Despite very low education and income levels, Mexican Americans had lower rates of lifetime psychiatric disorders compared with rates reported for the US population by the National Comorbidity Survey. Psychiatric morbidity among Mexican Americans is primarily influenced by cultural variance rather than socioeconomic status or urban vs rural residence.

Acculturation and United States nativity are risk factors for illicit drug use among Mexican origin men and women. However, women have increased vulnerability compared with men. Findings reinforce the need for culturally based public health interventions.

This is a study of 1,001 male and female Mexican migrant farmworkers, ages 18 to 59, in rural central California. The Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression (CES‐D) scale was used to measure prevalence of depressive symptomatology and its distribution on demographic, social support, acculturation, and acculturation stress variables. CES‐D caseness rates (≥ 16) were 21.1% for men and 19.7% for women. Logistic regression showed significant risk increments among respondents with high levels of acculturation (adjusted OR = 6.2) and stress due to discrimination (adjusted OR = 2.4). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The study examines the effects of time in the United States and Indian ethnicity on prevalence of 12 DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans in California. In Fresno County, primarily an agricultural area, 3012 participants of Mexican origin (18 to 59 years) were selected under a cluster sampling design and interviewed using a version of the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Instrument (WHO-CIDI). Lifetime prevalence of any psychiatric disorder was 46.4% for Indians and 32.9% for non-Indians. Alcohol dependence was the most prevalent disorder (Indians = 17.4%, non-Indians = 10.7%). Indians had significantly higher risk of affective disorders (adjusted OR = 2.9) and drug abuse/dependence (adjusted OR = 2.6) compared with non-Indians. Time in the United States was associated with higher risk of lifetime affective disorders and drug abuse/dependence. This effect was more pronounced among Indians. Mexican immigrants are ethnically heterogenous and Indians appear to be more vulnerable to negative effects of exposure to U.S. society.

Latin America is the world region with the highest rates of youth tobacco use and widest socioeconomic gaps, yet no data are available on smoking among Indigenous people, the largest disadvantaged group in the region. A self-administered survey of 3,131 8th grade youth enrolled in a random sample of 27 urban and rural schools was administered in 2004 in Jujuy, Argentina. Standard questions adapted from global surveys were used. Compared with youth of European background (11.4%; 95% CI 6.7–15.1), Indigenous (23.0%; 95% CI 21.0–25.0), and Mixed ethnicity (23%; 95% CI 18.9–27.1) youth had higher prevalence of current smoking. The odds of current smoking remained significantly elevated for Indigenous (OR 1.9; 95% CI = 1.1–3.3) and Mixed youth (OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.2–3.4) after controlling for confounders. Other risk factors that were associated with current smoking included: having any friends who smoke, repeating a grade in school, depressive symptoms in previous year, drinking any alcohol in the previous week and thrill seeking orientation. These results underscore the importance of social and cultural diversity aspects of the global tobacco epidemic.