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This paper examines the association between psychological distress and persons' perceptions of their physical well-being. Associations between psychological distress and ratings of health status within four diverse data sets are examined, controlling for physical health status as well as for sociodemographic variables. The results indicate that, despite variation in the characteristics of the populations under study, the mode of data collection employed, and the specific questions used to measure psychological distress, distress remains a statistically significant correlate of perceived health status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how multiple roles affect the mental health of the elderly in Japan and the United States, two countries with vastly different cultures. Hypotheses were drawn based on the cultural differences in role experiences, and these hypotheses are tested by analyzing nationally representative samples of the elderly in these countries. The results show that Americans are more likely to be involved in roles related to family, work, and community, while the Japanese are more likely to be involved in only those roles related to family and work. Multiple roles are also found to be less beneficialfor the mental health of Japanese elderly compared to American counterparts. National differences in the effects of individual roles and role configurations on mental health are also documented. Overall, the results show the importance of broad cultural contexts for understanding the relationship between roles and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationships among unwanted childbearing, health, and mother-child relationships. We hypothesize that unwanted childbearing affects mother-child relationships in part because of the physical and mental health consequences of unwanted childbearing. Impaired mental health hampers women's interaction with their infants, and these poor neonatal relationships translate into poor mother-adult child relationships. Using the Intergenerational Panel Study of Mothers and Children--a 31-year longitudinal survey of a probability sample of 1,113 mother-child pairs begun in 1961--we demonstrate that mothers with unwanted births have lower quality relationships with their children from late adolescence (age 18) throughout early adulthood (ages 23 and 31). Furthermore, these lower quality relationships are not limited to the child born as a result of the unwanted pregnancy; all the children in the family suffer Using the 1987-88 wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, a survey of a national probability sample of U.S. Households, we show that mothers with unwanted births suffer from higher levels of depression and lower levels of happiness. We also demonstrate that they spank their young children more and spend less leisure time with them. We conclude that experiencing unwanted childbearing reduces the time and attention that mothers give their young children and that these early mother-child interactions set the stage for long-term, lower quality relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether a woman's mental health at midlife is affected by the degree to which her earlier career aspirations have been fulfilled. Two dimensions of mental health are considered: depression and purpose in life. Based on data for 3,499 female respondents to the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), the results indicate that women who have fallen short of their earlier career goals suffer from lower levels of purpose in life and higher levels of depression, even after controlling for social background, human capital, family, and health characteristics. For purpose in life, the harmful effects of falling short of one's goal attenuate considerably when current family characteristics are controlled. For depression, the harmful effects of falling short of one's goal decline considerably once health characteristics are considered. Although women who aspired to be housewives evidenced lower levels of purpose in life at midlife than women with work aspirations, this difference was not statistically significant once human capital characteristics were controlled. Women who, at age 35, "did not know" what they hoped to do in the future had significantly lower levels of purpose in life in their 50s, even after controlling for social background, human capital, family, and health characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correlation analysis was used to assess the similarity between mental health need priority systems set up under the Community Mental Health Centers Act, and priority systems developed using a simplified scheme of mental health indicators. Data came from Community Mental Health Centers State Plans for six Southern states. Results indicated that the simplified. scheme provides adequate replication of the priority systems. Hence, time and effort need not be expended on elaborate schemes for developing priority systems (or sets of mental health indicators for research) unless it can be demonstrated that they have superior validity. A second implication developed from the data concludes that sets of techniques, like other procedural systems may, if not evaluated, tend to be perpetuated when in fact they should be replaced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metaphor vintage wine in new bottles imagines how ideas from immigration studies, social psychology, and cultural sociology add novel insights about how the social context and social relationships of immigrant lives are linked to well-being. This article describes a few patterns in research studies that have addressed whether immigrants have higher or lower rates of mental health problems than their U.S.