Past research on idioms of distress among U.S. Latinos has revealed that ataque de nervios and altered perceptions, such as hearing and seeing things when alone, are independent markers of higher morbidity and mental health utilization despite having no one-to-one relationships with any single psychiatric diagnosis. It has been proposed that the idioms exert this effect because they are signs of distressing dissociative capacity associated with traumatic exposure. This study examines the relationships in an ethnically diverse Latino psychiatric outpatient sample (N = 230) among interpersonal trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, dissociative capacity and four cultural idioms of distress associated with the popular overall category of nervios. We particularly explore how these relationships change with varied measures of traumatic exposure, including trauma severity and timing or persistence of trauma. A series of adjusted bivariate regressions assessed the matrix of associations between the idioms and the clinical variables. In this highly traumatized population, we identified a strong 'nexus' of associations between dissociation and three of the idioms: currently being ill with nerves, ataque de nervios and altered perceptions. These idioms were largely independent from PTSD and depression and were associated with trauma persistence and severity. A fourth idiom, being nervous since childhood, was not associated with any other variable and may represent a personality trait rather than a diagnosable condition. Our results validate the clinical utility of the construct of nervios as a set of specific idioms associated with dissociation that are useful markers of mental health need among Latinos independently of their association with clinical diagnoses.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4339099 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11013-010-9177-8 | DOI Listing |
Front Psychol
December 2024
Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Objective: This study explored cultural and gendered experiences of distress among Syrian refugees in Jordan to inform mental health and psychosocial support services with the population. We sought to understand perceived causes of distress, salient expressions used to describe distress, and ways of coping.
Methods: Eight focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with adult Syrian refugees (four male, four female).
Mental health is conceptualized differently across cultures, making cross-cultural validation of screening tools critical. In Uganda, we used cognitive interviewing to assess and adapt three scales for measuring psychological distress: the Thinking a Lot Questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), and the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL). We recruited 12 people living with HIV from the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS) and interviewed seven potential users of the scales (four RCCS survey interviewers and three local health workers).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRes Sq
July 2024
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health.
Introduction: Health and illness experiences are positioned within social and cultural contexts. Understanding the mental health and psychological distress of people living with HIV in highly affected communities is critical to addressing their needs and to ensure programming and interventions are targeted and appropriate.
Methods: Grounded in the ethnomedical theoretical perspective, we conducted qualitative interviews to understand the experience and expression of psychological distress by people living with HIV in Rakai, Uganda.
J Oral Rehabil
October 2024
Department of Dentistry, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Faculty of Dentistry, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Background: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) may be an 'idiom' of psychological distress in Confucian heritage cultures (CHCs).
Objectives: This systematic review/meta-analysis estimated the prevalence of TMDs in CHCs and compared the differences in TMD occurrence between time periods and age groups. Additionally, the associated biopsychosocial risk factors were also examined.
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!