title: Attributions of Mental Illness: An Ethnically Diverse Community Perspective.
abstract: Although the prevalence of mental illness is similar across ethnic groups, a large disparity exists in the utilization of services. Mental health attributions, causal beliefs regarding the etiology of mental illness, may contribute to this disparity. To understand mental health attributions across diverse ethnic backgrounds, we conducted focus groups with African American (n = 8; 24 %), Asian American (n = 6; 18 %), Latino/Hispanic (n = 9; 26 %), and White (n = 11; 32 %) participants. We solicited attributions about 19 mental health disorders, each representing major sub-categories of the DSM-IV. Using a grounded theory approach, participant responses were categorized into 12 themes: Biological, Normalization, Personal Characteristic, Personal Choice, Just World, Spiritual, Family, Social Other, Environment, Trauma, Stress, and Diagnosis. Results indicate that ethnic minorities are more likely than Whites to mention spirituality and normalization causes. Understanding ethnic minority mental health attributions is critical to promote treatment-seeking behaviors and inform culturally responsive community-based mental health services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, 5121 Edwards Building One, PO Box 2120376, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0376, USA, raglinwj@mail.uc.edu.
authors.forename: Whitney J Raglin
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Bignall
authors.forename: Farrah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jacquez
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Vaughn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D003469:Culture; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D066252:Sociological Factors; D029181:Spirituality; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult