Lone survivor: linking institutionalized racial adversity, lived experiences and mental health conditions among African Americans
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Mary Elisabeth John (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Cindy Brooks Dollar
Abstract: Historically, African Americans have practiced self-concealment and utilized alternative forms of mental health treatment such as social support and religious mediation. Using Agnew’s general strain theory and Link’s labeling theory, I illustrate the potential role of cumulative stress and stigmatization in help-seeking behaviors of African American men and women. In addition to this theoretical approach, I conduct a mixed-methods analysis using the National Survey on Drug Use and Health’s 2015 report and fifteen qualitative interviews from individuals who self-identify as experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. With these interviews, I identify six commonly referenced themes mentioned by participants: identity struggle, stigmatization, distrust of medical providers, image maintenance, religious assumptions/ideologies and dismissal. These themes lead to my defining of the lone survivor and consideration of its social, emotional and psychological implications.
Lone survivor: linking institutionalized racial adversity, lived experiences and mental health conditions among African Americans
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Created on 5/1/2018
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2018
- Keywords
- African American mental illness, Black mental health, Black mental illness
- Subjects
- African Americans $x Mental health
- Discrimination in mental health services
- Discrimination in medical care
- Stigma (Social psychology)