Mental Health and Well-Being in Different Levels of Perceived Discrimination

• Main Authors: AA Noorbala, M Agah Heris, A Alipour, E Mousavi, G Farazi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2012-04-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Public Health
• Subjects: Perceived discrimination; Well- being; Mental health; Iran
• Online Access: https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/2589

Background: To compare mental health and well- being in different levels of the perceived discrimination among Iranian people living in Tehran. Method: Using multi- stage sampling, 1255 subjects with the average age of 45 years and 9 months (including 672 women and 583 men) were selected and they completed all items of the general health questionnaire (GHQ), the social well- being inventory (SWI), personal well- being inventory (PWI), and a question to assess the perceived discrimination. Results: Data analysis by Kruskal- Wallis test revealed that there were significant differences between physical symptoms (χ2=5.93, P<0.05) and depression (χ 2=15.70, P<0.05), the subscales of mental health in different levels of the perceived discrimination. Furthermore, comparing personal well- being scores and its subscales in different levels of the perceived discrimination showed significant differences in personal hygiene (χ2=7.20, P<0.05), and security in future (χ2=7.60, P<0.05). Emotional well- being (χ2=12.25, P<0.05), self-rule (χ2=7.45, P<0.05), personal growth (χ2=19.87, P<0.05), and psychological well- being (χ2= 9.09, P<0.05) were significantly different in different levels of the perceived discrimination, too. Moreover, comparing social well- being in different levels of the perceived discrimination indicated significant differences between social acceptance (χ 2=14.91, P<0.05), and social participation (χ 2= 10.91, P<0.05). Conclusion: Therefore, people are more active in society, increases the possibility of encountering with discrimination and consequently the perception of that.