TY - JOUR
T1 - A brief anti-stigma intervention for Chinese immigrant caregivers of individuals with psychosis
T2 - AdaptatioN and initial findings
AU - Yang, Lawrence H.
AU - Lai, Grace Y.
AU - tu, Ming
AU - Luo, Maggie
AU - Wonpat-Borja, Ahtoy
AU - Jackson, Valerie W.
AU - Lewis-Fernández, Roberto
AU - Dixon, Lisa
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by National Institutes of Mental Health Grant K01 MH73034-01, and grants from the Cultural Competence Unit– NYS Office of Mental Health, Award for Advancing Minority Mental Health– American Psychiatric Foundation, and the New York State Office of Mental Health, which was awarded to the first author.
PY - 2014/4
Y1 - 2014/4
N2 - Mental illness stigma has adverse effects on both the caregivers’ psychological well-being and the effectiveness of care that consumers receive. While anti-stigma interventions for family caregivers from Western settings have recently shown efficacy, these interventions may not be equally applicable across culturally diverse groups. Specifically, Chinese immigrant caregivers experience heightened internalized stigma, which predisposes the adoption of harmful coping strategies and reduced quality of social networks. We present an anti-stigma intervention based on a peer-family group format, co-led by a clinician and a trained family caregiver, to counter stigma among Chinese immigrants. Data are presented from a brief intervention administered to a pilot sample of 11 Chinese immigrant caregivers that provides: psychoeducation, strategies to counter experienced discrimination, and techniques to resist internalized stigma. Case vignettes illustrate implementation of this intervention, and how the peer-family format via interactive contact counteracts internalized stereotypes, encourages adaptive coping strategies, and reinvigorates social networks. Quantitative results further suggest preliminary efficacy in reducing internalized stigma for caregivers who evidenced at least some prior internalized stigma. This study constitutes an initial but important step towards reducing mental illness stigma among Asian Americans, for whom stigma has played a powerful role in the delay and underuse of treatment.
AB - Mental illness stigma has adverse effects on both the caregivers’ psychological well-being and the effectiveness of care that consumers receive. While anti-stigma interventions for family caregivers from Western settings have recently shown efficacy, these interventions may not be equally applicable across culturally diverse groups. Specifically, Chinese immigrant caregivers experience heightened internalized stigma, which predisposes the adoption of harmful coping strategies and reduced quality of social networks. We present an anti-stigma intervention based on a peer-family group format, co-led by a clinician and a trained family caregiver, to counter stigma among Chinese immigrants. Data are presented from a brief intervention administered to a pilot sample of 11 Chinese immigrant caregivers that provides: psychoeducation, strategies to counter experienced discrimination, and techniques to resist internalized stigma. Case vignettes illustrate implementation of this intervention, and how the peer-family format via interactive contact counteracts internalized stereotypes, encourages adaptive coping strategies, and reinvigorates social networks. Quantitative results further suggest preliminary efficacy in reducing internalized stigma for caregivers who evidenced at least some prior internalized stigma. This study constitutes an initial but important step towards reducing mental illness stigma among Asian Americans, for whom stigma has played a powerful role in the delay and underuse of treatment.
KW - Asian American
KW - mental health stigma reduction
KW - psychoeducation
KW - stereotypes
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84896072842&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1363461513512015
DO - 10.1177/1363461513512015
M3 - Article
C2 - 24318864
AN - SCOPUS:84896072842
SN - 1363-4615
VL - 51
SP - 139
EP - 157
JO - transcultural psychiatry
JF - transcultural psychiatry
IS - 2
ER -