Ethnic clothes mental health link

[Che -Guevara]

Teenage girls from some minority communities who stick to their family customs have better mental health, researchers say.

 

Queen Mary University of London found Bangladeshi girls who chose traditional rather than Western dress had fewer behavioural and emotional problems.

 

The team said close-knit families and communities could help protect them.

 

Pressure to integrate fully could be stressful, the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reported.

 

 

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems, and the researchers said that identity, often bound up in friendship choices or clothing, played a role.

They questioned a total of 1,000 white British and Bangladeshi 11 to 14-year-olds about their culture, social life and health, including questions designed to reveal any emotional or mental problems.

 

Bangladeshi pupils who wore traditional clothing were significantly less likely to have mental health problems than those whose style of dress was a mix of traditional and white British styles.

 

When this was broken down by gender, it appeared that only girls were affected.

 

No similar effect was found in white British adolescents who chose a mixture of clothes from their own and other cultures.

 

More support

 

Professor Kam Bhui, one of the study authors, said that the result was "surprising" - he had expected that girls who were less fully integrated to show signs of greater strain.

 

"Traditional clothing represents a tighter family unit, and this may offer some protection against some of the pressures that young people face.

 

"What it suggests is that we need to assist people who are moving from traditional cultures and becoming integrated into Western societies, as they may be more vulnerable to mental health problems."

 

Professor James Nazroo, a medical sociologist at the University of Manchester, said that the findings meant that "notions of Britishness" should be dealt with in a sophisticated way.

 

"There are many ways in which people can be British - these girls who have good mental health, and still have a strong traditional culture, are by implication settled and comfortable with their identities."

 

BBC News

[Paragon]

They did a research to find out just that? Why didn't they come to me; I would have expounded for them one of my own theorities on this subject .

 

Hiddiyo Dhaqan... the way to live.

[Faheema.]

^lol which hiddiyo dhaqan would that be, the Dirac or the Guntiimo?

 

Sorry but as the Somali maah maah goes, Dhar magaalo sida loo xidhaa, waa dharaaar qudhahe Dhalse magaalo sida loo noqdaa, waa dhibgooniya. In other words one might not have a clue about Somali hiddiyo dhaqan but love rocking guntiimo and dirac whenever she gets a chance So in essence, staying true to your culture has nothing to do with what you wear, it is just a matter of preference me thinks.

 

As for the mental state nonsence, there are plenty dirac wearing xalimos and macawiis guntan faraxs that are mentally unstable.

[Blessed]

^LOL. Tell me about it, you get all these fish and chips girls who like to rock dirac but waxaba kama taqaan(to) dhaganka and they be like 'is hido some tradiona dance'?

[Faheema.]

^LoL, soo maaha imisaan qaar arkay doing their lil Jon move to a Somali song

 

I always thought it was Traditional Clothes in Somali, but then I've recently heard some people refer Hido [or Hidi] to some kind of dance...so I am not sure.

[Blessed]

^I was taking the kaadi out of the FnB there, babes. I've edited so it makes sense.

 

Hido covers all things tradional.

[Faheema.]

^ LoL@Kaadi, walahi you made me laugh, lakiin that just puts you off using the phrase....taking P lol I know I can never use it the same way again.

[Blessed]

^Things are a million times worse in Somali. I once had a little boy say F*U in Somali. OMG, waan suuxi gaadhey. I never used that phrase on anyone since.

[Ducaysane]

Blessed:

What Phrase?