Ethnic Differences in the Correlates of Mental Distress Among Homeless Women
Received 3 May 2007; accepted 28 August 2007. published online 10 December 2007.
Background
Homeless women experience high rates of mental distress. We sought to determine whether ethnic differences exist in the relationship between the predisposing and enabling domains of the Gelberg-Andersen Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations and mental distress.
Methods
We selected 821 homeless women in the Los Angeles area using a representative probability sampling design and invited them to participate in face-to-face interviews. The sample was 67% African American, 17% Hispanic, and 16% White.
Results
We identified a number of ethnic differences in the correlates of mental distress. Being partnered or married was associated with greater distress among African American and White women, and experiencing competing needs was predictive of distress for African Americans and Hispanics.
Conclusion
A variety of factors contribute to mental distress among different ethnic groups of homeless women; these differences should be considered in the development of culturally appropriate services designed to address mental health problems among homeless populations.
aUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
bUniversity of California, Los Angeles, California
Correspondence to: Erika Laine Austin, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Sociology, U237, 1530 3rd Avenue S., Birmingham, AL 35294.
Supported by a grant from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (R01 HS08323); a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA14835); and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (#26892). R. A. received support from the UCLA/DREW Project EXPORT, NCMHD, P20MD000148/P20MD000182. L. G. received support from the George F. Kneller Professorship and the Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Physician Faculty Scholars Program Award. R. A. and L. G. are members of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine.
1 Erika Laine Austin is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research focuses on the social correlates of health and well-being in stigmatized populations; she is currently conducting a study of lesbian women living in the Southern United States.
2 Ronald M. Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus of Health Services and Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His career has been dedicated to applying his Behavioral Model for Health Services Use to examine and improve access to medical care.
3 Lillian Gelberg is Professor and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a health services researcher and family physician who conducts community-based research on the health of vulnerable populations.
ABSTRACT