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This article presents prevalence data on four specific mental disorders in samples of 452 Cuban immigrants who arrived during the Mariel crisis and 500 Haitians who arrived at about the same time. The disorders are: Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Alcohol Disorder, and Psychosis. Cubans had higher rates of disorder than Haitians at all levels of education and income, but only in the Cuban sample was the standard inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and rate of mental disorder observed. These and other results presented suggest no single theory can explain the relationship of immigration to the range of specific mental disorders.

Medical and Psychiatric Comorbidity Over the Course of Life reviews the comorbidity of mental and chronic physical syndromes in an epidemiological and life course context, offering fresh insights and identifying crucial clues to the etiology and nosological distinctiveness of both physical and mental disorders.

<i>Background:</i> The purpose of this study is to investigate the sociodemographic and health characteristics associated with the willingness to donate a DNA sample, and consent to testing and long-term storage of that sample, among participants in a longitudinal community-based survey. <i>Sample:</i> Eighty-three percent of the 1,071 participants interviewed in 2004/5 agreed to donate a biological specimen (blood or buccal). <i>Results:</i> Age was consistently inversely associated with the willingness to allow genetic testing (OR 0.97; p < 0.05), but was unrelated to the willingness to donate or allow storage.There was no association between race and the consent to donate a specimen, but Blacks were less likely to consent to DNA storage for future research as compared with members of other racial groups (OR 0.50; p < 0.01). Four conditions were listed on the consent form as relevant to the genes targeted for assay. Participants with a family history of 1 or more of these conditions were more likely to donate than those without (OR 1.68; p < 0.01). Participants with a personal history of 1 of the 4 conditions listed were not more or less likely to donate, allow testing or allow storage than respondents without such a history. <i>Conclusions:</i> Sociodemographic characteristics were unrelated to the willingness to donate a biological sample. Age, but not race, sex or education, was related to consent to genetic testing. Race, but not age, sex or education, was related to consent to storage. A family history of health conditions listed as relevant to the assays being requested was related to the willingness to donate. Factors that affect the willingness to donate a biological sample in an epidemiologic study are not the same as those associated with the willingness to allow genetic testing or storage of that sample for unspecified future research.

This paper assesses the hypothesis that depressive syndrome is associated with socioeconomic status, using longitudinal data from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Followup. Socioeconomic measures include those used in most studies of status attainment, as well as measures of financial dependence, non-job income, and work environment. Analyses include inter-and intra- generational mobility, and replicate the basic aspects of the status attainment process, as well as psychiatric epidemiologic findings regarding gender, family history of depression, life events, and depressive syndrome. But the involvement of depressive syndrome in the process of status attainment, either as cause or consequence, is small and not statistically significant. There are strong effects of financial dependence and work environment on depressive syndrome. The findings shed doubt on the utility of the causation/selection/drift model for depression, to the extent it is based on linear relationships and socioeconomic rank at the macro level, while lending credibility to social-psychologically oriented theories of work environment, poverty, and depression.

Background: The goal of this article is to investigate the relationship of psychiatric symptom severity with internalised stigma, neighbourhood environment, and social support among individuals with serious mental illness. Method: Using a longitudinal study design we examined the relationship between psychiatric symptom severity with internalised stigma, neighbourhood environment, and social support among 271 adults with serious mental illness recruited from new admissions to two urban mental health clinics. Results: After controlling for demographics increased stigma levels predicted greater symptom severity, as measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) Positive, Negative, and General Psychopathology scales over a 4-year period ( p < .05). In adjusted models, individuals who reported living in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods also reported higher PANSS Negative and General scores over time ( p < .05). Social support from friends and relatives was not significantly related to PANSS Positive, Negative, or General Psychopathology scores among individuals with serious mental illness. Conclusions: Individuals with serious mental illness who experience internalised stigma and neighbourhood disadvantage experience greater symptom severity over time. Targeting stigma and housing during treatment could potentially impact symptom severity in this population.

Background:Social network size and strength is an important determinant of overall health.Aims:This study describes the extent and strength of the social network among a sample of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and explores the relationship between an individual's social network and their experience of internal stigma and recovery attitudes.Methods:Over a 2-year period, consecutive new patients with SMI attending two community mental health clinics were recruited and interviewed using a comprehensive battery of assessments including assessment of internalized stigma, recovery attitudes and symptom severity.Results:Among the 271 patients interviewed, social network size was small across all diagnostic categories. In adjusted results, the number of friends and support from relatives and friends was significantly related to the personal confidence and hope recovery attitude ( p < .05). The number of relatives and friends and support from relatives was significantly related to internalized stigma ( p < .05). Frequency of contact with relatives or friends was not related to either recovery factors or internalized stigma.Conclusion:There is a significant positive relationship between the size and perceived strength of an individual's social network and internalized stigma and some recovery attitudes. Clinical programs that address any of these factors could potentially improve outcomes for this population.