Catherine H Stein

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Verified

Catherine verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• Ph.D.
• Professor (Full) at Bowling Green State University

Stigmatizing perceptions of people with mental health conditions continue to frame them as dangerous, weak-willed, flawed, and culpable for their symptoms. Guided by social contact and social role valorization theories, the present study consists of a randomized controlled trial of an asynchronous, online social contact intervention to reduce menta...

Married individuals and those in committed romantic relationships generally report having better mental health outcomes than their single or divorced counterparts. However, studies of romantic relationships for adults with mental illness have often ignored rewarding aspects of romantic relationships and have focused primarily on relationship diffic...

The importance of community involvement for both older adults and individuals coping with mental illness is well documented. Yet, barriers to community integration for adults with mental illness such as social stigma, discrimination, and economic marginalization are often exacerbated by increased health and mobility challenges among older adults. U...

The present study examined accounts of online and in‐person dating experiences from adults with mental illness who are in long‐term romantic relationships (N = 23). In focus group discussions, participants described their views of advantages and disadvantages of online dating and in‐person dating, how they constructed online dating profiles, decisi...

The present qualitative study examined social media posts about dating from individuals who identify as living with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The research examined the content of 96 posts from public online communities on Reddit from 93 adults with PTSD about their romantic relationships. The characteristics of responses to these posts...

Despite evidence that neighborhoods influence residents of all ages, youth input is largely excluded from neighborhood research. The present study used Photovoice to engage youth in an assessment of their urban neighborhoods in [redacted for blinded review]. Nine adolescents (16 – 20 years old) from an economically-distressed neighborhood participa...

Family members frequently report experiencing social stigma due to their relationship to a loved one with mental illness. Adults’ perceptions of this family stigma have been linked to elevated feelings of distress and a lower quality of life. The present study examined the mediating roles of maternal responsibility and maternal regard in the relati...

The present study examined personal disclosures about mental illness and the responses of online community members on the social media platform, Tumblr. We sampled public blog posts of 14,626 Tumblr users disclosing ten different mental health diagnoses using hashtags (e.g., #depression, #anxiety, and #anorexia). We examined the content of users’ d...

Although parents often provide care for adult children coping with serious mental illness, adult siblings are typically expected to assume caregiving responsibilities when parents are no longer able to do so. However, relatively little is known about how family relationships and adults’ own reactions to their sibling’s mental illness may relate to...

Objectives: Instagram artwork about mental illness was examined to learn how artists promote awareness about mental health and mental illness. Study design: Mixed methods predictive and descriptive analyses were conducted on a public dataset ofartwork posts from Instagram. Methods: One thousand art images were classified by media (painting, drawing...

The term “personal stigma” refers to negative attributions and stigmatized beliefs that a person holds toward individuals coping with mental illness. Although much has been written about the adverse impact of stigma for people with mental illness and their families, relatively little is known about factors related to family members own views of per...

The present narrative review examined quantitative and qualitative research on family members who support survivors of trauma or abuse. Studies included in the present review were found in peer-reviewed journal articles, available in English, published between 1980 and 2019, and focused specifically on the experiences of adult familial supporters o...

Although sibling ties are typically among the longest lasting family relationships, relatively little is known about how adult siblings navigate family caregiving when a brother or sister has a serious mental illness. The present study examined the role of primary caregiver status, perceived sibling illness severity, sibling relationship quality, a...

Even within economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, programs fostering protective factors can shape youth outcomes. One positive youth development (PYD) program— Seeds of Change—employs teenagers in an urban neighborhood in Ohio and uses goats and community gardens to promote adolescent development. The current study used semi‐structured intervie...

Consumer-oriented models have conceptualized recovery in two main ways: as a multicomponent process across various life domains, and as a series of identifiable stages occurring over time. The main goal of the present study was to determine whether psychosocial factors, namely internalized stigma and personal loss, predicted a greater amount of var...

