship between one’s sense of belonging to New Zealand and mental health. Further, this relationship was stronger for older than younger participants. Finally, the ease with which participants felt they could express their identity in New Zealand partially mediated the relationship. Future research should elucidate which specific aspects of their identity people feel is constrained in the national context.     

Locus of control and the direction of lethal violence: Cross national analysis,research note

Previous work has suggested that economic development affects the direction of lethal violence through a civilizing process wherein there is a shift from an internal to an external locus of control. However, data were not available to measure locus of control. The present work assesses the relationship between a measure of control and the direction of lethal violence or SHR (suicide rate/(suicide + homicide rates)). Data representing 53 nations are merged from the world values survey and the world health organization. The results of a multiple regression analysis show that locus of control is unrelated to the direction of violence. While development fosters internal locus of control, the link between development and direction of violence is not explained by locus of control.     

重庆市城市社区心理卫生现状调查及其对策思考

本文通过问卷调查、现场走访等方式,分析、描述了设为直辖市后重庆主城区社区居民心理健康观念、社区心理健康教育状况及其成因。作者认为,在现代社会,由于生活节奏的加快,各种竞争的加剧,人们在享受不断丰富的物质生活的同时,精神生活方面却越来越觉得并不十分完美,“亚健康”成为一个相当普遍的社会问题,增加人文关怀,进行城市社区心理健康教育,建立心理危机干预系统就显得很有必要。     

Intimate Partner Violence Survivors’ Unmet Social Service Needs

ABSTRACT

Women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization are at risk for physical and mental health problems, as well as social and economic challenges. In this cross-sectional study, 173 adult, English-speaking women who had experienced police response to IPV completed a self-report questionnaire about their use of, interest in, and need for various social services and whether or not each type of service helped (or would help) them to feel safer. More than three quarters of the participants reported a current need for health and economic support services. There was less interest in traditional IPV resources: law enforcement and domestic violence counseling or shelter. Expanding services to meet survivors’ needs for health care and economic independence may facilitate long-term safety. Recommendations for further research in this area are provided.     

Schizophrenia: The Impact of Parental Illness on Children

This research sets out to discover what impact parental schizophreniamakes on a child’s life. It focuses on the daily lifeand experiences of children. Their health, education, familyand leisure activities are examined. Contact with helping agenciesand their unmet needs are investigated. The sample was drawnfrom the children of patients attending the mental health servicesin South West Dublin. They were matched with a control groupof children of well parents. The majority of children who haveone parent with schizophrenia had similar profiles to the childrenof well parents in the areas of physical health, positive familyfeelings, friendships, hobbies and household tasks. In a numberof other areas, however, differences were found. Sample childrenhad more psychiatric disturbance, more problems associated withschool, less contact with relatives and spent more time at home.The children had little access to services and were upset byhospital visiting. The need for an educational programme andsupport for these children was demonstrated. It is recommendedthat a more co-ordinated approach is required by both adultand child mental health services in order to meet their needs.     

Experiencing breast cancer in the context of mental illness in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to explore the experiences of women with mental illness who had also experienced breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, in particular, to identify barriers and facilitators to cancer treatment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten breast cancer survivors who had had contact with secondary mental health services prior to their cancer diagnosis. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes. Participants described positive experiences of cancer treatment, expressing surprise at both how well they coped with diagnosis and treatment and how well they were treated by services. Many contrasted this with their less positive experience of mental illness and mental health services. The women interviewed were active participants in their cancer treatment and did not report feeling stigmatised because of their mental health experiences. A lack of connection between cancer and mental health services was described, but this was not regarded as necessarily a bad thing. This study begins to counter the stereotypes of the difficult patient or the person unable to understand and cooperate in their own care which are prevalent in the literature. Further work is needed to understand the reasons for disparities in cancer outcomes.     

