Here you will be able to review the considerations and recommendations for screening with specific populations.

Equity considerations

Cultural Considerations:

It is important to understand cultural values, traditions, customs and unique to different communities and subgroups of students when screening.

  • Complex stress related to poverty, immigration, and language barriers

  • Cultural beliefs regarding mental health and the preferred methods of addressing concerns may differ among and within cultural groups.

  • Particular subgroups of students, especially those who have historically faced marginalization and inadequate access to services, may encounter significant challenges or even impossibilities in receiving timely and suitable mental health care.

  • Research demonstrates that families from diverse cultural backgrounds tend to be more receptive to screening and assessment processes that adopt a strengths-based approach.

Intersectionality:

Recognizes that individuals have multiple intersecting identities and experiences that shape their lives and the challenges they face. It highlights the interconnectedness of social categories such as race, gender, class, sexuality, disability, and more, and acknowledges that these categories cannot be understood or addressed in isolation.

  • Acknowledging the complexity of identity

  • Recognizing overlapping systems of oppression

  • Challenging exclusionary approaches

  • Provides a framework for more effective social justice advocacy

  • Encourages a holistic approach that considers the intersecting identities and experiences of individuals

  • Promoting inclusive policies and practices

Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term "intersectionality" in 1989 in her groundbreaking article titled "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics." In this article, Crenshaw highlighted the limitations of prevailing legal frameworks that failed to address the unique experiences of Black women who faced intersecting forms of discrimination based on race and gender.

Crenshaw's work has since been influential in various fields. The concept of intersectionality has been widely adopted and expanded upon by scholars and activists to understand and address the interconnected nature of social identities and systems of oppression.