Social media is increasingly relevant to the community building of marginalized groups, especially people with a mental illness (Kazdin & Rabbitt, 2013). Social media platforms can provide accessible spaces for peer support otherwise unavailable in person. Research suggests that people with psychiatric diagnoses post on social media to cope with pr...

Given limited community mental health resources across the United States, family members are often the main source of caregiving for their relatives with mental illness. Although parents typically serve as primary caregivers, siblings are often expected to provide future care. Yet, little is known about family factors related to siblings’ intention...

Social media is important for individuals who: are unable to form in-person communities, have psychiatric or medical diagnoses, are coping with various life stressors, are seeking extended support from others. Visual artwork can be a community intermediary: building empathy between disparate groups. Community psychologists describe “third spaces” w...

We argue for community psychology to include digital communications technology in research on ways that the social environment shapes fundamental human experiences. We present a qualitative study that examined the narrative accounts of 20 young adults who experienced the death of a close friend to describe both traditional and digital forms of reme...

Using a sample of 60 adults with serious mental illness in an inpatient psychiatric hospital, the present study examined the role of therapeutic relationship characteristics between consumers and mental health providers and consumers’ views of recovery-oriented service delivery and individual well-being. Specifically, the present study examined how...

As parents age, well siblings are often asked to assume caregiving responsibilities for their brother or sister with mental illness. However, relatively little is known about how well siblings prioritize sibling caregiving responsibilities with other life demands. We examined well siblings’ attitudes toward self-care and caregiving for their siblin...

Young adults establish networks of friends for companionship, support, assistance, and resource exchange. Friends have been found to play an essential role in promoting young adults’ health and well-being. Yet, relatively little is known about how young adults cope with the death of a close friend. Studies of grief and bereavement in adulthood focu...

The present qualitative study examined community mental health providers’ accounts of their therapeutic interactions with adults with serious mental illness in a recovery-oriented model of care. Ten long-time mental health care providers discussed their understanding of recovery principles, their use of directive practices, and factors that shape t...

Objective: The study examined factors associated with community integration experiences of adults with serious mental illness who were members of psychosocial rehabilitation clubhouses in New York City. Method: Ninety-two clubhouse members completed an online survey. The study examined relative contribution of adults' reports of individual facto...

Family members often serve as the primary source of care and support for loved ones living with mental illness. Although existing research has examined the role of parents and well siblings in providing care to adult children with mental illness, relatively little is known about the caregiving experiences of adult children with a parent with a psyc...

Continued involvement of parents in the lives of young adults is a topic of great interest to both scholars and the lay public. Although young adults’ astounding use of cell phones, texting, video chat, and social media in negotiating their social relationships is well documented, few studies have examined the role of different types of communicati...

The research examined the role of mental health care providers' perceptions of their professional relationships with consumers in understanding their reports of agency recovery-oriented services and their own sense of job satisfaction and personal growth. Multidisciplinary community mental health care providers (N = 105) responded to an online self...

This study explored whether emerging adults' reports of their relationships with their mothers who have been diagnosed with mental illness and their attempts to make meaning of the experience of having a mother with mental illness were associated with stress-related personal growth. Fifty-two emerging adult children with mothers who have been diagn...

In this introduction to the special issue, we describe some of the rewards and challenges of community-based arts initiatives for our discipline. We explore the inherent tensions between art and science that are reflected in community-based arts activities. We pose larger questions about researching community-based arts activities and defining the...

The present study is an in-depth qualitative inquiry with an established theater troupe composed of adults living with psychiatric disabilities known as The Stars of Light. A grounded theory methodology is used to describe dimensions of social activism and characteristics of theater as a medium of engagement at the individual, setting/troupe, and c...

This qualitative study examined changes in community mental health care as described by adults diagnosed with schizophrenia with long-term involvement in the mental health system to situate their experiences within the context of mental health reform movements in the United States. A sample of 14 adults with schizophrenia who had been consumers of...

