New approaches for mental health of social minorities

Mental health of social minorities is a challenge of modern psychiatry. It is largely described that people reporting sexual, cultural, religious variations are exposed to an amount of social stress deriving from the contrast between their minority status and the dominant societal norms and values. Minority stress leads to higher level of psychosocial distress and mental illness among these vulnerable populations. This conceptual research paper reports on evidences regarding the mental health issues related to the minority social condition and proposes a set of actions to address these challenges in a global perspective. Specifically, political, social and educational interventions are discussed in order to contrast stigma, discrimination, promote integration and health services for vulnerable populations. Policymakers are invited to deliver ad-hoc policies on minorities and homeless people with specific funding to address related public mental health issues. Educational programs are encouraged in the school setting as well as in the training of health care professionals in order to improve the level of acceptance and competencies in the treatment of minorities' health needs. We firmly believe there is no healthy society without healthy minorities.

Effective Ways to Encourage Health-Care Practices among Cultural Minorities in Israel during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Following the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, policymakers have been occupied with the questions of whether and how to specially address unique cultural groups coping with the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the potential for a culturally tailored approach to the transmission of health messages in a time of crisis among two minority populations within Israeli society: the Ultra-Orthodox population and the Arab population. To that end, 380 individuals from Israeli Ultra-Orthodox society and 360 individuals from Israeli Arab society completed a self-reported questionnaire in early April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study reveal differences between these groups in terms of the effectiveness of different channels for conveying messages and the channels that were preferred, as well as significant relationships between community sense of coherence and the study variables. We found that advocacy and motivation based on values, on the one hand, and recognition of the effectiveness of a culturally tailored approach, on the other, may be the best approach for persuading members of minority populations, who belong to collectivist societies, to comply with epidemic-control instructions.

Explaining the 'immigration advantage' and the 'biculturalism paradox': an application of the theory of demoralization

BACKGROUND

Recent immigrants have better mental health than the natives ('immigration advantage'). Biculturals have better mental health than the monoculturals ('biculturalism paradox').

MATERIAL

Mexican immigrants have lower rates of psychopathology than the U.S. population. This is less true for Cubans and not true for Puerto Ricans. The 'advantage' also occurs in other groups. Biculturals have better mental health and endorse both cultures.

DISCUSSION

The theory of demoralization predicts that borrowing values from both cultures and applying them judiciously are more conducive to mental health than indiscriminately subscribing to either culture.

CONCLUSION

The findings are consistent with the theory of demoralization.

Commitment of Cultural Minorities in Organizations: Effects of Leadership and Pressure to Conform

PURPOSE: In this study, we investigated the commitment of cultural minorities and majorities in organizations. We examined how contextual factors, such as pressure to conform and leadership styles, affect the commitment of minority and majority members. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A field study was conducted on 107 employees in a large multinational corporation. FINDINGS: We hypothesize and found that cultural minorities felt more committed to the organization than majority members, thereby challenging the existing theoretical view that cultural minorities will feel less committed. We also found that organizational pressure to conform and effective leadership increased the commitment of minorities. IMPLICATIONS: Our findings indicate that organizational leaders and researchers should not only focus on increasing and maintaining the commitment of minority members, but should also consider how majority members react to cultural socialization and integration processes. The commitment of minority members can be further enhanced by effective leadership. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: In this study, we challenge the existing theoretical view based on similarity attraction theory and relational demography theory, that cultural minorities would feel less committed to the organization. Past research has mainly focused on minority groups, thereby ignoring the reaction of the majority to socialization processes. In this study, we show that cultural minorities can be more committed than majority members in organizations. Therefore, the perceptions of cultural majority members of socialization processes should also be considered in research on cultural diversity and acculturation.