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Attitudes Toward Mental Health, Addiction, and Biobehavioral Research in the Somali Community in Minnesota, United States

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Abstract

Prolonged stress is a risk factor for the development of mental health problems. This is particularly concerning among immigrant communities because many experienced multiple stressful life events. This study aimed to gain better understanding about attitudes toward mental health and addition, and perspectives about health research among Somali immigrants. Eight focus groups (n = 47) were conducted in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Comprehensive notes were taken during the session and were translated into English. An open-coding method was used to identify general patterns of responses. Stress, personal commitment, and stigma were related to mental health and addiction. There were gender and generational differences in ideas about addiction. Health research was perceived as acceptable under culturally appropriate conditions. This study provided novel information about mental health and addiction as well as the feasibility of research on mental health and addiction in East African communities.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Abdikadir Hassan and Adam Ugas for their help with recruitment logistics and Sharon Albee for her inputs to this project. We also thank our study participants for sharing valuable information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA

    Motohiro Nakajima & Mustafa al’Absi

  2. University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA

    Shamso Jama, Nawal Noor, Sahra A. Ali & Sahra F. Ali

  3. A Partnership of Diabetics (APOD), Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Robert Albee

  4. Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Rebekah Pratt

Authors
  1. Motohiro Nakajima
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  2. Shamso Jama
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  3. Nawal Noor
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  4. Robert Albee
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  5. Sahra A. Ali
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  6. Sahra F. Ali
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  7. Rebekah Pratt
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  8. Mustafa al’Absi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Motohiro Nakajima.

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Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nakajima, M., Jama, S., Noor, N. et al. Attitudes Toward Mental Health, Addiction, and Biobehavioral Research in the Somali Community in Minnesota, United States. Int J Ment Health Addiction 21, 4220–4230 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00851-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00851-9

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