Acculturation and Lifetime Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders Among Mexican Americans in Los Angeles

Burnam, M. Audrey; Hough, Richard L.; Karno, Marvin; Escobar, Javier I.; Telles, Cynthia A.

doi:10.2307/2137143

Cited by 545 publications

(325 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The study provided the first direct test of the 'healthy migrant' hypothesis, suggested as a potential explanation for the low lifetime risk for psychiatric disorders among Mexican immigrants compared with US-born Mexican Americans (Burnam et al, 1987;Grant et al, 2004;Alegria et al, 2006). Our findings contradict the healthy migrant hypothesis: prior to immigration, immigrants had higher rather than lower risk for psychiatric disorder compared with the Mexican general population.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 70%

“…This observed pattern can be interpreted as showing that immigrants are better off initially in comparison with their compatriots in Mexico, possibly due to selective migration of people with good mental health (Burnam et al, 1987;Grant et al, 2004), but that this advantage reverses with time, possibly as a result of acculturation stress (Rogler et al, 1991). A methodological interpretation of these findings is also possible, though, due to the lack of control for pre-migration factors, such as family socioeconomic status, that predict both migration and mental disorder (Rogler, 1994;Gilman et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Immigrants from Mexico, who comprise the largest group of immigrants in the United States, had lower risk for mood and anxiety disorders than US-born Mexican-Americans in two large national studies Grant et al, 2004) and in two smaller regional studies of Mexican-American communities (Burnam et al, 1987;Vega et al, 1998). This finding suggests that environmental factors to which US-born descendants of Mexican immigrants are exposed lead to an increase in risk for common psychiatric disorders (Rogler et al, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mental disorders among English-speaking Mexican immigrants to the US compared to a national sample of Mexicans

Breslau

Aguilar‐Gaxiola

Borges³

et al. 2007

Psychiatry Research

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Our understanding of the relationship between immigration and mental health can be advanced by comparing immigrants pre-and post-immigration with residents of the immigrants' home countries. DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders were assessed using identical methods in representative samples of English-speaking Mexican immigrants to the US, a subsample of the US National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCSR), and Mexicans, the Mexican National Comorbidity Survey (MNCS). Retrospective reports of age of onset of disorders and, in the immigrant sample, age of immigration were analyzed to study the associations of pre-existing mental disorders with immigration and of immigration with the subsequent onset and persistence of mental disorders. Preexisting anxiety disorders predicted immigration (OR=3.0; 95% CI 1.2-7.4). Immigration predicted subsequent onset of anxiety (OR=1.9; 95% CI 0.9-3.9) and mood (OR=2.3; 95% CI 1.3-4.0) disorders and persistence of anxiety (OR=3.7 95% CI 1.2-11.2) disorders. The results are inconsistent with the "healthy immigrant" hypothesis (that mentally healthy people immigrate) and partly consistent with the "acculturation stress" hypothesis (i.e., that stresses of living in a foreign culture promote mental disorder). Replication and extension of these results in a larger bi-national sample using a single field staff are needed.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Mental disorders among English-speaking Mexican immigrants to the US compared to a national sample of Mexicans

Breslau

Aguilar‐Gaxiola

Borges³

et al. 2007

Psychiatry Research

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“…Latinos; acculturation; psychiatric diagnosis; epidemiology; culture; race; immigrants; USA Latino immigrants have better overall mental health than their U.S.-born counterparts and nonLatino whites (Burnam, Hough, Karno, Escobar, & Telles, 1987;Ortega, Rosenheck, Alegría, & Desai, 2000;Vega et al, 1998), but the universality of this claim for all Latino subgroups has not been rigorously tested. Our findings from the National Latino and Asian-American Study (NLAAS) on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Latinos in the U.S. indicate that foreign nativity is protective for some Latino groups (e.g., Mexicans), but not others (e.g., Puerto Ricans) (Alegría et al, 2007) and that protectiveness varies by disorder.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding differences in past year psychiatric disorders for Latinos living in the US

Alegrı́a

Shrout

Woo

et al. 2007

Social Science & Medicine

220

239

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This study seeks to identify risk factors for psychiatric disorders that may explain differences in nativity effects among adult Latinos in the USA. We evaluate whether factors related to the processes of acculturation and enculturation, immigration factors, family stressors and supports, contextual factors, and social status in the U.S. account for differences in twelve-month prevalence of psychiatric disorders for eight subgroups of Latinos. We report results that differentiate Latino respondents by country of origin and age at immigration (whether they were U.S.-born or arrived before age 6 [IUSC] or whether they arrived after age 6 [LAI]). After age and gender adjustments, LAI Mexicans and IUSC Cubans reported a significantly lower prevalence of depressive disorders than IUSC Mexicans. Once we adjust for differences in family stressors, contextual factors and social status factors, these differences are no longer significant. The risk for anxiety disorders appears no different for LAI Correspondence to: Margarita Alegria. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptSoc Sci Med. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 July 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript compared to IUSC Latinos, after age and gender adjustments. For substance use disorders, family factors do not offset the elevated risk of early exposure to neighborhood disadvantage, but coming to the U.S. after age 25 does offset it. Family conflict and burden were consistently related to the risk of mood disorders. Our findings suggest that successful adaptation into the U.S. is a multidimensional process that includes maintenance of family harmony, integration in advantageous U.S. neighborhoods, and positive perceptions of social standing. Our results uncover that nativity may be a less important independent risk factor for current psychiatric morbidity than originally thought.

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“…Rates of alcohol dependence among men were 13% in the 18-29 age group, declining to 4.98% in the 30-44 age group and to 2.67% in the 45-64 age group (Grant et al, 2004a). The Epidemiology Catchment Area (ECA) data reported on Mexican Americans 20 years ago (Burnam, 1989;Burnam et al, 1987), indicating higher rates (during 12 months) of alcohol abuse and/or dependence (13%) compared with whites (8%). Shrout et al (1992) reported significantly higher rates of alcohol abuse/dependence for Mexican Americans in Los Angeles (ECA data) and Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Rates and Predictors of Alcohol Abuse and Dependence Across Hispanic National Groups

Caetano

Ramisetty-Mikler

Rodriguez

2008

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

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Objective-The primary purpose of this article is to report 12-month prevalence rates and predictors of alcohol abuse and dependence among Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, and South/Central Americans living in the United States.Method-Using a multistage cluster sample design, a total of 5,224 individuals 18 years of age and older were selected from the household population in five metropolitan areas of the United States: Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. The survey weighted response rate was 76%. Personal interviews lasting an average of 1 hour were conducted in respondents' homes either in English or Spanish.Results-There is considerable heterogeneity in rates of abuse and dependence across these national groups, with Mexican American and Puerto Rican men having higher rates than Cuban American and South/Central American men. The rates of dependence for Mexican American and Puerto Rican men are also higher than those for men in the U.S. general population. Further, although the highest rates of abuse and dependence are among those in their 20s, the rate decline with age is not as strong as in the U.S. population. Thus, Hispanics at older ages (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59) are at considerably more risk of dependence and its health consequences than the U.S. general population. This is particularly true of Puerto Rican and Mexican American men.

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Acculturation and Lifetime Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders Among Mexican Americans in Los Angeles

Cited by 545 publications

References 23 publications

Mental disorders among English-speaking Mexican immigrants to the US compared to a national sample of Mexicans

Mental disorders among English-speaking Mexican immigrants to the US compared to a national sample of Mexicans

Understanding differences in past year psychiatric disorders for Latinos living in the US

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Rates and Predictors of Alcohol Abuse and Dependence Across Hispanic National Groups

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