Neha J Goel, Brogan Thomas, Rachel L Boutté, Brahmpreet Kaur, Suzanne E Mazzeo
{"title":"\"What will people say?\": Mental Health Stigmatization as a Barrier to Eating Disorder Treatment-Seeking for South Asian American Women.","authors":"Neha J Goel, Brogan Thomas, Rachel L Boutté, Brahmpreet Kaur, Suzanne E Mazzeo","doi":"10.1037/aap0000271","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study used focus group methodology to identify culturally-specific barriers to, and facilitators of, eating disorder (ED) treatment-seeking for South Asian (SA) American women. Seven focus groups were conducted with 54 participants (<i>M</i><sub>age</sub>=20.11 years, <i>SD</i>=2.52), all of whom had lived in the United States (US) for at least three years (63.0% of the sample was born in the US). Transcripts were independently coded by a team of researchers (<i>n</i>=4) and the final codebook included codes present in at least half of the transcripts. Thematic analysis identified salient themes (barriers, <i>n</i>=6; facilitators, <i>n</i>=3) for SA American women. Barriers to ED-treatment seeking were inextricable from barriers to mental health treatment, more broadly. In addition to generalized mental health stigma, participants cited <i>social stigma</i> (i.e., a pervasive fear of social ostracization), as a significant treatment-seeking barrier. Additional barriers were: cultural influences on the etiology and treatment of mental illness, parents' unresolved mental health concerns (usually tied to immigration), healthcare providers' biases, general lack of knowledge about EDs, and minimal SA representation within ED research/clinical care. To address these obstacles, participants recommended that clinicians facilitate intergenerational conversations about mental health and EDs, partner with SA communities to create targeted ED psychoeducational health campaigns, and train providers in culturally-sensitive practices for detecting and treating EDs. SA American women face multiple family, community, and institutional barriers to accessing mental health treatment generally, which limits their ability to access ED-specific care. Recommendations to improve ED treatment access include: (a) campaigns to destigmatize mental health more systematically, (b) collaboration with SA communities and, (c) and training providers in culturally-sensitive care.</p>","PeriodicalId":46922,"journal":{"name":"Asian American Journal of Psychology","volume":"14 1","pages":"96-113"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10241369/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian American Journal of Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000271","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/1/10 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ETHNIC STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study used focus group methodology to identify culturally-specific barriers to, and facilitators of, eating disorder (ED) treatment-seeking for South Asian (SA) American women. Seven focus groups were conducted with 54 participants (Mage=20.11 years, SD=2.52), all of whom had lived in the United States (US) for at least three years (63.0% of the sample was born in the US). Transcripts were independently coded by a team of researchers (n=4) and the final codebook included codes present in at least half of the transcripts. Thematic analysis identified salient themes (barriers, n=6; facilitators, n=3) for SA American women. Barriers to ED-treatment seeking were inextricable from barriers to mental health treatment, more broadly. In addition to generalized mental health stigma, participants cited social stigma (i.e., a pervasive fear of social ostracization), as a significant treatment-seeking barrier. Additional barriers were: cultural influences on the etiology and treatment of mental illness, parents' unresolved mental health concerns (usually tied to immigration), healthcare providers' biases, general lack of knowledge about EDs, and minimal SA representation within ED research/clinical care. To address these obstacles, participants recommended that clinicians facilitate intergenerational conversations about mental health and EDs, partner with SA communities to create targeted ED psychoeducational health campaigns, and train providers in culturally-sensitive practices for detecting and treating EDs. SA American women face multiple family, community, and institutional barriers to accessing mental health treatment generally, which limits their ability to access ED-specific care. Recommendations to improve ED treatment access include: (a) campaigns to destigmatize mental health more systematically, (b) collaboration with SA communities and, (c) and training providers in culturally-sensitive care.
本研究采用焦点小组的方法来确定美国南亚(SA)妇女在寻求饮食失调(ED)治疗时遇到的特定文化障碍和促进因素。本研究共进行了七次焦点小组讨论,共有 54 名参与者参加(年龄:20.11 岁,标准差:2.52),她们都在美国生活了至少三年(63.0% 的样本出生在美国)。研究人员团队(人数=4)对记录誊本进行了独立编码,最终的编码本包含了至少半数记录誊本中出现的编码。主题分析确定了南澳大利亚美国妇女的突出主题(障碍,6 个;促进因素,3 个)。寻求急诊室治疗的障碍与心理健康治疗的障碍密不可分。除了普遍的心理健康耻辱感之外,参与者认为社会耻辱感(即对社会排斥的普遍恐惧)也是寻求治疗的一个重要障碍。其他障碍还包括:文化对精神疾病的病因和治疗的影响、父母未解决的精神健康问题(通常与移民有关)、医疗服务提供者的偏见、对 ED 普遍缺乏了解,以及在 ED 研究/临床护理中南澳大利亚的代表极少。为了解决这些障碍,与会者建议临床医生促进代际间关于心理健康和 ED 的对话,与南澳大利亚社区合作开展有针对性的 ED 心理教育健康活动,并培训医疗服务提供者在检测和治疗 ED 时采取对文化敏感的做法。美籍南澳大利亚妇女在获得一般心理健康治疗方面面临着家庭、社区和机构的多重障碍,这限制了她们获得 ED 特定护理的能力。改善 ED 治疗的建议包括(a) 更系统地开展消除心理健康污名化的运动,(b) 与南澳大利亚社区合作,(c) 对医疗服务提供者进行文化敏感性护理培训。