-born counterparts. It discusses a few past approaches to explain the differences in mental health outcomes. The article concludes with select concepts and tools from other sociological fields that may invigorate research on immigrants and their health and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the relationship between social capital and individual health often suffers from important limitations. Most research relies on cross-sectional data, which precludes identifying whether participation predicts health and/or vice versa. Some important conceptualizations of social capital, like social participation, have seldom been examined. Little is known about participation and health in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, both physical and mental health have seldom been tested together, and variation by age has rarely been examined. We use longitudinal survey data for 2,328 men and women from the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health, containing (1) several measures of social participation, (2) measures of physical and mental health, and (3) an age range of 15 to 80+ years. Our results differ by gender and age and for mental and physical health. We find that social participation is associated with better physical health but can predict worse mental health for Malawians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between marital status and health among men has been well documented, but few studies track health trajectories following family structure transitions among unmarried fathers. Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study this article examines trajectories of paternal mental health and self-rated health, focusing on transitions into and out of residential relationships with the child's biological mother or a new partner during a five-year post-birth period (N = 4,331). Continuously married fathers report higher time-specific self-rated health and fewer mental health problems than continuously single fathers, controlling for underlying health trajectories. The disparity, however does not increase over time, providing little support for the marital resource model during these years. Static group differences suggest that resources fathers carry with them into unions may buffer them from the negative effects of union dissolution. The implications of these findings for cohabitation, as well as selection and causation arguments, are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research builds on a series of recent studies that have reported independent effects of personal experiences of racial discrimination on poor mental health outcomes. We suggest that for one mental health outcome, problem drinking, discrimination experiences have an impact not only via abridged socioeconomic attainment and the frustrations associated with institutionally limited opportunity structures, but also by directly increasing the likelihood of problem drinking. Moreover, we argue that personal experiences with discrimination help to foster a set of beliefs about the utility of drinking as a means of reducing stress that in the alcohol literature is referred to as "escapist" drinking. Escapist drinking is proposed as an intervening mechanism that is associated with a higher probability of alcohol-related mental health problems. Using data from the 1999-2000 National Survey of Black Workers, we find that, independent of socioeconomic attainment, personal reports of discriminatory experiences have direct influences on problem drinking. Consistent with our hypotheses, we also find that the effects of personal reports of discrimination are at least partially mediated by the endorsement of beliefs that drinking provides an effective coping mechanism. We conclude that racial impacts on mental health outcomes reflect more than the "simple" effects of constrained socioeconomic attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using two waves of panel data from Americans' Changing Lives (House 1995) (N = 2, 681), we examine the relationships between volunteer work in the community and six aspects of personal well-being: happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health, and depression. Prior research has more often examined the effects of voluntary memberships than of volunteer work, has used cross-sectional rather than longitudinal data, and, when longitudinal, has emphasized social causation over selection effects. Focusing only on the consequences of volunteer work overlooks the antecedents of human agency. People with greater personality resources and better physical and mental health should be more likely to seek (or to be sought for) community service. Hence, we examine both selection and social causation effects. Results show that volunteer work indeed enhances all six aspects of well-being and, conversely, people who have greater well-being invest more hours in volunteer service. Given this, further understanding of self- versus social-selection processes seems an important next step. Do positive, healthy people actively seek out volunteer opportunities, or do organizations actively recruit individuals of these types (or both)? Explaining how positive consequences flow from volunteer service may offer a useful counterpoint to stress theory, which has focused primarily on negative life experiences and their sequelae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current research on mental health typically equates dependent behavior with negative health outcomes and thereby ignores how other people perceive dependency and mental illness in gendered ways. Using data from the Indianapolis Network Mental Health Study, I conducted a quantitative analysis of gender differences in the prevalence of network members' discussions of dependency, followed by a qualitative analysis of how network members describe dependency. The sex of the network member, together with the sex of the patient, significantly predict discussions of dependency, net of other factors. Moreover, network members in same-sex dyads are more likely to discuss dependence than are their counterparts in opposite-sex dyads. The qualitative results provide a more contextualized understanding of the connections among gender, dependency, and mental illness. Male network members' reports indicate strong censure of male patients for dependent behavior, while female network members' reports indicate that female patients see dependency in a more nuanced and complex way. In addition, network members in opposite-sex dyads are more accepting of dependent behavior than network members in same-sex dyads. These findings underscore the importance of examining how others perceive mental illness and how these perceptions may be gendered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processes of stress proliferation are explored in a Sample of informal caregivers to people with AIDS. Proliferation refers to the tendency for stressors to beget stressors. Two forms of proliferation are explored, each based on the distinction between primary and