Social Psychiatric Impairment: Racial Comparisons
JOHN J. SCHWAB M.D.1,
NANCY H. McGINNIS M.A.2, , and
GEORGE J. WARHEIT PH.D.3
1 Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla. 32601
2 Research Associate, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla. 32601
3 Associate Professor, Departments of Sociology and Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla. 32601
From a large-scale epidemiologic study of the mental health needs and services of a southeastern county, randomly selected groups of black and white respondents were compared with respect to social and demographic characteristics, symptoms and indices of psychological distress, effects of emotional distress on daily functioning, interpersonal and familial networks, aspiration and satisfaction, and a comprehensive rating of social psychiatric impairment. The authors relate the racial differences on these dimensions to social and economic deprivation and to social change in the South.
