Risk factors for psychopathology

描述（由申请人提供）：系统辩护理论提出，个人发展出信仰体系来解释和合法化社会中群体之间存在的地位差异。尽管人们在支持系统合理化信念的程度上有所不同，但研究表明，它们得到了广泛的认可，对心理健康有着重要的影响。特别是，最近的研究发现，制度辩护与低地位群体成员的精神障碍有关。然而，目前的研究主要集中在大学样本上，使用的是横截面方法。本申请的长期目标是通过考察制度正当性作为低收入少数民族和新移民心理疾病的风险因素，探索纵向关系，研究母亲制度正当性与心理健康和儿童行为问题之间的关联，来扩展现有的制度正当性研究。目前的项目由两项研究组成，依赖于纽约大学文化、发展和教育研究中心（CRCDE）的数据，这些数据有很多优势。首先，样本由200名最近在纽约市分娩的低收入、移民和不同种族的妇女组成。其次，对母亲及其婴儿进行为期三年的纵向随访，并使用有效的流行病学筛查工具对母亲精神障碍和儿童行为问题进行评估。第三，CRCDE将定量调查措施与随机抽样调查成员的嵌入式定性研究相结合，允许对结构之间的关系进行更细致的理解。第一项研究以调查数据为基础，采用基于回归的变化得分分析和结构方程建模技术，探讨了母亲制度正当性、母亲精神疾病和儿童行为问题之间的纵向关联。我假设，系统辩护将与母亲患精神疾病和儿童行为问题的风险呈正相关。第二项研究采用混合方法，将调查和定性数据相结合，探索不同低收入妇女认可的制度辩护信念的类型，并确定减轻或加剧制度辩护、孕产妇精神障碍和儿童行为问题之间关系的因素。拟议的项目对公众健康有直接影响。制度辩护可能是一个重要的以前未被发现的风险因素，使母亲及其子女面临精神障碍和行为问题的风险。了解制度辩护在心理健康中的作用可以为旨在改善美国弱势群体心理健康的政策和干预工作提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): System justification theory proposes that individuals develop belief systems to explain and legitimize existing status differences between groups in societies. Although people differ in the extent to which they endorse system-justifying beliefs, research shows they are widely endorsed and have important implications for mental health. In particular, recent research has found that system justification is related to mental disorders among members of low-status groups. However, the current research is limited by its focus on college samples and use of cross-sectional methods. The long-term objective of this application is to extend the current research on system justification by examining system justification as a risk factor for mental illness among low-income racial/ethnic minorities and recent immigrants, exploring relationships longitudinally and studying associations between maternal system justification and mental health and child behavior problems. The current project, comprised of two studies, relies on data from NYU's Center for Research on Culture, Development and Education (CRCDE), which have a number of advantages. First, the sample is composed of 200 low-income, immigrant and ethnically diverse women who recently gave birth in New York City. Second, mothers and their infants are followed longitudinally over three years and assessed using well- validated epidemiological screening tools for maternal mental disorders and child behavior problems. Third, the CRCDE combines quantitative survey measures with an embedded qualitative study of a random sample of survey members, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of relationships between constructs. The first study, focused on survey data, employs regression-based change score analyses and structural equation modeling techniques to explore longitudinal associations between maternal system justification, maternal mental illness and child behavior problems. I hypothesize that system justification will be positively related to maternal risk for mental illness and child behavior problems. The second study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining survey and qualitative data to explore the types of system- justifying beliefs endorsed by diverse low-income women, and identify factors that mitigate or exacerbate the relationship between system justification, maternal mental disorders and child behavior problems. The proposed project has direct implications for public health. System justification may be an important previously unidentified risk factor placing mothers and their children at risk for mental disorders and behavior problems. Understanding the role of system justification in mental health can inform policy and intervention efforts aimed at improving the mental health of vulnerable groups in the US.