Mental Health In Adolescents Influenced By Cultural Identity

Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 16 Apr 2008 - 2:00 PST

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The first prospective study investigating cultural identity and mental health status among adolescents living in a culturally diverse society has revealed that there is an association between the two, and that effects differ by gender and ethnic group. Researchers say the findings, published in The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, could inform policies affecting educational and social institutions caring for young people.

Led by Kamaldeep Bhui, Professor of Cultural Psychiatry and Epidemiology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, the research looked at 11-14 year-old White British and Bangladeshi pupils taken from a representative sample of schools in east London*, and assessed cultural identity via their preference for friends and clothes from their own, or other cultural groups. The pupils were then classified into traditional, integrated, assimilated or marginalised groups. In a follow-up study two years later, a number of the same pupils were resurveyed and completed measures of mental health.

Results showed that clothing preferences in adolescence appeared to influence future mental health, with different effects apparent by gender. Bangladeshi girls for example were most likely to benefit from traditional clothing choices, and White British girls benefited from integrated clothing choices. In contrast to Bangladeshi girls, White British girls with traditional clothing preferences had a higher risk of ill mental health, and White British girls who preferred clothing from other cultural groups (assimilated) were at an even higher risk. Bangladeshi boys who entirely preferred wearing western clothing had a lower risk of mental health problems, and White British boys with integrated clothing choices had the lowest risk of mental health problems at follow up, with the highest risk being those with marginalised clothing choices. These findings were sustained even after further adjustment for place of birth, religious groups and number of years resident in the UK.

The research did not reveal an association between friend-ship based measures of cultural identity and mental disorder, contradicting previous cross-sectional studies.

Professor Kam Bhui said: "This research shows that clothing choices as measures of cultural identity influence the risk of ill mental health later in life. The results suggest that policies and practices which encourage young people to move away from traditional forms of dress and identity to embrace integrated ones require further refinement, research and evaluation."

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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*Schools involved in the study were located in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, and Newham.

For further information contact:

Alex Fernandes
Communications Office
Queen Mary, University of London

Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry

Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry offers international levels of excellence in research and teaching while serving a population of unrivalled diversity amongst which cases of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, TB, oral disease and cancers are prevalent, within east London and the wider Thames Gateway. Through partnership with our linked trusts, notably Barts and The London NHS Trust, and our associated University Hospital trusts - Homerton, Newham, Whipps Cross and Queen's - the School's research and teaching is informed by an exceptionally wide ranging and stimulating clinical environment.

At the heart of the School's mission lies world class research, the result of a focused programme of recruitment of leading research groups from the UK and abroad and a £100 million investment in state-of-the-art facilities. Research is focused on translational research, cancer, cardiology, clinical pharmacology, inflammation, infectious diseases, stem cells, dermatology, gastroenterology, haematology, diabetes, neuroscience, surgery and dentistry.

The School is nationally and internationally recognised for research in these areas, reflected in the £40 million it attracts annually in research income. Its fundamental mission, with its partner NHS Trusts, and other partner organisations such as CRUK, is to ensure that that the best possible clinical service is underpinned by the very latest developments in scientific and clinical teaching, training and research.

Source: Alex Fernandes
Queen Mary, University of London