305 p., Examines how social inequalities, in combination with identified social risk factors, contribute to disparities in the incidence of schizophrenia among individuals of African-Caribbean descent in England. It addresses the psychiatric epidemiological puzzle that indicates African-Caribbbeans in England have significantly greater rates of schizophrenia than the general British population. Based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork with patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, their relatives, and community members in North London, the researcher argued that specific social changes and historical forces interlink to create a toxic environment characterized by negative expressed emotions and social defeat to affect African-Caribbeans' mental health.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
762 p., A biography of the novelist Jean Rhys, author of Quartet and Wide Sargasso Sea, who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. Jean Rhys's childhood, her momentous first love affair, her three marriages, the disasters which befell her husbands, her drinking and its consequences: all are shown with unsparing clarity.
Considers the extent to which feminism and gender studies courses adequately explore diverse erotic desires in the Caribbean region. It offers a comparative investigation of questionnaire responses from Black female undergraduate students in England and Jamaica to assess the connections between their perceptions about sexual differences.
An analysis of the educational attainment and progress between age 11 and age 14 of over 14,500 students in England. Socioeconomic variables could account for the attainment gaps for Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students, but not for Black Caribbean students. Black Caribbean students were distinctive as the only group making less "progress" than White British students between age 11 and 14 and this could not be accounted for by any of the measured contextual variables. Possible explanations for the White British-Black Caribbean gap are considered.
Explores the effects of kin, social network and the neighborhood on an individual’s well-being. Explores the attitudes and experiences of African-Caribbean adolescents and their families in the north of England towards healthy lifestyles. 10 African-Caribbean households units comprising 24 adolescents (12–18 years of age) and 18 adults (22–60 years of age) participated in the study with interviews conducted in their homes.
The incidence of prostate cancer among African-Caribbean men in the UK is three times that among men from the majority population. This qualitative study is the first such investigation, situating men’s accounts within the context of their personal history and social environment. 16 first generation African-Caribbean men living in Central England were recruited.
