Indiana Psychological Association News
PsychByte: Geriatric Attitudes and Mental Health
Geriatric Attitudes and Mental Health
As clinical professionals within a continuously changing environment, the importance of acknowledging and incorporating multicultural factors such as age and ethnicity into our therapeutic work is paramount. Jimenez, Bartels, Cardenas & Alegria (2013) explored the perceived stigma of having a mental illness among older adults. Despite the estimated projections that mental health disorders would substantially increase in the geriatric population, Graham and colleagues (2003) found that older adults were more likely to hold negative attitudes toward psychological disorders and therapeutic treatment (as cited in Jimenez et. al, 2013). In particular, racial/ethnic older adults who seek mental health services tend to report a “triple stigma,” which includes being a minority, being older, and having a mental illness. They highlight the importance of considering how older adults’ cultural attitudes toward mental illness can serve as barriers to seeking and obtaining treatment. With better understanding of these attitudes, culturally-specific/culturally-sensitive information can be incorporated into psychoeducational materials and advertising. They also proposed that to help reduce this stigma and encourage the geriatric population to obtain mental health treatment, current psychological interventions should begin to address some of these misconceptions and cultural attitudes. As such, it is important for psychologists to be mindful of how multicultural factors like the “triple stigma” influences individuals’ attitudes toward help-seeking.
For more information please see:
Jimenez, D., Bartels, S., Cardenas, V. & Alegria, M. (2013). Stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness among racial/ethnic older adults in primary care. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28 (10), 1061-1068. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gps.3928
Graham N, Lindesay J, Katona C, et al. 2003. Reducing stigma and discrimination against older people with mental disorders: a technical consensus statement. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 18(8): 670–678.
Contributors:
Rachel Chan, M.S. & Alexandria Willis, M.S.
Interns in Clinical Psychology at the St. Vincent Neuroscience Institute
St. Vincent Hospital
Sarah Jenkins, Ph.D., HSPP
Clinical Health Psychologist
Diversity Coordinator, Doctoral Internship Program, St. Vincent Neuroscience Institute-St. Vincent Hospital
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