Use more evidence based research to support your statements in the paper.
Introduction
Exposure to violence is a potent factor for injury and it has also been found to have implications for mental health. Research exploring gender and race differences and how they influence exposure to violence and depression has been a major area of concern in the healthcare field. Longitudinal data from selected experiments have established that both gender and race are closely linked to adverse exposure to violence and depression. Despite the growing awareness of the negative consequences associated with exposure to violence, there has been little focus on how gender and race impact victimization. As a result, this research will explore how gender differences as well as race difference influence exposure to violence and depressive symptoms. Since social environmental stressors also affect the intensity of depressive symptoms on a depression scale, the proposed management concept which also acts as a protective factor, is the social support from friends and family.
Background Information
The following section will discuss the background of the topic. The putative mechanism that links gender, race and depression rates remains unclear despite this relationship being evident in the healthcare sector. Depression increases the risk of poor social relationships and other negative habits such as substance abuse and even extreme cases such as suicide. The continuous elevation of trauma and depression levels is seen to be high among women than men which also varied according to racial differences. The number of women exposed to violence is also higher in women than in men. This is however experienced in the case of intimate partner violence regardless of racial disparities (Blazer & Kessler, 2014). Since it is unclear why rates of depression differ by gender and race, this study will examine how gender and racial differences affect the rate of depression. In the many studies conducted on exposure to violence and depression, there have been variations in the rates of depression among different racial groups as well as gender. As a result, it has remained unclear which racial group has a higher chance of experiencing depression since results vary among studies (Gonzalez, Tarraf, Whitfield & Vega, 2013).
General Problem Statement
Despite white men and women having lower rates of depression than Asians, Mexican Americans and African American, they have been reported to receive the highest rate of depression-related diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association, 2012). Since race and ethnicity are more of a social construct, it is unlikely that biological differences influence rates of depression. As a result, the proposed factors that affect racial disparities include low-income backgrounds and lack of proper access to health care. These two factors have been found to play a major role in increasing the risks of experiencing events that may lead to the development of depression. This explains why despite many Asians, Mexican Americans and African Americans having a higher risk of chronic depression, they are less likely to seek medical care for depression (Gonzalez, Tarraf, Whitfield & Vega, 2013). Life circumstances such as traumatic events, intimate partner violence also contribute to depressive symptoms and more so among the low-income women. As a result, when evaluating variations in depression it is important to consider life circumstances.
Specific Problem Statement
The specific problem is how life circumstances such as low-income affect exposure to violence and depression. How does socioeconomic status affect the rate of exposure to violence and the rate of depression? As stated above, Asians, Mexican American, African Americans, and whites are exposed to depression-related causes. However, the rate at which this exposure happens and the consequences are highly influenced by the level of income, especially among the low-income families. This is also closely linked to the racial group that is reported to seek medical care with respect to depression symptoms. As stated above, a national survey reported that there is a higher number of whites seeking medical care than any other group despite whites having a lower rate of current depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2012). On the other hand, an analysis of ethnic subgroups while considering nativity shows that race or ethnicity affects depression according to the degree of socialization in the United States.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this research is to determine whether there exists a relationship between race, gender the rate of depression. Studies using data from national representative samples have shown varied results concerning how race and gender affect exposure to violence and depression. Even though it is unclear why rates of depression differ by race, there have been studies linking these differences to the level of income and other life circumstances.
Research Questions
The research addressed the following questions.
RQ1: How do gender and race relate to the rate of exposure to violence and depression?
RQ2: How does the level of income relate to the rate of exposure to violence and depression?References
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders IV. 4th. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2012.
Blazer DG, Kessler RC. The prevalence and distribution of major depression in a national community sample: the National Comorbidity Survey. Am J Psychiatry. 2012;151:979986
Breslau J. Aguilar-Gaxiola S. Kendler KS, et al. Specifying race-ethnic differences in risk for psychiatric disorder in a USA national sample.
Gonzlez HM. Tarraf W. Whitfield KE. Vega WA. The epidemiology of major depression and ethnicity in the United States. J Psychiatr Res. 2013;44:10431051.
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