secondary stressors. Among AIDS caregivers, primary stressors are the hardships rooted in the caregiving role. Secondary stressors result from primary stressors, but arise in roles and activities outside of caregiving. One form of proliferation is the expansion of primary stressors, reflected in an increase in role overload and a growing sense of being a captive of the caregiver role. Expansion is largely driven by the course of AIDS and the elevation of demands it places on the caregiver. The second form of proliferation is the surfacing of secondary stressors in social and leisure life and in the occupational realm. This form arises from the strains imposed by the emerging caregiver role on the other roles and activities of the caregiver. It is proposed that the systematic assessment of proliferated stressors can help illuminate the dynamic connections between stress and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicting evidence suggests that marijuana use may be associated with either positive or negative mental health. This study explores the possibility that the association of marijuana use with mental health differs among various subgroups of users. Specifically, we investigate the hypothesis that marijuana use and the personality disposition of introspectiveness interact in their effects on psychological well-being. Results support this hypothesis and show that marijuana use is associated significantly with psychological distress for highly introspective individuals. In contrast, marijuana use has no such association for those low on introspectiveness. Additional evidence shows that marijuana use involves primarily self-oriented cognitive and emotional experiences for highly introspective individuals, whereas for those low on introspectiveness it is characterized more often by perceptual distortions and sensorimotor sensations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was undertaken to determine whether a client's weight influences the clinical judgments of mental health practitioners. We used an analogue approach in which 120 mental health workers evaluated a case history that included a photograph of the client. Using the photographic process ECRM, we altered the image of a single photograph of a middle-aged woman to produce three pictures: best-weight model, overweight model, and obese model. Results show that mental health workers are more likely to assign negative psychological symptoms to the obese model than to the overweight or best-weight model. In addition, male respondents are less harsh than females in their assessment of the obese client, indicating that a sex-by-obesity interaction effect occurs. Similarly, older mental health workers are less likely than their younger peers to assign negative symptoms to the obese client. Finally, a client'sweight-by-respondent's-weight interaction, influencing certain diagnostic judgments, is detected. Overweight mental health workers are less predisposed to differentiate between obese, overweight, and best-weight clients than are their less heavy contemporaries. These findings indicate that diagnosis is affected, or confounded, by the weight of the client. Implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of a longitudinal investigation of the physical and mental health consequences of involuntary job loss, it is hypothesized that social supports modify the relationship between unemployment stress and health responses. As a result of two plant shutdowns, 100 stably employed, married men were interviewed attire stages over a two-year period. Social support was measured by a 13-item index covering the extent of supportive and affiliative relations with wife, friends and relatives. The rural unemployed evidenced a significantly higher level of social support than did the urban unemployed, a difference probably due to the strength of ethnic ties in the small community and a more concerned social milieu. No differences between the supported and unsupported were found with respect to weeks unemployed or to actual economic deprivation. However, while unemployed, the unsupported evidenced significantly higher elevations and more changes in measures of cholesterol, illness symptoms and affective response than did the supported. While health differences between supported and unsupported populations under stress are commonly interpreted as evidence that support buffers the effects of life stress, it is argued that these and other study findings demonstrate the exacerbation of life stress by a low sense of social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is alcoholism regarded as a disease? If so, what are the consequences of this definition? These issues are of major importance to policy makers, mental health professionals, and to alcoholics. However, much of the research regarding these topics has used public opinion polls and doesn't consider role relationships. The present study examines hypothetical role relationships between "normals" and alcoholics. Comparison of answers about alcoholics with those about (1) epileptics or (2) blind persons indicates distinct differences between the stereotypes of and the acceptance of these groups. Alcoholics generally are attributed unfavorable characteristics and a vast majority of the respondents reject them in close relationships. Responses toward the other groups are considerably more favorable. In addition to the between-group differences, additional differences in attitudes are related to the characteristics of the respondents. This finding suggests that although lay perspectives are usually overlooked by service programs, these neglected perspectives are important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from a sample of 1441 community-dwelling respondents were analyzed to determine whether there are age related differences in their responses to instruments used to measure mental health. Few differences were noted. The data support the position that measurement of mental health is a formidable task; responses and scores are affected by multiple factors, not age alone; and these factors interrelate. Varying degrees of correlation were found between the instruments used, confirming that the instruments measure similar but not identical aspects of mental health. Measurements must take into account various dimensions to avoid the pitfalls of a simple test or approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]