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Mediators of a Culturally-Sensitive Intervention for Suicidal African American Women

2013; Springer Science+Business Media; Volume: 20; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/s10880-013-9373-0

1573-3572

Huaiyu Zhang, Kiranmayi Neelarambam, Tomina J. Schwenke, Miesha Rhodes, Delishia M. Pittman, Nadine J. Kaslow,

Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

This study explored intervention outcomes and mechanisms that could help explain why low-income, African American women with a history of intimate partner abuse and suicide attempt improve in response to a culturally-informed intervention, the Grady Nia Project. Specifically, the investigation examined whether or not the intervention had effects on the women and whether or not spiritual well-being and coping mediated the effects of the intervention on suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms. In this randomized controlled clinical trial, data from 89 women who completed both pre- and post-intervention assessments were analyzed. During the post-intervention follow-up, women in the active intervention group reported lower levels of suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms and higher levels of existential well-being and adaptive coping skills than those women randomized to the treatment as usual group. However, only existential well-being was found to mediate treatment effects on suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms. Religious well-being, as well as adaptive and maladaptive coping, did not serve a mediational function. These findings highlight the importance of designing and implementing culturally-sensitive and evidence-based strategies that enhance existential well-being in this population.