Multicultural Psychology Exam 3 Study Guide

Health: A comprehensive state of physical, mental, and social well-being; it is not merely the absence of disease.
Health Behaviors: Actions individuals take to enhance or maintain their health, shaped by demographic factors and available resources.
Health Psychology: A field that examines how psychological factors influence health and illness.

Common-sense Model: Reflects how patients perceive, deal with, assess, and modify their coping strategies regarding illness.
Health Belief Model Components:
- Susceptibility: The belief about the likelihood of getting a disease.
- Severity: The belief about the seriousness of the consequences of the disease.
- Benefits: The belief in the efficacy of the advised action to reduce the risk or severity.
- Barriers: The perceived obstacles to taking the advised action.

Health Disparities: Variations in health outcomes between marginalized and privileged groups.
Health-care Disparities: Differences in access and quality of healthcare services.
Influencing Factors:
- Health values
- Perceived vulnerability
- Consequences of disorders
Weathering Hypothesis: Suggests that chronic stress leads to accelerated health decline among African Americans through:
- Allostatic Load: The cumulative wear and tear on the body.
- Epigenetic Changes: Modifications on DNA that affect gene expression.
- Behavioral Factors: Lifestyle choices that influence health.

Institutional Racism: Affects health by creating disparities in access to care and inducing stress.
Patient-Provider Interactions: Racism can alter these interactions, creating barriers and escalating patient stress.
Historical Distrust: Rooted in unethical medical studies, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the case of Henrietta Lacks.

Moral Economy: Norms that affect treatment strategies and justify disparities in health equity.
Barriers to Care:
- Lack of insurance
- Transportation issues
- Cultural competence gaps
- Language barriers
- Economic factors

Culturally Competent Care: Essential for minimizing health risks and respecting human rights.
Implicit Bias in Healthcare: Healthcare providers' subconscious biases can reduce care quality and affect assumptions about patient compliance, evidenced by Implicit Association Test (IAT) results.

Intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw): Understanding how various social statuses (e.g., race, gender, disability) interact and shape experiences.
Historical Influences:
- Deinstitutionalization: Movement away from institutional care.
- Post-WWII advancements: Improvements in standards of care.
- Mainstreaming Education: Inclusion in educational settings due to laws like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Legislation ensuring access.
Models of Disability:
- Medical Model: Views disabilities as deficits needing correction.
- Social Model: Considers disability as a result of social barriers.
- Cultural Model: Recognizes disability as a social identity shaped by cultural interpretations, highlighting:
- Identity/community
- The importance of representation
- Intersectionality
- Empowerment
- Cultural relativism
Ableism: Discrimination against those perceived as disabled.

DisCrit: Blends Disability Studies with Critical Race Theory (CRT), focusing on:
- Interconnectedness of racism and ableism.
- Dynamics of multidimensional identities.
- How social labels affect lives.
- Empowering marginalized voices.
- Historical/legal impacts of disability and race.
- Viewing ability and whiteness as forms of property.
- Activism against ableism and racism.

Cultural Concepts of Distress: Disorders framed by cultural contexts, including:
- Ataque de nervios: An episode of acute distress prevalent in Latino cultures.
- Susto: A form of fright-related distress.
- Taijin Kyofusho: Fear of offending others, found in Japanese culture.
- Dhat Syndrome: Anxiety associated with semen loss in South Asian cultures.
- Ghost Sickness: Belief in negative impacts from the presence of spirits in Native American cultures.
Somatization: Physical representation of psychological distress, often observed in collectivist societies.

Symptoms labeled by cultural norms are expressed differently (e.g., prioritization of somatic vs. emotional symptoms).
Example: Neurasthenia in China represents a culturally accepted form of depression.

DSM-5 Cultural Formulation: A structured approach to understanding cultural identity and explanatory frameworks through the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI).
Stigma: Impacts help-seeking behaviors across various cultures, notably in Black, Latinx, and Asian communities.

Epidemiological Paradox: Minorities exhibit lower rates of certain disorders but face more chronic and severe cases upon diagnosis.
Misdiagnoses: Highlights examples such as:
- Overdiagnosis of schizophrenia among African Americans.
- Underdiagnosis of internalizing disorders and overdiagnosis of conduct disorders in youth from minority backgrounds.
- ADHD often underdiagnosed yet disproportionately disciplined among minority youth.

Emphasizes the necessity of understanding sociocultural contexts, building trust, and recognizing culturally specific symptoms.

Critiques Eurocentric biases in psychology and its colonial legacies.
Promotes the understanding of mental health through cultural, historical, and political lenses.
Rejects the universal application of Western psychiatric frameworks without considering cultural context.
Advocates for epistemic humility and inclusion of Indigenous and community knowledge.

Three Key Domains:
- Awareness: Self-reflection on one’s biases and assumptions.
- Knowledge: Understanding various cultural contexts and social dynamics impacting behavior and health.
- Skills: The ability to apply culturally relevant interventions in practice.

Advocates for ongoing learning and self-reflection in cultural practice to enhance care effectiveness.

Enhancements to therapy by adapting techniques to engage culturally diverse populations.
Integration of community cultural components into therapeutic practices.
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): A collaborative approach to developing interventions tailored to community needs.
Supports community-driven initiatives involving local social networks (e.g., promotoras de salud, faith-based programs).

Promotes incorporation of multicultural competence and humility at all levels of care (clinical, organizational, systemic).
Advocacy for empowerment, prevention, and community engagement alongside therapeutic practices.