Objective: The present qualitative study examined 69 published first-person accounts written by adults diagnosed with schizophrenia from 1979-2010 within the historical context of the four major mental health movements in the United States. Methods: Content analysis techniques were used to identify major topics and overarching content categories...

Objective: Guided by a life course perspective, the present study examined whether aspects of the emerging adult-mother relationship, specifically affection, felt obligation, role reversal, and reciprocity, mediated the association between having a mother with mental illness and poorer psychological adjustment. Method: Emerging adults with mothe...

Objective: Study examined perceptions of personal loss due to mental illness and social network characteristics among young adults with a psychiatric disability and their parents. Research directly compared young adults' and parents' reports of personal loss, social network structure and support, and interpersonal loneliness. Relationships between...

Unlabelled: The complexity of the concept of mental health recovery often makes it difficult to systematically examine recovery processes and outcomes. The concept of social role is inherent within many acknowledged dimensions of recovery such as community integration, family relationships, and peer support and can deepen our understanding of thes...

The present study examined the role of personal loss due to mental illness and meaning-related coping strategies on reports of caregiving among well siblings of adults with serious mental illness. A sample of 103 well siblings of adults with serious mental illness completed an online survey. Participants were recruited through websites related to m...

Guided by a life course perspective, the current study examined whether emerging adults with and without mothers with affective disorders viewed their relationships with their mothers differently, and whether aspects of the emerging adult-mother relationship were associated with reports of caregiving for mothers. Reports from emerging adults with m...

Present cross-sectional study examined perceptions of recovery-oriented services and reports of professional burnout and job satisfaction in a sample of 114 case managers working in community mental health centers across Ohio. The research examined the relative contribution of demographic characteristics, the structure of case management services,...

Using a sample of 222 young adults attending college, the present study examined the relative contribution of young adults’ perceived economic pressures, financial coping and religious meaning-making coping strategies in accounting for variation in their reports of psychological well-being within the context of the United States economic crisis. Re...

A transformation is occurring in mental health services throughout the country that presents opportunities for both seasoned and aspiring psychologists. This paper draws on the experiences of (a) a VA staff psychologist, (b) a psychology postdoctoral fellow, (c) a director of clinical training (and clinical-community psychologist) at an APA-accredi...

Although deafness is traditionally conceptualized as a medical problem or disability, about 500 000 deaf people in the United States identify as members of an ethno-linguistic minority that takes pride in being Deaf. This study examined 416 Internet weblog posts authored by nine Deaf bloggers to describe aspects of Deaf culture and individual and c...

The present study examined the relationship between case managers' expectations about the abilities of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and the outcomes (as indicated via chart review) of a randomly selected sample of clients diagnosed with schizophrenia on their caseload. Results indicate that clients of case managers with higher expectations...

The present study examined perceptions of family relationships and individual well-being among a sample of 100 adults who were designated as the primary contact for their mothers who permanently lived in a nursing care facility. The sample of daughters (n = 65) and sons (n = 35) were generally around age 60, had at least two siblings, were satisfie...

The present intergenerational study examined the perceived impact of the recent U.S. economic crisis on a sample of 68 young adult-parent dyads. The relative contribution of perceived economic pressure, reports of adult child-parent relationship quality, and concerns about the economic future in accounting for variation in self-reports of psycholog...

The present qualitative study examined the personal accounts, elicited via semi-structured interview, of nine United States military veterans with serious mental illness to describe their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about psychiatric genetics, genetic testing and counseling for mental illness. The aim of the research was to elucidate issues f...

The present study examines the personal accounts of nine young adults who have parents living with mental illness. Adults' experience of personal loss due to their parents' mental illness and perceptions of their religious faith journey and spiritual struggles are described. Overall, young adults who reported experiencing more personal loss due to...

The present study compares 94 young adults' self-reported felt obligation toward parents, psychological symptoms, psychological well-being, and interpersonal loneliness in three family types: families where a mother has serious mental illness, families where a father has serious mental illness, and families with nondistressed parents. Results indic...

