Ecological and psychocultural mediators in the delivery of services for urban, culturally diverse Hispanic clients.

Abstract

Influences on underuse of mental health services by the urban, low-income Latino subgroup are analyzed through a systems-cultural framework. Results of a review of over 100 applied, empirical, and theoretical published works in the last 14–16 years strongly suggest that when social–ecological and psychocultural perspectives are used by service providers, their therapeutic relationship, techniques, and treatment plan become more clinically and culturally compatible with the presenting problems of the urban Latino client. Accuracy of assessment and effectiveness of treatment also have been found to increase. Recommendations for the overlapping domains of clinical practice, graduate training, and program and policy development are offered. By augmenting assessment and intervention models to encompass a psychocultural and socioecological view, professionals move toward a greater concordance with the life problems, phenomenology, and value orientation of urban, culturally diverse Hispanic families.

Test of a cultural framework of parenting with Latino families of young children.

“…An important strength of the present study is the attention to ethnic subgroup differences within the pan-Latino culture (Fortuny, Hernandez, & Chaudry, 2010; Rosado & Elias, 1993). Findings support the validity of the model in both groups, but the specific paths that emerged as significant varied somewhat between MA and DA families.…”

Fostering social–emotional resilience among Latino youth

“…Placing Latino youth in the United States under one heading may be problematic because considerable variability exists among Latinos in terms of national origin, immigration history, and migration history, as well as different levels of education, socioeconomic status, acculturation, and immigration status. Thus, it is misleading to suppose that all Latinos adhere to a monolithic, unidimensional “Latino culture” (Gallo, Penedo, Espinosa de los Monteros, & Arguelles, 2009; Rosado & Elias, 1993). Differences among Latinos likely impact the extent and nature of risk exposure and the availability of resources and protective factors Latino children and adolescents experience in their daily lives, as well as differences in rates of engagement in delinquent behaviors and opportunities for positive developmental outcomes (Kuperminc, et al, 2009).…”

Learning Portuguese as a Second Language

“…Similarly, European authors have recently analyzed how minorities behave in European schools when it comes to choosing further education. With regard to immigrant groups, normally they share low SES characteristics but with differences between nationalities, as documented in studies conducted in the 90s mentioned by the APA in the area of counseling (Snowden & Cheung, 1990;Rosado & Elias, 1993) and more recently in the field of education (APA, 2012 ). Recently, Portuguese authors, although with very scarce studies, have assessed the importance of the role and resources of Portuguese schools for their immigrant students (Ribeiro, Malafaia, Neves et al, 2016).…”