How discourses of sharam (shame) and mental health influence the help-seeking behaviours of British born girls of South Asian heritage

Sangar, Maninder Kaur; Howe, Julia Ward

doi:10.1080/02667363.2021.1951676

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The results of this study highlight the challenges YPW face navigating the relationships between Pakistani and British cultures in relation to help-seeking for SMHPs. Both YPW and their parents spoke of stigmatizing views toward mental illness within Pakistani culture, consistent with previous research ( Bonanno et al, 2021 ; Sangar & Howe, 2021 ). Many participants discussed a generational shift to less stigmatizing views toward mental illness, both in younger ages but also in later generations of Pakistani immigrants.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Suggested reasons for this include higher levels of social isolation, unhappy marriages, inter-generational conflicts ( Gask et al, 2011 ), and lower social mobility ( Tabassum et al, 2000 ), which may be more common in some Pakistani communities due to patriarchal norms. For some young Pakistani women (YPW), the expression of mental illness is thought to impinge upon family honor and self-respect (“izzat”; Gunasinghe et al, 2019 ), leading to family ostracism, reduced marriage prospects, and increased violence ( Sangar & Howe, 2021 ; Tabassum et al, 2000 ). Barriers to mental health help-seeking specific to YPW are therefore likely to exist, but these are not currently well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experiences of Help-Seeking for Severe Mental Health Problems in Young Pakistani Women: A Preliminary Qualitative Study

Causier,

Johns,

Radez

et al. 2024

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

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Almost three quarters of mental illnesses start by the age of 25, yet youth (18–25-year-olds) are often underrepresented in U.K. services. This is particularly true for those of ethnic minorities. In this study, we aimed to understand how young Pakistani women and their parents make decisions to seek help for severe mental health problems, and the barriers and facilitators to accessing professional help. Young Pakistani women with experience of severe mental health problems and their parents were recruited from a community sample. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six young people and two parents. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Pakistani culture and its interplay with British culture strongly influenced the decisions and ability of young Pakistani women and their parents to help-seek, largely through the role of stigma. Low mental health literacy, stigma, and a lack of culturally informed services were identified as the most common barriers to accessing care. These barriers fed into the internalized stigma these young women experienced which, through fear of damaged reputation and personal prejudices, posed further barriers to seeking help. Participants highlighted recommendations for both individual-level (e.g., increased education and awareness) and service-level (e.g., greater choice over care) change to facilitate accessibility of professional help. Young Pakistani women face multiple culturally related challenges to accessing care for severe mental health problems at both the individual- and service-level. Novel suggestions to address these challenges, such as including youth peer support workers in services, may facilitate more inclusive and accessible services.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of Help-Seeking for Severe Mental Health Problems in Young Pakistani Women: A Preliminary Qualitative Study

Causier,

Johns,

Radez

et al. 2024

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

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“…However, at an intersection between South Asian culture and American culture, South Asian American women suffer doubly from appearance-based pressures in both societies. This is especially dangerous given that South Asian women express below-average rates of help-seeking behavior, 65 and are discouraged from expressing mental health concerns, for the sake of preserving harmony in collectivist culture. 66 Increased support from research and mental health resources are needed to help South Asian women break through this barrier of silence and overcome these extreme challenges to body esteem.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cover Girls

Khasru

2022

CJA

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Existing studies show that exposure to appearance-based western media has a robust negative effect on women’s body esteem, eating practices, and self-image. This effect is mediated further by women’s individual characteristics, especially women’s pre-existing low body esteem, exposure to social comparison, and reliance on others’ approval for self-worth. A literature review reveals that (compared to white American women) South Asian American women have above-average exposure to objectification, social comparison, appearance-based commentary, and cultural conflict. Research suggests that all of these factors contribute to high body dissatisfaction and maladaptive eating in South Asian American women. Furthermore, American appearance-based media presents Asian women more infrequently and with more restrictions on physical features, compared to representation of white women. Therefore, appearance-based media may have a more salient (yet understudied) effect on the self-image and body esteem of South Asian American women than it does on white American women. This is but one example of a social phenomenon that has a more harmful effect on South Asian American women than their white American peers. The consequences of high vulnerability to body dissatisfaction include psychological distress and maladaptive eating.

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“…Two constructs play a large part in how South Asian communities operate: izzat and sharam, which broadly correspond to Western notions of honour and shame respectively (Sangar and Howe 2021). These social and cultural constructs have emerged from the traditionally patriarchal structure of South Asian families, and they often pertain to the women of the household, who bear responsibility for upholding honour and avoiding shame (Tonsing and Barn 2017).…”

Section: Child Sexual Abuse Within South Asian Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘They Wouldn’t Believe Me’: Giving a Voice to British South Asian Male Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Gill

Begum²

2023

The British Journal of Criminology

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British South Asian male child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors face a twofold problem: lack of research on this phenomenon and limited service provision. First, male CSA survivors have traditionally been marginalized in favour of female CSA survivors, a group that forms the basis of most academic research and to whom the majority of counselling and support services in the UK cater (Rapsey et al. 2020). The centrality of these female experiences, although crucial to understanding CSA survivor experiences in general, has eclipsed the specific narratives of male survivors. Second, despite the UK’s incredibly multicultural population, people from minoritized backgrounds still experience institutional forms of racism that are entrenched in service provision and research and that lead to racialized and Eurocentric perspectives and practices (Singh 2019). This article thus seeks to expand on the existing body of literature on male CSA in minoritized groups. It illuminates the experiences of male survivors from British South Asian communities, creating space for the much-needed voices of a critically under-researched group.

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How discourses of sharam (shame) and mental health influence the help-seeking behaviours of British born girls of South Asian heritage

Abstract: How discourses of sharam (shame) and mental health influence the help-seeking behaviours of British born girls of South Asian heritage

Cited by 8 publications

References 42 publications

Experiences of Help-Seeking for Severe Mental Health Problems in Young Pakistani Women: A Preliminary Qualitative Study

Experiences of Help-Seeking for Severe Mental Health Problems in Young Pakistani Women: A Preliminary Qualitative Study

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‘They Wouldn’t Believe Me’: Giving a Voice to British South Asian Male Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

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