Author : Nathaniel Prentice Mills
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781109389746
Total Pages : 98 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (897 download)
Book Synopsis Relationship of Acculturation and Age to Native American People's Attitudes about Mental Health Service by : Nathaniel Prentice Mills
Download or read book Relationship of Acculturation and Age to Native American People's Attitudes about Mental Health Service written by Nathaniel Prentice Mills and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of the present study was to examine the attitudes of Native American people concerning mental healthcare utilization in light of their levels of acculturation and age. Ninety-five Native American participants recruited at powwows across the United States completed questionnaire packets including a demographics questionnaire, a measurement of acculturation to white society, and multiple measures of attitudes concerning mental healthcare; a sample of 89 participants with complete data were used for analysis. Results of regression analyses indicated that neither age nor acculturation explained a significant amount of the variance in participants' attitudes concerning mental healthcare. Previous research had demonstrated an inconsistent relationship between age and attitudes concerning mental health; thus, despite the hypothesis of a negative relationship between age and attitudes, the finding in the present study that age did not explain a significant amount of the variance in participants' attitudes concerning mental healthcare was not completely inconsistent with previous literature examining such relationships in minority populations. The finding that level of acculturation to white society did not explain a significant amount of the variance in participants' attitudes concerning mental healthcare was inconsistent with the findings of previous literature. These findings may imply that acculturation, at least as assessed with the currently available measure, cannot be used to predict Native Americans' attitudes towards mental healthcare. The results may also have been influenced by the composition of the sample, in which highly unacculturated Native Americans were underrepresented. Additionally, Native American culture is a very difficult construct to define, and our limited understanding of what it means to be Native American may preclude valid assessment of participants' true levels of acculturation. This study was designed as a starting point for the investigation of Native American people's attitudes concerning mental healthcare services. Further research is needed to fully understand the acculturation process of Native Americans before acculturation can be effectively used as a predictor of attitudes.