SBP: Oppression and Mental Health in Nepal

Drs。维克森林大学的Steven Folmar， Lisa jiang和Guy Palmes将调查社会地位对尼泊尔青少年心理健康的影响如何受到身份概念的影响。社会地位和心理健康之间关系的变化表明，其他因素，如个人对身份的看法，改变了这种联系。这个项目将测试两个相互关联的因素的影响，教育和“社会文化模式”（人们如何看待自己在一个地位群体中的地位），其中一个模型由认为群体认同源于成员固有的基本物质的个人持有，另一个模型由认为群体认同源于可以改变的社会因素的个人持有。该项目将采用各种社会科学方法，包括广泛和详细的观察，以及若干关于经济状况、心理健康和社会文化模式的标准化调查和问卷。总共300名青少年将从三个不同教育水平的群体中抽取：高地位（高种姓）、中等地位（少数民族）和低地位/种姓（达利特）。该项目将在尼泊尔的Lamjung设立，该地区的社会地位差异很大，城乡、教育、宗教、政治、种族和种姓也存在差异。通过调查改变社会地位如何影响心理健康的因素，有可能阐明弹性和内化的复杂心理过程以及它们与心理健康的关系。这项研究的意义适用于理解边缘化的心理健康成本和内部应对方法，不仅在尼泊尔的低种姓群体中，而且在世界各地的其他边缘化群体中。研究结果将为社会差别明显的社会的社会歧视和心理健康政策提供信息。该项目还将有助于扩大代表性不足群体对科学的参与，是跨学科奖学金的一个极好例子。该项目将影响尼泊尔和其他地方的精神病学培训、公共卫生的规划和提供以及教育干预措施。它将为美国和尼泊尔之间的研究伙伴关系创造机会，并将培训两国的学生和研究人员。

Drs. Steven Folmar, Lisa Kiang, and Guy Palmes of Wake Forest University will investigate how the impact of social status on the mental health of adolescents in Nepal is affected by concepts of identity. Variation in the relationship between social status and mental health suggests that other factors, such as how individuals think about identity, alter this association. This project will test the effects of two interrelated factors, education and 'cultural models of society' (how people view their membership in a status group), with one model held by individuals who believe that group identity results from an essential substance inherent in the members and the other model held by individuals who believe that group identity is due to societal factors that can be altered. The project will employ a variety of social science methods, including extensive and detailed observations, and several standardized surveys and questionnaires on economic status, mental health and cultural models of society. A total of 300 adolescents will be drawn from three groups: high status (high caste), intermediate status (ethnic group), and low status/caste (Dalit) with varying levels of education. The project will be set in Lamjung, Nepal, which is characterized by sharp differences in social status and by rural-urban, educational, religious, political, and ethnic and caste diversity.By investigating factors that alter how social status affects mental health, it becomes possible to shed light on the complex psychological processes of resiliency and internalization and how they relate to mental well-being. The implications of this study apply to understanding the mental health costs of marginalization and the internal methods of coping, not just among low-caste groups in Nepal but among other marginalized groups around the world. Results will inform policy on social discrimination and mental health in societies with marked social distinctions. The project will also contribute to the science of broadening participation of underrepresented groups in science and is an excellent example of interdisciplinary scholarship. The project stands to influence training in psychiatry, the planning and delivery of public health, and educational interventions in Nepal and elsewhere. It will create opportunities for research partnerships between the U.S. and Nepal and will train students and researchers from both countries.