Mothering after child removal: Living under the rule of Greek gods

Many women who experience mental illness are mothers. Evidence suggests that the role of mother is of great importance and value to these women, yet they are more likely than other women to have their children removed from their care. Little is known about the experiences of these mothers after their children are removed. This paper presents a phenomenological analysis of in‐depth interviews with 8 women to answer the following question: How do mothers living with severe mental illness experience mothering after removal of their children by child protection services? The analysis showed that mothering continued to be a major life role for these women, but the way they enacted this role was transformed. Their mothering was now constrained and prescribed by external agents, likened to Greek gods, which imposed both boundaries to what they could do and an obligation to prove themselves worthy. Like Greek gods, these external agents were seen as all powerful, unpredictable, and flawed. The study highlights the need for child protection services and support services to recognize and support noncustodial mothering activities.     

Children's understanding of mental ill health: implications for risk and resilience in relationships

Research shows that having a parent with a mental health problem has associated risks for children, but some families seem very resilient and do not always suffer these difficulties. In order for social workers to be able to support the development of resilience in families who appear to be at risk, we need to understand what factors may ameliorate some of these risks. Research seems to suggest that children who can conceptualize their parent's mental health problem as something 'outside' their representation of that parent as an attachment figure are likely to have better outcomes than children who see the mental-health problem as part of, and embedded within, their representation of that parent. However, in order to develop an understanding of how this conceptualization affects attachment relationships and outcomes, we need to know what children understand by mental ill health. We also need to consider how this conceptualization might be changed, and it appears that parents, other attachment figures and other support figures may play a key role here. This paper provides a selective review of the research area and discusses the mechanisms which may govern this complex process. The review concludes with recommendations for future research and practice.     

Mental health of parents with young children in Hong Kong: the roles of parenting stress and parenting self-efficacy

This study aimed to explore the sources of parenting stress and the mental health of parents with kindergarten and primary school children in Hong Kong. It also examined the intervening effects of parenting self-efficacy on mental health of parents. Results indicated that parents who perceived their children as more demanding, less acceptable and less reinforcing had more parenting stress. Those who found their parental roles to be more restrictive also had more parenting stress. Lastly, parenting self-efficacy moderated the effects of parenting stress on the mental health of parents. Cultural and social factors were put forward to explain these findings and suggestions were made towards reducing the parenting stress experienced by parents with younger children in Hong Kong.     

Food Insufficiency,Food Stamp Participation,and Mental Health*

Objectives. This study examines whether the mental health consequences associated with food insufficiency vary by food stamp participation status and/or the value of the food stamp benefit received. Methods. We use longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics along with fixed‐effect methods that control for unobserved heterogeneity to test our hypotheses. Results. We find that, conditional on the food stamp benefit amount, the emotional distress associated with food insufficiency is higher among food stamp participants. Moreover, we find evidence of a dosage effect such that food‐insufficient individuals who receive higher amounts of food stamp benefits suffer greater emotional distress than food‐insufficient individuals who receive lower levels of food stamp benefits. However, the negative mental health effects of food insufficiency and food stamp participation are driven primarily by periods of transition onto the Food Stamp Program and into food insufficiency. Conclusions. The negative mental health aspects of participating in the Food Stamp Program seem to outweigh the positive mental health aspects, at least during the period of application and initial receipt, suggesting that programmatic reform is needed to improve overall well‐being among new participants.     

Mechanisms of the Effect of Involuntary Retirement on Older Adults’ Self-Rated Health and Mental Health

This study examined mechanisms of the effect of involuntary retirement on self-rated health and mental health among adults aged 50 or older. Using two waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2006 and 2010), we selected a sample of 1,195 individuals working for pay at baseline who responded to a lifestyle questionnaire in both waves. Regression-based path analyses were conducted to test the mediating effects of financial control, positive and negative family relationships, and social integration on the relationship between involuntary retirement and self-rated health and mental health. Results of mediation analyses indicated that transition to involuntary retirement was directly negatively associated with subsequent self-rated health and indirectly negatively associated with mental health via perception of less financial control. Voluntary retirement was indirectly positively associated with both self-rated and mental health via perception of more financial control. No significant direct or indirect effects of retirement were found when retirement was measured with an aggregate measure without specifying its voluntariness. Findings emphasize the importance of specifying the voluntariness of retirement and recognizing the heterogeneity in the mechanisms of involuntary and voluntary retirement.     

