Transcultural Psychiatry

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Acharya, M. P.
Right arrow Articles by Northcott, H. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Acharya, M. P.
Right arrow Articles by Northcott, H. C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Transcultural Psychiatry, Vol. 44, No. 4, 614-636 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1363461507083901

Mental Distress and the Coping Strategies of Elderly Indian Immigrant Women

Manju P. Acharya

University of Lethbridge, acharya{at}uleth.ca

Herbert C. Northcott

University of Alberta, herb.northcott{at}ualberta.ca

This article explores how elderly English-speaking Indian immigrant women living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada perceive and manage mental distress. With elders' consent, in-depth interviews were recorded, transcribed and transcripts were thematically analyzed. The findings suggest that these women believed that to lower the risk of mental distress it is critical for individuals to `maximize control over inner self' by `being busy.' The elder's busy behavior is framed within the Indian cultural and spiritual/faith matrix in dialogue with acculturation experiences in Canada. `Staying busy' allows these elders to use culture as a `moral medicine' to facilitate coping and adaptation.

Key Words: Canada • coping strategy • culture • elderly Indian immigrant women • mental distress


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?