I am thrilled to open this issue about mental health issues with Ge Qian's exemplary study about the effect of gender equality on happiness. She provides a theoretical, philosophical, and methodological contribution to the literature on women's health issues. You perhaps will agree, as I do, with the author's assertion that global policy recommendations can be created from her statistical results. In one result, Qian considers the importance of social support. It is not surprising that other researchers who write about mental health issues also study this variable, as well as its antithesis, social stigma. Stigma, of course, is rejection, accompanied by treating people badly. When one incorporates stigma into one's personal identity, one stigmatizes one's self, and may experience depression. This may happen to cancer patients—but read Soetrisno and colleagues’ work to see how supportive logotherapy can help patients find meaning in life as depression lessens.
Karen Aroian et al. note that social support helps immigrant women cope with stress; however, it matters who provides this support. Surprisingly, increased support from husbands over time does not seem to be as helpful for immigrant women as is increased support from others.
In the Dixon and Dantas literature review about post-natal depression, the authors explain that women with depression may not seek help because of stigma. They also explain how important culturally relevant interventions are, and supportive practitioners who believe in their therapies. We are reminded, however, that in Lima, Peru—from the study by Valencia-Garcia and colleagues—that HIV patients experience stigma from family, neighbors, and others in the community. That they also experience the worst stigma from health care providers is unconscionable.
Teixeira and Oliveira worked with street workers in Portugal. Street workers are often diagnosed with mental illness, and carry with them a slew of social problems for which they receive little social support. While I am not a fan of street-walking as a profession, I recently visited a prostitution museum created by prostitutes in Amsterdam, which aimed to inform others why they do what they do, and how they view prostitution in the context of other aspects of their lives. In contrast to street walkers in Portugal, I was impressed that prostitutes in Amsterdam receive much social support, both from themselves and from others, which thus help alleviate social problems.
In addition to considering social support and stigma, Gertrud Pfister and Kristine Rømer wish us to study how gender, sexuality, ethnicity, social class, and age intersect when women develop a physical symptom associated with a condition such as polycystic ovary syndrome. Finally, Judith A. MacDonnell and colleagues, in their work on Canadian immigrants, also examine intersectionality, as they explain how activism among women with similar immigrant status encourages them to help themselves and other immigrants.
January 21, 2017