Supporting foster and kinship carers to promote the mental health of children

The majority of children and young people removed from the care of their parents by the state of Victoria, Australia, reside in foster or kinship care. These children have experienced a broad range of adverse conditions and are up to 4 times more likely to experience problems with mental health than their mainstream peers. This paper draws on the perspectives of foster and kinship carers, describing the disconnection between their role as mental health advocates and their interest in early intervention in a field which is dominated by crisis and the historic marginalisation of foster and kinship carers. Thirty‐one foster and kinship carers across greater metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this study through interviews and focus groups. Participants demonstrated a practical understanding of mental health and an ability to identify a range of conditions that have an adverse impact on the mental health of children and young people in their care. The paper concludes that there is a lack of systemic support and even a range of barriers that affect the capacity of foster and kinship carers to promote the mental health and well‐being of the children and young people in their care.     

How Appreciated Do Wives Feel for the Housework They Do?*

Objective. Sense of appreciation for the work one does contributes to subjective well‐being and relational satisfaction, but few studies examine the factors that may affect levels of recognition for household labor. We formulate and test hypotheses based on the effort‐reward imbalance model in occupational health research to investigate the extent to which married women feel that the work they do around the house is appreciated. Methods. We use data from a sample of married women from the 1987–1988 National Survey of Families and Households to test these hypotheses. Results. We find that wives' absolute time spent in housework and the share they do are both important in shaping their perception of appreciation for housework. Women who hold relatively liberal attitudes toward gender roles and those who have more options outside marriage are less likely to feel appreciated. Finally, wives who often share time with their husbands tend to report higher levels of gratitude for their work at home than those who do so rarely. Conclusions. This study suggests that the literature on psychological and relational outcomes of household labor should go beyond amounts and divisions of housework to include beliefs about roles, couples' dependency, and their relationship.     

The Role of Internal Health Locus of Control in Relation to Self-Rated Health in Older Adults

ABSTRACT

The present study examined how internal health locus of control is associated with older adults’ self-rated health. Multivariate analyses with older participants (aged ≥ 60) in the MIDUS II (n = 1,533) showed that internal health locus of control was not only directly associated with positive ratings of health but also interacted with gender and race. The positive impact of internal health locus of control on self-rated health was particularly greater in females and Whites than their counterparts. Findings highlight the important role of internal health locus of control in the psychological mechanism of health and call attention to group-specific strategies for health promotion.     

Empathy and Locus of Control in Child Abusers

Empathy and locus of control were studied in a group of abusing and non-abusing parents. Two groups of thirty-two abusing and non-abusing mothers were given the Hogan Empathy and Nowicki Strickland Internal-External Locus of Control Scales. Abusers reflected significantly less empathic ability and an external locus of control orientation as compared to non-abusers. The data suggest that empathy and locus of control may be significant variables upon which social workers might focus their interventions with abusive parents.     

Predictors of mental health literacy among parents of youth diagnosed with mood disorders

Research reveals limited knowledge of children's mental health among caregivers. This paper identifies predictors of mental health literacy among parents of children diagnosed with mood disorders that are seeking or already receiving help. Secondary data analysis using multivariate regression was conducted on data from a randomized, controlled efficacy trial with a sample of 165 children. Mental health literacy was higher for parents who were female, white, higher educated and had children who were older, had a bipolar diagnosis or received more services. Lifetime experience with mental health disorders also predicted literacy. Public mental health efforts are needed to raise caregiver mental health literacy.