How Individuals with Mental Health Challenges Coped During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

There is growing awareness of the significant mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on many Americans. Less is known about the effects on individuals who were living with mental health conditions prior to the pandemic's onset. In addition, little research has explored how this group is coping positively with the challenges of COVID-19.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Self-Directed Care for Medically Uninsured Adults With Serious Mental Illness.

Objective: Self-directed care (SDC) is a treatment model in which recipients self-manage funds designated for provision of services. The model is designed to cost no more than traditional services while achieving superior participant outcomes. The authors examined the model's impact on outcomes, service costs, and user satisfaction among medically uninsured, low-income individuals with serious mental illness.

The importance of employment to workers with preexisting behavioral health disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: Little is known about the employment experiences of people with preexisting behavioral health conditions during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, despite the recognized importance of work for this group.

Method: Two hundred and seventy two adults with behavioral health conditions, recruited through statewide mental health networks in NJ and NY, completed an online survey in April-May 2020. Multivariable analysis examined the effects of sleep and dietary changes, COVID-19 exposure, anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2), and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-2) on employment status and job changes.

Factors associated with 30-day readmissions following medical hospitalizations among Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder.

While evidence suggests that adults with serious mental illness have an elevated rate of 30-day readmissions after medical hospitalizations, most studies are of patients who are privately insured or Medicare beneficiaries, and little is known about the differential experiences of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. We used the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan® Medicaid Multi-State Database to study 43,817 Medicaid enrollees from 11 states, age 18-64, who were discharged from medical hospitalizations in 2011. Our outcome was unplanned all-cause readmissions within 30 days of discharge.

Race-related differences in acute pain complaints among inner-city women: the role of socioeconomic status.

Previous research has shown that African Americans (AA) report higher pain intensity and pain interference than other racial/ethnic groups as well as greater levels of other risk factors related to worse pain outcomes, including PTSD symptoms, pain catastrophizing, and sleep disturbance. Within a Conservation of Resources theory framework, we tested the hypothesis that socioeconomic status (SES) factors (i.e.

Race, psychosocial vulnerability and social support differences in inner-city women's symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Background/objectives: Inner-city Black women may be more susceptible to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than White women, although mechanisms underlying this association are unclear. Living in urban neighborhoods distinguished by higher chronic stress may contribute to racial differences in women's cognitive, affective, and social vulnerabilities, leading to greater trauma-related distress including PTSD. Yet social support could buffer the negative effects of psychosocial vulnerabilities on women's health.

Social support, social undermining, and acute clinical pain in women: Mediational pathways of negative cognitive appraisal and emotion.

Women may be disproportionately vulnerable to acute pain, potentially due to their social landscape. We examined whether positive and negative social processes (social support and social undermining) are associated with acute pain and if the processes are linked to pain via negative cognitive appraisal and emotion (pain catastrophizing, hyperarousal, anger). Psychosocial variables were assessed in inner-city women ( = 375) presenting to an Emergency Department with acute pain.

PTSD Symptoms and Acute Pain in the Emergency Department: The Roles of Vulnerability and Resilience Factors Among Low-income, Inner-city Women.

Background: Given high levels of traumatic stress for low-income, inner-city women, investigating the link between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain is especially important.

Purpose: Using the conservation of resources theory, we investigated direct and indirect relationships of PTSD symptoms, vulnerability factors (ie, resource loss, depressive symptoms, and social undermining), and resilience factors (ie, optimism, engagement, and social support) to acute pain reports in a sample of low-income, inner-city women.

Methods: Participants (N=341; mean age=28 y; 58.

Instrument Adaptation, Modification, and Validation for Cultural Beliefs About Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Korean Americans.

Background: Studies on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among Korean Americans (KAs) lack culturally sensitive, reliable, and validated belief scales.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to adapt, modify, and validate instruments measuring cultural beliefs (physical space, health temporal orientation, personal control, colon cancer fatalism, and health fatalism) about CRC screening in KAs.

Methods: In phase I, instrument adaptation and modification (translation from English into Korean, individual interviews using cognitive interviewing, and expert reviews) were used to make existing cultural beliefs instruments culturally appropriate for KAs.

The Effects of Sexual Orientation on the Relationship Between Victimization Experiences and Smoking Status Among US Women.

Introduction: This study examined the relationships between experiences of childhood and adulthood victimization and current smoking among heterosexual and sexual minority women. The main hypothesis was that victimization experiences would predict current smoking status. Further, we hypothesized that the effect of childhood victimization on self-reported smoker status would be mediated by adult victimization.

Demographic, Healthcare, and Contextual Factors Associated with Smoking Status Among Sexual Minority Women.

Purpose: The study purpose was to examine demographic, healthcare, and contextual correlates of smoking among sexual minority women (SMW).

Methods: Data were from the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women study (2010-2012, N = 726).

Results: The rate of current smoking was 29.

Validating a Hazardous Drinking Index in a Sample of Sexual Minority Women: Reliability, Validity, and Predictive Accuracy.

