Severe Physical Intimate Partner Violence and the Mental and Physical Health of U.S. Caribbean Black Women

Background: Intimate partner violence is a threat to women's health. Relative to other racial/ethnic groups, African American and immigrant women are at an increased risk for violence. However, despite the growing presence of Caribbean Black immigrants in this country, few studies have examined the association between severe physical intimate partner violence (SPIPV) and the health of Caribbean Black women currently residing in the United States. This study examined the mental and physical health of U.S. Caribbean Black women with and without a history of SPIPV. We also explored the role of generational status?first, second, or third?in association with the physical and mental health of abused Caribbean Black women. Methods: Data from the National Survey of American Life, the largest and the only known representative study on Caribbeans residing in the United States, were analyzed. The World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) was used to determine DSM-IV mental disorders. The presence of physical health conditions was based on respondents' self-reports of physician diagnoses. Results: The findings indicate an association between SPIPV and the mental and physical health status of U.S. Caribbean Black women. Rates of physical conditions and mental health disorders were generally higher among women with a history of SPIPV than those without a history. Generational status also played a role in women's health outcomes. Conclusions: The study has interventions and preventive implications for both detecting and addressing the health needs of U.S. Caribbean Black women who experience severe physical abuse by an intimate partner.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140138/1/jwh.2015.5293.pd

Intergenerational Mobility and Goal-Striving Stress Among Black Americans: The Roles of Ethnicity and Nativity Status

Goal-striving stress refers to the psychological consequences of seeking but failing to reach upward mobility and is more common among low-income and people of color. Intergenerational mobility—or improved socioeconomic standing relative to one’s parents—may be an important predictor of goal-striving stress for Blacks. We used the National Survey of American Life to investigate the association between intergenerational mobility and goal-striving stress among U.S.-born African Americans, U.S.-born Caribbean Blacks, and foreign-born Caribbean Blacks. Intergenerational mobility was associated with lower goal-striving stress and U.S.-born African Americans and Caribbean Blacks reported lower goal-striving stress than foreign-born Caribbean Blacks. Goal-striving stress was relatively high among foreign-born Blacks, regardless of level of intergenerational mobility attained. Goal-striving is an important stressor for foreign-born Caribbean Blacks, regardless of their level of educational success. Given increasing Black migration, future studies should disaggregate the Black racial category based on ethnicity and nativity.This study was supported by the National Institute on Aging (P30AG1528) and the Michael J. and Susan Angelides Public Policy Research Fund.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150677/1/Mouzon Watkins Perry Simpson Mitchell 2019_Intergenerational Mobility and Goal-Striving Stress Among Black Americans The Roles of Ethnicity and Nativity Status.pd

Understanding breast-cancer patients’ perceptions: Health information-seeking behaviour and passive information receipt

It is critical to understand patients’ information use from the patient perspective, especially when patients are from different cultures and levels of health literacy. A cross-sectional survey supplemented with interviews of breast cancer survivors including both Latina and non- Latina women was undertaken. Subjects were classified as active information seekers, passive information receivers, and/or users of information. Subjects were further classified by stage of information use, progressing from unawareness or awareness of available information to use or non-use of information to make health decisions. Information sources used and use patterns were examined. Most were active information seekers; many were also passive receivers. Healthcare providers remain the primary information source. Interpersonal communication was far more often cited than either the internet or traditional print and broadcast media. Important cross-cultural differences were found. This study provides insight into how patients use actively sought and passively received information. Despite dramatic growth of the internet and other new media, healthcare providers currently remain keys to health information. Findings may help develop more successful communication strategies when viewed in light of the National Cancer Institute’s ‘Making Health Communication Programs Work’ and the four stages it proposes. It is hoped that future work will focus on evidence-based methods to improve health communication, especially for vulnerable populations. A major lesson learned is the importance of understanding where patients decided to seek information outside the traditional provideroriented approach taken in many health education programmes

Gender differences in marriage, romantic involvement, and desire for romantic involvement among older African Americans.

BACKGROUND:Despite research on the dramatic changes in marriage, there is a dearth of research on the correlates of marriage and romantic involvement among older African Americans. This is an important omission because although the marriage decline is universal, African Americans show the steepest decline in marriage rates. METHODS:Based on data from the National Survey of American Life, multinomial logistic regression analysis is used to identify demographic and health correlates of: 1) being married or cohabiting, 2) having a romantic involvement, 3) not having a romantic involvement but desiring one, and lastly, 4) not having and not desiring a romantic involvement. RESULTS:Four in 10 older African Americans are either married or cohabiting, 11% are unmarried but romantically involved, 9.5% are unmarried and not romantically involved but open to the possibility of a relationship, and 38% neither have nor desire a romantic involvement. More men than women are married or cohabiting, a gap that increases with advanced age. Across all age groups, African American women are more likely than their male counterparts to report that they neither have nor desire a romantic relationship. CONCLUSION:Almost as many older African Americans do not want a romantic relationship as those who are married/cohabiting. Findings support social exchange theories and the importance of an unbalanced sex ratio. Furthermore, the results suggest that singlehood among older African Americans (especially women) is not necessarily an involuntary status. Nonetheless, this group is at higher risk of economic and health problems as they age

Social support from friends and depression among African Americans: The moderating influence of education

Background: This cross-sectional study examined the association between various characteristics of friendships and 12-month major depressive disorder (MDD) and whether these associations vary by education level among African Americans. Methods: The analytic sample included 3434 African American respondents drawn from the National Survey of American Life: Coping with Stress in the 21st Century. Logistic regression analyses were performed to test the associations between friendship characteristics (i.e., frequency of contact, subjective closeness, receipt of support, provision of support) and 12-month MDD. Interaction terms between education and each of the four friendship variables were used to test whether these associations varied by education level. Analyses adjusted for sociodemographic factors and chronic health problems. Results: Frequency of contact and subjective closeness were negatively associated with 12-month MDD. An interaction between education and contact indicated that contact was negatively associated with MDD among high education respondents but unrelated to MDD among low education respondents. The interactions between education and receipt of support and education and provision of support demonstrated that receipt and provision of support were negatively associated with MDD among high education respondents but was positively associated with MDD among low education respondents. Limitations: Given the cross-sectional design, it is not possible to make causal inferences. Conclusion: This investigation provides an important first step to understanding within-group differences in how social relationships function as both a risk and protective factor for MDD among African Americans.Social Wor

Understanding Breast-Cancer Patients\u27 Perceptions: Health Information-Seeking Behaviour and Passive Information Receipt

It is critical to understand patients\u27 information use from the patient perspective, especially when patients are from different cultures and levels of health literacy. A cross-sectional survey supplemented with interviews of breast cancer survivors including both Latina and non-Latina women was undertaken. Subjects were classified as active information seekers, passive information receivers, and/or users of information. Subjects were further classified by stage of information use, progressing from unawareness or awareness of available information to use or non-use of information to make health decisions. Information sources used and use patterns were examined. Most were active information seekers; many were also passive receivers. Healthcare providers remain the primary information source. Interpersonal communication was far more often cited than either the internet or traditional print and broadcast media. Important cross-cultural differences were found. This study provides insight into how patients use actively sought and passively received information. Despite dramatic growth of the internet and other new media, healthcare providers currently remain keys to health information. Findings may help develop more successful communication strategies when viewed in light of the National Cancer Institute\u27s \u27Making Health Communication Programs Work\u27 and the four stages it proposes. It is hoped that future work will focus on evidence-based methods to improve health communication, especially for vulnerable populations. A major lesson learned is the importance of understanding where patients decided to seek information outside the traditional provider-oriented approach taken in many health education programme