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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Notions Of Spirits As Agents Of Mental Illness Among The Akan Of Ghana: A Cultural-Psychological Exploration, Annabella Opare-Henaku
Notions Of Spirits As Agents Of Mental Illness Among The Akan Of Ghana: A Cultural-Psychological Exploration, Annabella Opare-Henaku
Theses and Dissertations
The study explores lay conceptualizations of mental illness among the Akans of Ghana as influenced by their cultural worldview. Akan, the largest ethnic group in Ghana, is noted for the use of supernatural attributions for various health-related issues. The supernatural attributions are based on Akan ontological belief that the universe is unitary such that there is no clear distinction between physical and spiritual occurrences. This worldview guides Akans in how they deal with a wide range of issues including their mental health. Clinicians and other mental health professionals who rely solely on biomedical approaches to mental health fail to meet …
Applying The Social Norms Approach To Help Seeking Behavior In The Military, Janette Hamilton
Applying The Social Norms Approach To Help Seeking Behavior In The Military, Janette Hamilton
Theses and Dissertations
OBJECTIVE: The study assessed the applicability of the social norms approach to help-seeking behavior in the military by exploring whether Service Members are affected by perceptions of peers’ beliefs about stigma related barriers to mental health care. METHOD: Data were collected from members of the Virginia National Guard (N= 84) during Yellow Ribbon events. Using surveys, Service Members’ own perceptions and their perceptions of their peers’ beliefs about barriers to seeking psychological care were gathered. RESULTS: Participants’ own beliefs about barriers to care were positively correlated with perceptions of peers’ beliefs. Variance in help-seeking status was better accounted for by …