Dominica F. McBride

Affect Regulation and Prevention of Risky Behaviors

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention with Youth

For years, the HIV pandemic was seemingly mysterious and uncontrollable. However, it is now known that with technology, this virus can be stopped from becoming fatal, and with prevention further infection can be stopped. With the application of certain principles and knowledge, this pandemic can be turned into something much less nocuous and pervasive. Various researchers and programs have effectively demonstrated this reality, showing the possibilities of ameliorating the propagation of this virus through prevention. This article reviews the risk and protective factors associated with HIV-related behaviors and describes various effective prevention programs.

Prevention of Mental and Substance Use and Abuse Disorders and Comorbidity in African Americans

Regrettably for African Americans, research has rarely addressed issues that affect their health and well-being. This lack of attention manifests itself in the dearth of literature available while doing literature reviews on prevention of comorbid mental illness and substance abuse (MISA) and substance use and abuse disorders in African Americans. However, there are a few studies on the prevention of substance use and abuse disorders alone and the prevention of relapse in African Americans with MISA problems. These articles form the basis of our proposal to prevent co-morbidity of mental and substance use and abuse disorders in African Americans.

A Commentary for Furthering Cultural Sensitivity within Research in Geriatric Psychiatry

T he United States is one of the few nations where people of color are a “minority.” This circumstance is changing rapidly to where people of color will eventually become the majority in this Nation. Accordingly, we do not refer to people of color as minorities in this editorial. Dr. David Satcher’s (US 16th Surgeon General) Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity Report highlighted the dearth of available scientific information on people of color. This deficiency in US scientific literature is due to researchers’ selective inattention, precluding including diversity in their samples. This special issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry seeks to correct this national deficit by placing focus on research regarding people of color’s geriatric concerns. Considering the stark health disparities between whites and people of color, the publication of this issue is essentially ancillary in the path toward equality and global health. Another obstacle in the inclusion of people of color in scientific research is the lack of trust toward the field. Historically, people of color have been exploited and subsequently ignored (i.e., the research did not go to benefit them). These atrocities often resulted in deaths (e.g., the Tuskegee Syphilis study) and additional ills and pains. These historic occurrences have resulted in the construction of institutional review boards (IRB) made to ensure the ethics of research. Thus, the importance of their approval is definably relevant to research with people of color. The collection of articles in this issue all report on research

Psychiatry for People of African Descent in the USA

People of African Descent (PAD) in the USA are comprised of both African Americans—who have marched a rough terrain, from roots in Africa to crossing the ocean to the USA, experiencing enslavement and for some, to present day mass incarceration—and more recent African and Caribbean immigrants. For some African Americans, the path through American slavery has led many to exposure of significant collective and personal trauma that deeply influences their mental and physical health. For other PAD who had voluntarily immigrated to the USA, the path has been one of historical colonialism, national independence, and recent immigration. In order to effectively treat and even prevent mental disorders in PAD, it is important to know and appreciate the history, context, and dynamics that influence this diverse group of people. Without this knowledge and subsequent deliberate responses, the mental and emotional strife that some PAD face will persist. This chapter provides a description of the history, context, and dynamics that influence the mental health and wellness of PAD in the USA. The authors also identify and delineate treatment needs, suggest ways to address these needs, delineate gaps within the system, and provide recommendations for next steps. Ideally, after reading this chapter, readers will have taken one step forward along their path to better the mental health treatment of African Americans and have an idea of directions for future learning and growth. Unfortunately, our information about the recent PAD immigrants is just beginning to be unearthed, so we will need to be patient until we can speak more authoritatively about these populations’ issues.

Team-Based Treatment

Many have recognized the power of teams in various arenas. A sports team is a prime example where interdependence is apparent. For example, in a football team, each position has a set of skills and a knowledge base that accompanies it. Each position must depend and rely on the skills and knowledge base of the other positions in order to accomplish their collective goal successfully. This outlook can inform all teams, especially interdisciplinary administrative and clinical mental health teams, despite their complexity. Because of the strength of this model, this chapter focuses on team-based treatment in mental health. It places particular emphasis on a pertinent structure of community mental health centers (CMHCs) (composed of administrative and clinical teams), the importance of multidisciplinary treatment teams in this context, the problems that multidisciplinary treatment teams often face, and possible solutions for teams to function effectively.

Is Denial of Evidence-Based Prevention a Violation of Human Rights?

o deny someone their inalienable right is antitheti-cal to what the United States has established as part of being human and has, thus, been identified as unethical. The Declaration of Independence asserts, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”