Mama Scherezade K, Li Yisheng, Basen-Engquist Karen, Lee Rebecca E, Thompson Deborah, Wetter David W, Nguyen Nga T, Reitzel Lorraine R, McNeill Lorna H
Department of Kinesiology, College of Health and Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2016 Apr 27;11(4):e0154035. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154035. eCollection 2016.
Resource-poor social environments predict poor health, but the mechanisms and processes linking the social environment to psychological health and well-being remain unclear. This study explored psychosocial mediators of the association between the social environment and mental health in African American adults. African American men and women (n = 1467) completed questionnaires on the social environment, psychosocial factors (stress, depressive symptoms, and racial discrimination), and mental health. Multiple-mediator models were used to assess direct and indirect effects of the social environment on mental health. Low social status in the community (p < .001) and U.S. (p < .001) and low social support (p < .001) were associated with poor mental health. Psychosocial factors significantly jointly mediated the relationship between the social environment and mental health in multiple-mediator models. Low social status and social support were associated with greater perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and perceived racial discrimination, which were associated with poor mental health. Results suggest the relationship between the social environment and mental health is mediated by psychosocial factors and revealed potential mechanisms through which social status and social support influence the mental health of African American men and women. Findings from this study provide insight into the differential effects of stress, depression and discrimination on mental health. Ecological approaches that aim to improve the social environment and psychosocial mediators may enhance health-related quality of life and reduce health disparities in African Americans.
资源匮乏的社会环境预示着健康状况不佳，但将社会环境与心理健康及幸福感联系起来的机制和过程仍不明确。本研究探讨了非裔美国成年人中社会环境与心理健康之间关联的心理社会中介因素。非裔美国男性和女性（n = 1467）完成了关于社会环境、心理社会因素（压力、抑郁症状和种族歧视）以及心理健康的问卷调查。使用多重中介模型来评估社会环境对心理健康的直接和间接影响。社区（p <.001）和美国（p <.001）的低社会地位以及低社会支持（p <.001）与心理健康不佳相关。在多重中介模型中，心理社会因素显著共同介导了社会环境与心理健康之间的关系。低社会地位和社会支持与更高的感知压力、抑郁症状以及感知种族歧视相关，而这些又与心理健康不佳相关。结果表明，社会环境与心理健康之间的关系由心理社会因素介导，并揭示了社会地位和社会支持影响非裔美国男性和女性心理健康的潜在机制。本研究结果为压力、抑郁和歧视对心理健康的不同影响提供了见解。旨在改善社会环境和心理社会中介因素的生态方法可能会提高非裔美国人与健康相关的生活质量并减少健康差距。
