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Increasing Mexican American attendance of support groups for parents of the mentally ill: Organizational and psychological factors
Author(s) -
Medvene Louis J.,
Mendoza Ricardo,
Lin KehMing,
Harris Norma,
Miller Milton
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6629(199510)23:4<307::aid-jcop2290230404>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - attendance , daughter , ethnic group , psychology , mental health , mentally ill , qualitative research , clinical psychology , psychiatry , mental illness , social science , evolutionary biology , sociology , anthropology , economics , biology , economic growth
Research was carried out to identify organizational and psychological factors associated with the attendance by Mexican Americans at family support groups. Qualitative and action‐oriented pilot research identified parents' preferences for organizational arrangements, and two support groups were created that were Spanish speaking, facilitated by bilingual mental health professionals, and closely linked to ethnic mental health agencies. A prospective study was then carried out that involved 32 Mexican families with a son/daughter being treated for schizophrenia at one of the two agencies. The parent who was the primary caregiver in each family was interviewed and then referred to one of the two groups; parents' attendance was followed for 1 year. Parent attendance was related to the level of burden experienced and assumptions about the causes of their son/daughter's problems.