Brave new world: Mental health experiences of Puerto Ricans, immigrant Latinos, and Brazilians in Massachusetts.

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are of the most commonly occurring mental health disorders in the United States. Despite a variety of efficacious interventions for depression and anxiety, it is clear that ethnic minorities experience mental health care disparities in their access to mental health services and the quality of treatment they receive. Research indicates that Latino heterogeneity impacts access to depression and anxiety treatment. In addition, Brazilians are becoming an increasingly visible minority within the United States and are often depicted as Latinos. The current study sought to understand the role of acculturation and stigma in mental health symptom endorsement and treatment seeking among Puerto Ricans, immigrant Latinos, and Brazilians. A total of 250 self-identified Latinos and Brazilians were interviewed about their mental health symptom and treatment experience, acculturation, and stigma toward mental illness. Results indicated considerable variability across the three groups, with Puerto Ricans endorsing higher rates of depression and anxiety, as well as higher rates of treatment seeking, than either the immigrant Latinos or the Brazilians. Acculturation played a differential role in the endorsement of anxiety treatment seeking for Brazilians. Finally, although the three groups differed in the extent to which they experienced stigma about mental health issues, stigma did not predict symptom endorsement or treatment-seeking behavior for any of the three groups. These findings underscore the importance of attending to both between-groups and within-group differences in the mental health and mental health treatment experiences of different ethnic groups.

Depressive Symptoms and Weight Status Among Women Recently Immigrating to the US

“…Compared to other studies of immigrants from the same ethnic groups, depressive symptoms in the current sample appear to be higher in Haitians (Martinez et al, 2013), slightly lower in Latinas (Sternberg & Lee, 2013), and lower in Brazilians (Sánchez et al, 2014). The ethnic group differences in depressive symptoms identified should be interpreted with caution as it may not be appropriate to compare CES-D scores across populations (Perreira, Deeb-Sossa, Harris, & Bollen, 2005).…”

Using Community-Based Participatory Research and Human-Centered Design to Address Violence-Related Health Disparities Among Latino/a Youth

“…4 Research suggests that this problem may be due to a variety of factors across systemic, community, provider, and patient levels. 5 Cultural competence, which refers to the ability to “transform knowledge and cultural awareness into health and psychosocial interventions that support and sustain healthy client-system functioning within appropriate cultural contexts,” 6(pp. 261) is often inadequately addressed.…”

“…9 Numerous subgroups of Latinos/as exist, pointing to the importance of including all voices at the table to incorporate within group diversity. 5 …”

“…Community based participatory research (CBPR) is a philosophical framework that has been cited for its innovative methods of incorporating the voices of a community into research, particularly around health disparities. 5,8,10 Rooted in philosophical approaches described by Freire, 11 the target population engages in a process of dialogue, reflection, and action, creating a continuous feedback loop, to reduce health disparities and increase equity. CBPR calls for a collaborative approach where academic researchers and members of the community under study strive to have an equal voice in all aspects of the research, including the research questions, study design, data collection, and analysis.…”

“…It is particularly useful to take a CBPR approach with ethnic minority and other vulnerable popualtions because, at its core, CBPR aims to increase levels of community trust, engagement and empowerment. 5 By incorporating the knowledge of community members, CBPR can improve the likelihood that health disparities are addressed in culturally meaningful and effective ways. 10 …”