Determinants of Minority Mental Health and Wellness

The United States is experiencing a dramatic shift in demographics, with minorities comprising a rapidly growing proportion of the population. It is anticipated that this will likely lead to substantial changes in previously established values, needs, and priorities of the population, including health and mental health for individuals, families, and society at large. This volume focuses on determinants of minority mental health and wellness. This emphasis necessarily raises the question of just who is a minority and how is minority to be defined. The term has been defined in any number of ways. Wirth (1945, p. 347) offered one of the earliest definitions of minority: We may define a minority as a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination. The existence of a minority in a society implies the existence of a corresponding dominant group enjoying higher social status and greater privileges.

From the reviews: "The 18 chapters of this volume examine and critique current research as part of their discussion of the methods and issues that concern mental health assessment and treatment of minorities. … Throughout, the authors address each topic by offering broader, often theoretical approaches to the question of ethnicity and what constitutes minority culture. … This volume will be a valuable resource for social workers, therapists, and anyone working in public health." (SciTech Book News, March, 2009) "This book presents a comprehensive review of determinants of minority mental health and wellness from a multilevel perspective. … Graduate students and researchers/clinicians appear to be the intended audience. The book covers a wide range of important, specific issues and factors related to the determinants of minority mental health in the U.S." (Amy E Harley, Doody’s Review Service, May, 2009) “Sana Loue and Martha Sajatovic have gathered a collection of chapters addressing mental health and illness in diverse groups of persons of color and highlight mental wellness. Health (a state of being) and wellness (the process of pursuing that state) are clearly defined, with individual and systemic barriers to wellness emphasized. … Determinants of Minority Mental Health and Wellness provides an adequate review of the area. … the book is well written and reasonably presented … .” (Carl C. Bell, Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 303 (6), 2010)

Dr. Loue is known internationally for her research with minority communities, as well as research ethics and epidemiology. She is the Principal Investigator of a foundation-funded study examining the co-occurrence of mental illness and HIV risk among African-American men who have sex with men and an NIMH-funded study focusing on the cultural context of HIV risk among Latinas with severe mental illness. Dr. Sajatovic is a psychiatrist with significant expertise in mood disorders and an increasing research and clinical focus on the delivery of quality mental health care to minority populations.