Background: Although sexual minority women (SMW) are at increased risk of hazardous drinking (HD), efforts to validate HD measures have yet to focus on this population.

Objectives: Validation of a 13-item Hazardous Drinking Index (HDI) in a large sample of SMW.

Methods: Data were from 700 adult SMW (age 18-82) enrolled in the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women study.

Racial/ethnic differences in unmet needs for mental health and substance use treatment in a community-based sample of sexual minority women.

Aims And Objectives: To examine the unmet needs for mental health and substance use treatment among a diverse sample of sexual minority women (lesbian, bisexual).

Background: Sexual minority women are more likely than heterosexual women to report depression and hazardous drinking. However, relatively little is known about sexual minority women's use of mental health or substance use treatment services, particularly about whether use varies by race/ethnicity.

Rates and Predictors of Obesity Among African American Sexual Minority Women.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine rates of and risk factors for obesity in a community sample of African American sexual minority women (SMW).

Methods: Data were collected using self-administered paper-and-pencil survey questionnaires (n = 219).

Results: Participants were primarily middle aged (M = 40.

Predictors and Consequences of Negative Patient-Provider Interactions Among a Sample of African American Sexual Minority Women.

Purpose: Using Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization, we examined the associations between negative experience in a health care setting and subsequent reductions in health care utilization among African American sexual minority women (SMW).

Methods: The data were collected as part of a larger study exploring health and health care experiences of a volunteer sample of African American SMW (n=226). We examined predisposing, enabling, and need factors as predictors of a negative experience and changes in health care utilization.

Longitudinal Associations among Discordant Sexual Orientation Dimensions and Hazardous Drinking in a Cohort of Sexual Minority Women.

We examined differences between sexual minority women's (SMW's) sexual identity and sexual behavior or sexual attraction as potential contributors to hazardous drinking across a 10-year period. Data are from a longitudinal study examining drinking and drinking-related problems in a diverse, community-based sample of self-identified SMW (Wave 1: n = 447; Wave 2: n = 384; Wave 3: n = 354). Longitudinal cross-lagged models showed that SMW who report higher levels of identity-behavior or identity-attraction discordance may be at greater risk of concurrent and subsequent hazardous drinking.

Coming out in color: racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between level of sexual identity disclosure and depression among lesbians.

Disclosing one's sexual minority identity, or "coming out," has varying effects on the mental health of lesbians. Previous research indicates a negative association between disclosure and depression. However, these findings are based on research with White lesbians.

The influence of acculturation on substance use behaviors among Latina sexual minority women: the mediating role of discrimination.

Background: A large body of work has demonstrated that sexual minority women have elevated rates of substance use morbidity, as compared with heterosexual women, and that this might be especially true for women of color.

Objectives: This study examines the influence of acculturation and discrimination on substance use among Latina sexual minority women.

Methods: Data were collected from 2007 to 2008 as part of a larger community-based survey in the greater Chicago area.

A longitudinal study of the correlates of persistent smoking among sexual minority women.

Introduction: We conducted a longitudinal evaluation of factors associated with persistent smoking behaviors among sexual minority women (SMW; lesbians and bisexual women).

Methods: Structured interview data were collected as part of a larger longitudinal study of SMW's health: the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women study. We conducted multivariate analyses to evaluate the influence of 4 groups of predictor variables on smoking: (a) demographic, (b) childhood victimization, (c) other substance use, and (d) health variables.

Exploring alcohol-use behaviors among heterosexual and sexual minority adolescents: intersections with sex, age, and race/ethnicity.

Objectives: We examined sexual orientation status differences in alcohol use among youths aged 13 to 18 years or older, and whether differences were moderated by sex, age, or race/ethnicity.

Methods: We pooled data from the 2005 and 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys and conducted weighted analyses, adjusting for complex design effects. We operationalized sexual orientation status with items assessing sexual orientation identity, sexual behavior, sexual attraction, or combinations of these.

Hazardous drinking, depression, and anxiety among sexual-minority women: self-medication or impaired functioning?

Objective: Sexual-minority women are at heightened risk for a number of mental health problems, including hazardous alcohol consumption, depression, and anxiety. We examined self-medication and impaired-functioning models of the associations among these variables and interpreted results within a life course framework that considered the unique social stressors experienced by sexual-minority women.

Method: Data were from a sample of 384 women interviewed during the first two waves of the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) study.

Longitudinal disparities of hazardous drinking between sexual minority and heterosexual individuals from adolescence to young adulthood.

Sexual minority (lesbian and gay, bisexual, mostly heterosexual) individuals are at an increased risk for hazardous drinking than heterosexual individuals, but little is known about the nature of the disparities as adolescents reach adulthood. We used four waves of a nationally representative data set, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), to examine disparities of hazardous drinking outcomes between sexual minority and heterosexual men and women from adolescence to young adulthood. Participants were 14-18 years old at the first assessment (N = 12,379; 53 % female) and 27-31 years old at the fourth assessment.