Social representations of mental health among the Nahua people in the southern Huasteca of San Luis Potosí

Resumen de los autores

Introduction: Indigenous peoples assert that their perception of mental health differs from that of the Western world. Their mental health care and study remain limited. Recognizing how indigenous peoples interpret mental health aims to inform public health policies that better serve these communities. Objective: To explore the social representations (SR) of mental health among adults from the indigenous Nahua community in the southern Huasteca of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Methodology: This is an exploratory study based on the SR approach, with a purposive sample of 100 participants. After administering a questionnaire, the free-listing associative technique was employed. A prototypical analysis was conducted to identify the central and peripheral elements of the SR, and a similarity analysis was performed to explore the representational nodes. Results: The concepts most strongly associated with mental health were peace, tranquility, respect, and happiness. Less frequently mentioned were security and well-being. Through SR, three nodes emerged, grouping attributes, care alternatives, and benefits related to mental health. Discussion and Conclusions: For the Nahua people of the Huasteca Potosina, mental health is closely tied to a state of tranquility, connected to peaceful familial relations in a context where respect for others and the natural environment may be disrupted by social, economic, political, or health-related conflicts. To ensure greater psychological and emotional well-being, care can be provided with the support of professionals in psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy, always within an intercultural framework.

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Cómo citar (APA 7)

Bautista-Valdivia, J. (2024). Social representations of mental health among the Nahua people in the southern Huasteca of San Luis Potosí. https://revista-enfermeria.unam.mx/ojs/index.php/enfermeriauniversitaria/article/view/1468