The influence of sense of community on the relationship between community participation and mental health for individuals with serious mental illnesses

AbstractThe goal of the current study is to better understand the association between community participation and mental health by investigating sense of community as a potential mediating factor between community participation, psychological distress, and mental health functioning. A survey was administered to 300 adults with serious mental illnesses using community mental health services in the United States in a cross ‐sectional design. Hayes PROCESS macro (model 4, version 2.16; Hayes, 2013) was employed to test all of the hypotheses. Results indicate that sense of community partially mediated the association between community participation and psychological distress, as well as mental health functioning. Impl ications include contributing to the current knowledge base about the influence of community factors on mental health and informing future interventions aimed at promoting community participation of adults with serious mental illnesses.

Source: Journal of Community Psychology - July 30, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Rachel Terry, Greg Townley, Eugene Brusilovskiy, Mark S. Salzer Tags: ARTICLE Source Type: research