Sexual Health Behavior and Mental Health Among Older African American Women: The Sistahs, Sexuality, and Mental Health Well-Being Project

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 1177-1185 ◽  
Author(s):  
April D. Thames ◽  
Andrea Hammond ◽  
Rodolfo A. Nunez ◽  
Zanjbeel Mahmood ◽  
Felica Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
African American ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Well Being ◽  
American Women ◽  
Older African American Women

Violence and Trauma: Predicting the Impact on the Well-Being of African American Women With Severe Mental Illness

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briggett C. Ford
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
African American ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Mental Health Clinic ◽  
American Women ◽  
Community Mental Health Clinic

Exposure to violence and trauma has become a major mental health and public health problem in the United States. This study assesses the rates of exposure to traumatic events of 55 adult African American women receiving treatment in an urban community mental health clinic. The study examined three research questions. First, what is the rate of exposure to violence and trauma among African American women in an urban community mental health clinic? Second, what effect does violence and trauma exposure have on mental health? Finally, does exposure to violence and trauma have an effect on well-being as measured with the Medical Outcomes Survey (MOS/SF-36)? A significant negative relationship between diagnostic burden and well-being was found. A negative non-significant relationship was found between Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and well-being. Study findings suggest that use of a screening and assessment tool for violence and trauma exposure may have important clinical implications in providing appropriate mental health services to African American women.

African American Women and Depression: Promoting the Need for Culturally Competent Treatment

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernice Kennedy ◽  
Chalice Jenkins ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
African American ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
American Woman ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Diagnostic Process ◽  
American Women

Abstract Depression is gradually increasing in African American women. These women are experiencing role changes and additional life stressors. Depressed African American women may perceive themselves as being devalued by society with fewer support systems to buffer stressful events. Depressive symptoms may develop into clinical depression and a further decrease in the quality of life for the African American woman. The assumption that all women share similar experiences does not allow for differences to emerge regarding the diagnostic process, measuring tools, and successful treatment strategies for various cultures. The authors developed a Multifaceted Model of Depression in African American Women for improving treatment of African American women with depression and future research needs. Cultural background plays a vital role in how the symptoms of mental illnesses are developed, reported, interpreted, and how women are treated. African Americans who subscribed to the Strong Black Women Archetype (SBWA) are naturally strong, resilient, self-contained, and self-sacrificing. This self-reliance prevents them from reaching out for social support. This, in turn, can contribute to depressive symptoms with negative health outcomes. The African American women are more apt to have less access to routine medical care where early diagnosis and interventions can be done, so their mental health problems (e.g., depression, stress, etc.) are often more developed, complicated, and their social supports more depleted when they do access treatment. When African American women do have access to mental health care, they receive poor quality care compared to Whites.

Suicide and older African‐American women

Mortality ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary L. Bender
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
American Women ◽  
Older African American Women

“I Don’t Know and I Don’t Want to Know”: A Qualitative Examination of Older African American Women’s Knowledge and Experiences With HIV

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 644-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye Z. Belgrave ◽  
Sarah J. Javier ◽  
Deborah Butler ◽  
Chelsie Dunn ◽  
Joann Richardson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Black Church ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Hiv Knowledge ◽  
Female Population ◽  
American Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Older African American Women

While older African American women (e.g., aged 50 years and older) comprise only 11% of the female population in the United States, they account for 50% of HIV diagnoses among women in this age group. Unique sociocultural factors, including a lack of HIV knowledge and stigma, contribute to HIV risk among older African American women. The goal of this qualitative study was to obtain a nuanced perspective from older African American women about HIV knowledge and experiences with HIV using the framework of intersectionality theory. Focus groups were conducted with 35 African American women who were 50 years and older, nonpartnered, and heterosexual. Women were asked what they knew about HIV and if they thought older women were at risk for HIV. A thematic analysis using NVivo 11 yielded two central themes and three subthemes: HIV knowledge, including experiential knowledge, superficial knowledge, and no knowledge, and stigma around HIV in the Black church. Implications for developing HIV prevention programs and testing messages are discussed.

scholarly journals HIV Prevention Programming for Older African American Women: The Impact of a Faith-Based and Behavioral Science Partnership on Depressive Symptoms

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-294
Author(s):  
Megan T. Ebor ◽  
Aurora P. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
American Women ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Older African American Women ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

Objective: The current study sought to test the effect of an HIV prevention interven­tion on depressive symptoms in a sample of older African American women.Design, Setting and Participants: A pretest-posttest randomized control group design was conducted in a mega-church in Los Angeles with a sample of 62 older African American women, aged ≥50 years, 29 of whom were randomly assigned to the experimental condition and 33 to the comparison/control condition.Measures: A measure of psychological wellbeing (CES-D) was utilized to test the effect of the four-session group interven­tion vs the one-session informational group intervention on change in depressive symp­toms from pretest to posttest. Demographic characteristics included: measures of age in years; relationship and employment statuses (coded 1 for yes, 0 for no); and educational attainment.Results: Participation in the study was as­sociated with a significant improvement in the women’s psychological wellbeing from baseline to time 2; ie, decreased depres­sive symptoms. This change was greater for women in the four-session experimental group than for those in the one-session comparison group, due in part to a margin­ally significant interaction between time and experimental conditions.Conclusions: This study demonstrates the utility of faith-based/behavioral-scientist partnerships in HIV programming. Findings contribute to the evidence on interventions that might reduce depressive symptoms and HIV risk among older African American women. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(2):287-294; doi:10.18865/ed.30.2.287

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