Historically Marginalized Groups

Instructions

The application of scholarly research to practice in human services is integral to ensuring quality services and is called evidence-based practice. Research brings awareness of problems and challenges that might have never been considers or studied. Research can increase public knowledge and understanding of an issue. Lastly, research can challenge attitudes, perceptions or ideas about existing practices and policies (Morton, 2014).

Your tasks are to research and report on three scholarly articles about a historically marginalized group AND an individual or social problem of your choosing. For example, you might use the search terms depression (or poverty, violence, etc.) and African Americans. The articles do not have to explicitly discuss cultural biases in diagnosis. They should, however, be peer-reviewed, scholarly sources and not popular articles (Newsweek, Psychology Today, etc.).

In a 2-3 page essay, summarize the methodology and findings of each study. Then, draw on your text to discuss the impact of cultural, social and political attitudes on the diagnosis of marginalized groups and the general characterization of minority communities. Describe the potential salience of culturally-contingent perceptions of psychopathology, conceptions of what it means to be mentally healthy, and culture-specific syndromes to the mental health issue(s) in the studies you have selected.