University of Victoria

Issues in Mental Health, and Well-being II

This session considers the influence of social environment and social experience on mental distress and disorder, focusing especially on differences in mental health across social groups, and explanations of these differences in terms of the exposure to different types of macro or micro level stressors and access to social and personal coping resources. The emphasis is on recent trends in mental health research, while addressing traditional concerns as well.

Session Organizer: Shirin Montazer, Brock University, smontazer@brocku.ca

Social Capital and Mental Health: Public Perceptions of Mental Illness and the Accrual of Social Capital

Katherine Bouchard, Queen's University, 11kb17@queensu.ca

As much as the psychosocial nature of mental illness cannot be ignored, it is generally agreed that social ties play a beneficial role in the maintenance of psychological well-being. Smaller social networks, fewer close relationships, and lower perceived adequacy of social support and quality of life have all been linked to depressive symptoms. Conversely, the challenges of establishing a causal relationship to social ties are generally greater for mental health than they are for other health outcomes.

There has been a resurgence of rich and voluminous literature surrounding the concept of social capital in relation to mental illness. The current study aims to prove that social capital itself is a precursor to overall psychological well-being. That is, we aim to demonstrate that higher levels of social capital and the development and maintenance of social relationships is positively related to an individual’s mental health. I will be conducting a secondary analysis of microdata using the 2005 cross-sectional Canadian Community Health Survey: Cycle 3.1 Sub-sample 3. From this dataset, I will be utilizing the variables of mental health and stress, and social support/organizations.

Wednesday June 5, 2013 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-160

Children’s Mental Health: The Role and Contribution of a Sociological Perspective

Yvonne Asare-Bediako, University of Western Ontario, ynyinaku@uwo.ca , William R. Avison, University of Western Ontario, wavison@uwo.ca

Despite the evidence that suggest that socio-structural factors contribute to children’s mental health, only limited efforts have been made by sociologists of mental health to look beyond the effects of poverty and income. Largely, the study of children’s mental health has been left to developmental psychologists and psychiatrists, who focus on parental mental health and give little credence to the importance of socio-structural factors. This paper seeks to establish the import of a sociological perspective through an assessment of the relative impact of parental mental health and parental socio-structural determinants on children’s mental health. Participants for this study include 560 couples, with at least one child under age 18 living at home, who were part of a 6-year longitudinal study. Consistent with expectations, parents’ socio-structural determinants were stronger and more persistent predictors of children’s psychopathology. This finding not only suggests that a lone focus on parental mental health is flawed, but that a more structural approach to children’s mental health is critical.

Wednesday June 5, 2013 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-160

Asian Ethnicity and the Sense of Mastery: Implications for Health and Well-Being

Atsushi Narisada, University of Toronto, a.narisada@mail.utoronto.ca

The sense of mastery has been established to be one of the most salient self-concept measures in moderating the impact of stress on psychological wellbeing. However, research on mastery in the Asian context remains under examined. The current study uses data from the 2011 Canadian Work Stress and Health Study (CAN-WSH), a nationally representative sample of the Canadian labor force. We revisit Sastry and Ross?s (1998) study on Asian ethnicity and sense of personal control. Findings indicate that 1) Asians as a group tend to report a significantly lower level of mastery; 2) Asians tend to report higher levels of depression (i.e. sadness and hopelessness) but are no different than other race and ethnic groups in terms of anxiety or age; and 3) the link between mastery and all three mental health outcomes does not vary by race or ethnicity. We further extend our analyses by including a more comprehensive consideration of the effect of work conditions and socioeconomic status on the level of mastery among Asians in Canada, and discuss implications on levels of anger, anxiety, and depression.

Wednesday June 5, 2013 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-160