Linda Logan

INT 470 Article Evaluation

K. Miller - Instructor
February 8, 2015

African-American Womens Beliefs, Coping Behaviors and Barriers to Seeking Mental

Health Services
I chose this topic of interest because of my personal family experience with mental
illness. My mother was diagnosed with depression in 1964 and was institutionalized and heavily
medicated until her death in 1990. During this time and before, not much was known about the
causes of mental illness in African American woman and as a result, treatment was clouded in
secrecy and a veil of sociopolitical and cultural mistrust of the then U.S. Healthcare System by
African Americans in general. My mother died as a result of chronic illnesses (diabetes and heart
disease) which were contracted later in life and caused by high dosages of harsh medications,
such as Lithium and Haldol which was the standard prescribed treatment for mental illnesses
back then; she was only 59 years young when she died.
Until 2009, according to the authors, little if any research had been done in this area and
more specifically, none in the area that addresses the issues of older adult African American
women who suffer from or who seek treatment for mental illness. Risk factors identified as part
of this study included lower income, poor health, multiple role strain, and the double minority
status of race and gender. Older African American women might be at an additional risk
because of the high prevalence of chronic disease in this population which are negatively
associated with the aging process, and the demonstrated correlations between chronic disease
and mental health issues such as depression (Ward, E. C., Clark, L. O., & Heidrich, S. (2009).
African American womens beliefs, coping behaviors and barriers to seeking mental
health services are complex and cannot be addressed by one approach because this issue
stretches across economic, racial and cultural lines. The research suggests that African American
women efforts in seeking treatment range from seeking professional help to ignoring the problem
altogether. However, more often than not, help is sought or coping mechanism are found through
informal resources, such as the family, friends and coworkers or through religious and spiritual
affirmations such as prayer and reading the bible. Economic, racial and cultural aspects also play
an integral part in the creation of systemic and individual barriers to mental health treatment.
Systemic barriers would include lack of health insurance, and access to and location of mental
health facilities. Individual barriers would include affordability of health insurance, and access to
education and knowledge mental health issues and treatment. However, the most prevailing
barrier in the African American community at large is the stigma that is associated with mental
illness and its treatment.

An interesting aspect to this study is that the research or design method employed was
called the Common Sense Model (CSM) used in Qualitative Analysis. It has never been
employed in mental health research studies and it was used to examine the candid responses
regarding the beliefs, opinions and coping behaviors of African American woman. Purposeful
Sampling Procedures were utilized, and interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data.
The study included a sample of 15 adult African American females over the age 25, and excluded
men, and Latina, Asian and White women.
In conclusion, I think that this study has opened the door on the complex nature of mental
illness within the African American woman community and in order to addresses the
multifaceted issues the lie underneath, an interdisciplinary approach must be utilized in order to
create mental health awareness, effectively educate underserved populations and to dramatically
decrease social and cultural stigma related to having and seeking treatment of mental illness.

References:
Ward, E. C., Clark, L. O., & Heidrich, S. (2009). African American Womens Beliefs, Coping
Behaviors, and Barriers to Seeking Mental Health Services.Qualitative Health Research, 19(11),
15891601. doi:10.1177/1049732309350686

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854663/