Chapter 6. Mexican American and Anglo American parents of the mentally Ill: Attitudes and participation in family support groups

Increasing Mexican American attendance of support groups for parents of the mentally ill: Organizational and psychological factors

“…For Mexican-American parents, there was little relationship between two key items of this subscale: the idea that "something was wrong with their son/daughter's nervous system," and the idea that their son/daughter's problems were caused by "a biochemically based disorder" (r = -.04). In contrast, data from Anglo-American parents collected as part of this study, but reported elsewhere (Medvene et al, 1994), included a significant correlation between these two items (r = .79, p < .Owl) and a Cronbach's alpha of .59 for the subscale. Additionally, in their study of NAMI group members, all of whom were Anglo Americans, Medvene and Krauss (1989) reported a Cronbach's alpha of .74 for the organic subscale.…”

“…In fact, parents who attended a meeting were more burdened by concerns about future caregiving arrangements than parents who didn't attend. This study, in combination with others, suggests that parental concerns about future caregiving transcend cultural boundaries and affect parents who are Anglo American (Medvene & Krauss, 1985;Medvene et al, 1994;Spaniol, Jung, Zipple, & Fitzgerald, 1985), Chinese American (Wu, 1992), and Mexican American. One practical implication of the findings is that professionals and NAMI leaders should mention the issue of caregiving responsibilities in their recruitment efforts.…”