Hunter College School of Social Work, City University of New York, 129 E. 79th Street, New York, NY 10075, USA.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2010 Jul;56(4):436-47. doi: 10.1177/0020764009105647. Epub 2009 Aug 3.
This paper uses findings from a larger study to present a nuanced depiction of the interplay of informal and formal help-seeking processes of a sample of Chinese immigrants in their mental healthcare in New York City.
Thirty one participants who were receiving mental health treatment were interviewed with regard to their experiences preceding their suicide attempt. Their narratives were coded for thematic analysis.
Acculturation difficulties, inaccessibility to services and stigma associated with mental illness were major obstacles in the participants' help-seeking process, which was consistent with other studies of immigrants of ethnic minority groups in the USA. In addition, the findings showed how changes in this sample of Chinese immigrants' socio-cultural reality disrupted familiar help-seeking pathways, and perpetuated and amplified the aforementioned stressors. Issues of human connection, immigrants' resiliency and missed opportunities were also identified as potential resources to modify cultural stigmas and help-seeking behaviour.
There are varied socio-cultural factors that need to be considered in mental health outreach services in immigrant communities.
本文利用一项更大规模研究的结果，以纽约市的中国移民群体为例，呈现了一幅关于其精神卫生保健中非正式和正式寻求帮助过程相互作用的细致描绘。
对 31 名正在接受心理健康治疗的参与者进行了采访，询问他们在自杀企图之前的经历。对他们的叙述进行了主题分析编码。
文化适应困难、服务的不可及性以及与精神疾病相关的污名，是参与者寻求帮助过程中的主要障碍，这与美国其他少数族裔移民的研究结果一致。此外，研究结果还表明，该样本中中国移民的社会文化现实的变化如何破坏了熟悉的寻求帮助的途径，并使上述压力源持续存在和放大。人际联系、移民的韧性和错失的机会等问题也被确定为改变文化污名和寻求帮助行为的潜在资源。
在移民社区的精神卫生外展服务中，需要考虑各种社会文化因素。
