This dissertation seeks to increase understanding about why older African Americans have equal or lower rates of mental illness
than whites; despite the general tendency that disadvantaged individuals have worse mental health than advantaged individuals. To explain
the unexpected finding from a methodological standpoint, this study uses the 2008 and 2012 Waves of the Health and Retirement Study and
examines racial differences in the factor structures of mental illness focusing on symptoms included in the CES-D (Center for
Epidemiologic Studies Depression) and the BAI (Beck Anxiety Inventory). To understand the implications of these racial differences in the
stress process, this study also examines how discrimination, as a type of stressor, manifests into different mental health outcomes
(somatic or mood-based symptoms) between older African Americans and whites. The analysis employs structural equation modeling and finds
that modeling CES-D and BAI items as mood-based and somatic constructs of general distress has better model fit than modeling these items
than as separate constructs of depression and anxiety (Chapter 2). In regard to racial differences in the factor structure of these
models, the analysis finds that the factor structure of the somatic model differs between the racial groups whereas the factor structure
of the mood-based model does not differ. When examining how discrimination manifests into different mental health outcomes, the analysis
shows that discrimination is related to increased mood-based symptoms among whites and unrelated to mood-based symptoms among African
Americans (Chapter 3). Additionally, everyday discrimination and lifetime discrimination are related to increased somatic symptoms among
whites. Among African Americans, physical disability and financial status based discrimination are related to increased somatic symptoms,
and lifetime discrimination and ancestry-based discrimination are related to decreased somatic symptoms. The findings from this
dissertation suggest that current measures of mental illness (e.g., CES-D, BAI, etc.) may not measure the same constructs across racial
groups and that modeling mental illness as mood-based and somatic constructs may give better insights into the prevalence of mental
illness among older adults. Further, this study sheds light on the potential effects of discrimination on an alternative and more
culturally specific expression of mental illness symptoms (somatic symptoms). This study also extends the literature on discrimination and
mental health by illustrating how different forms of discrimination impact different mental health outcomes. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2016. / April 7, 2016. / African American, anxiety, depression, older adults / Includes bibliographical references. / Koji Ueno, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ming Cui, Committee Member; Amy Burdette, Committee
Member; Miles Taylor, Committee Member; , .
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_360466 |
| Contributors | Vaghela, Preeti (authoraut), Ueno, Koji (professor directing dissertation), Cui, Ming (committee member), Burdette, Amy M. (committee member), Taylor, Miles G. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (degree granting college), Department of Sociology (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (99 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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