Although theatrical activities are used in a variety of therapeutic settings, little attention has been paid to the ways that theater can enhance the recovery process and community integration for people living with psychiatric disabilities. Community-based theater involving people with psychiatric disabilities offers unique opportunities for perso...

Background: Interventions that promote contact with people with psychiatric disabilities can decrease negative attitudes about this population. However, little is known about the impact of different types of educational presentations on stigmatizing attitudes of people with serious mental illness across time. Aim: To longitudinally examine the rela...

The importance of employment in lives of people with psychiatric disabilities is well documented. Yet, the role of case managers in facilitating or inhibiting employment opportunities for consumers is only beginning to be understood. This study examined the psychometric properties of a newly developed self-report measure designed to assess case man...

This study examined the role of religious, benefit finding, and goal-oriented meaning making strategies used by 111 young adults in response to their experience of personal loss. Death of a loved one and relationship loss were the two types of loss most frequently reported by participants. In general, young adults reported being affected by their l...

A 60-item Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness (PMIR) was developed in three stages: (a) Domains of Islam relevant to physical and mental health were identified via theory and semistructured interviews with 25 Muslims; (b) an initial version of PMIR was pilot tested with 64 Muslims from the United States and Israel; and (c) desirable psyc...

Between 2004 and 2006, we conducted a three-stage program of research with the aim of developing and validating a measure of Islamic practices and beliefs that could be utilized in mental health research. The outcome of these efforts was a Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness (PMIR) that possesses desirable psychometric properties. In thi...

This article examines the role of pets for individuals with psychiatric disorders who live in supported housing. Using a case study approach, we describe the process of consultation with an integrated, supported housing organization during the assessment, development, and implementation of a policy to allow tenants to keep pets in their apartments....

Qualitative research has demonstrated that religious meaning-making coping, defined as attributions of a stressful life event that involve the sacred, is particularly relevant to persons with serious mental illness. However, recent research advances in the study of religious coping have yet to be employed in clinical samples. This longitudinal stud...

A network approach to disaster preparedness in university settings is described. Basic network concepts relevant for disaster preparedness and methods for analyzing network data without complex mathematics are presented. A case study of campus mental health and academic units at a midwestern university is presented to illustrate the practical appli...

This study examines aspects of case managers' perceived personal growth in their work with consumers. Using a sample of 98 case managers, the psychometric properties of a brief self-report measure of personal growth of case managers were examined. The Case Manager Personal Growth Scale (CMPG) showed good reliability and construct validity as eviden...

This longitudinal study examined the personal strivings of young adults coping with mental illness, parents' hopes for their children, and attributes that adults and parents give to their strivings and hopes. Findings are based on separate interviews with a total of 60 young adults diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and their parents...

College officials indicate that the number of students with serious mental illnesses has risen significantly. Recent media attention surrounding several high profile suicides has opened discussion of mental illness on campus. The authors summarize literature on college students and mental illness, including barriers to service receipt. Recommendati...

Research examines aspirations and plans for college, perceptions of social support and acceptance, and perceived intellectual and emotional capacity for college reported by 80 adults with coping with serious mental illness. The role of consumers' age, prior college experience, hospitalization history, and feelings of personal loss due to mental ill...

Psychometric properties of a brief self-report measure of personal loss for adults coping with psychiatric disability are examined. The Personal Loss from Mental Illness Scale (PLMI) is a 20-item measure that assesses overall perceptions and four interrelated aspects of personal loss from mental illness. Using a sample of 158 adults with serious me...

The present study compares the familiarity with and attitudes about psychiatric advance directives among multiple community stakeholders in two Ohio communities. One community was involved in a pilot psychiatric advance directive education project, and one was not. A total of 272 legal and law enforcement personnel, clergy, healthcare professionals...

Using a sample of 60 healthy older adults attending senior centers, this study examines elders’ perceptions of the consequences of hip fracture, reports of their physical health, feelings of efficacy in avoiding falls, and reports of depression. Results indicate that these active older adults generally do not feel vulnerable to hip fracture and exp...

We present a framework to describe the process of conducting community-based qualitative research. Qualitative research activities are presented as a series of interrelated acts called asking, witnessing, interpreting, and knowing. Each act in the research process is described in terms of current qualitative research practices, and illustrated with...

We present a framework to describe the process of conducting community‐based qualitative research. Qualitative research activities are presented as a series of interrelated acts called asking, witnessing, interpreting, and knowing. Each act in the research process is described in terms of current qualitative research practices, and illustrated with...

Adult siblings of people with serious mental illness are increasingly being called upon to serve as caregivers for their loved ones. The present study investigated 111 adults' reports of their relationships with their afflicted siblings and with their parents in an attempt to explain well siblings' reports of: (1) current caregiving, (2) hypothetic...

Using a life course perspective, the research examines personal accounts of adults with schizophrenia, and their parents and well-siblings from six families. Accounts of multiple members of the same family, including the family member with schizophrenia, are used to describe how families understand and accommodate life changes that result from the...

Using a life course perspective, the research examines personal accounts of adults with schizophrenia, and their parents and well‐siblings from six families. Accounts of multiple members of the same family, including the family member with schizophrenia, are used to describe how families understand and accommodate life changes that result from the...

Using an intergenerational sample of 460 young adults and their middle-aged parents, the study examined adults' views of parental obligation and caregiving. Both generations of women generally reported higher levels of felt obligation to their parents than did both generations of men. Regardless of gender, adults with one living parent generally re...

Our experiences suggest the viability of the Ohio Research Fellows approach to public-academic collaboration. This approach to research collaboration is appropriate for states with established research programs as well as state mental health departments with limited resources that may be reluctant to apply for other types of public-academic opportu...

To compare the structure and stability of personal networks elicited by two popular network assessment instruments, 102 undergraduates completed the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) and the Social Network List (SNL) twice over a 4-week interval. At both times of measurement, respondents delineated significantly larger networks using the SNL than...

The present study compares self-reports of felt obligation towards parents, cultural attitudes about family functioning and perceptions of family interactions in a sample of 100 Mexican-American and Anglo-American young adults. On average, Mexican-American men and women reported significantly higher levels of familism, more collectivist attitudes a...

The study uses a sample of 97 new members of a mutual-help organization for the seriously mentally ill and 97 of their significant others (61 family members and 36 friends) to examine 1) the degree to which respondents' perceptions of dyadic relationships can be corroborated by network members and 2) the relationship of congruence of perception bet...

Evaluated a 1-semester (15 wk) practicum course on social relationships offered to 14 people (mean age 35 yrs) with psychiatric disability and 14 female undergraduates (mean age 21 yrs). The course combined social network and social skills techniques to help both undergraduates and Ss with psychiatric disability enhance their interpersonal skills a...

This article reports three exploratory studies that describe aspects of obligation in ongoing relationships with family. Using independent samples of young married couples and single, college-age adults, five dimensions of felt obligation were identified as expectations for appropriate behavior about: (1) family contact and participation in family...

Presented the structure and implementation of a university-based practicum course on social relationships for people with serious mental illness and college undergraduates. Grounded in an ecological view of social settings, cooperative learning models of education and mutual help principles, the practicum was designed to create a collaborative clas...

The present study examined different ways that a sample of 49 working- and middle-class married couples structured their shared and separate relationships with family and friends. The research focused on the married couple as the unit of analysis, and used information from both members of the dyad to construct descriptions of couples' conjoint netw...

Reaction to the intervention paper by Heller et al. (1990) places their work into a larger framework of social support interventions to make explicit the assumptions underlying the project. It is suggested that the intervention was constrained by the experimental design of the evaluation research and overlooked important features in the process of...

Typescript. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1984. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-67).