Family culture in mental health help-seeking and utilization in a nationally representative sample of Latinos in the United States: The NLAAS.

Abstract

Considering the central role of familismo in Latino culture, it is important to assess the extent to which familismo affects mental health help-seeking. This study examined the role of behavioral familismo, the level of perceived family support, in the use of mental health services of Latinos in the United States. Data come from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), a representative household survey examining the prevalence of mental disorders and services utilization among Latinos and Asian Americans. Analyses were limited to Latino adults with a clinical need for mental health services, indexed by meeting DSM–IV diagnostic criteria for any mood, anxiety, or substance use disorder during the past 12 months (N = 527). One-third of Latinos with a clinical need used any type of service in the past year, including specialty mental health, general medical, and informal or religious services. High behavioral familismo was significantly associated with increased odds of using informal or religious services, but not specialty or medical services. Self-perceived need and social perceptions of need for care within close networks (i.e., told by family/friends to seek professional help) also were significant predictors of service use. These results carry important implications toward expansions of the mental health workforce in the informal and religious services settings.

Parenting Stress through the Lens of Different Clinical Groups: a Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis

“…This finding may be due to cultural differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics such that stigma of mental health problems and may lead to underreporting of psychosocial issues (Villatoro et al 2014), including parenting stress or child behavior problems. Another possible explanation, may be that Hispanic mothers value cultural factors like familismo (i.e., family loyalty, reciprocity, and solidarity), which has been shown to be a protective factor (Gallo et al 2009) against parenting stress.…”

Trauma-exposed Latina immigrants’ networks: A social network analysis approach.

“…One of the key components of familismo , a core Latino cultural value, is being able to rely on family members for social support (Sabogal, Marín, Otero-Sabogal, Marín, & Perez-Stable,1987; Villatoro, Morales, & Mays, 2014). The greater reliance on family support (vs. friends) among Latino immigrants (Almeida et al, 2009; Chang, Chen, & Alegría, 2014) may be advantageous as family support has been associated with better self-rated physical/mental health in this population (Mulvaney-Day, Alegría, & Sribney, 2007).…”

Involving immigrant religious organizations in HIV/AIDS prevention: The role of bonding and bridging social capital

“…Some health topics may be more consistently aligned with cultural and religious beliefs such as those encouraging the consumption of healthier foods. Other topics may conflict with existing beliefs and be less readily accepted, such as contraception, immunizations, treatments for mental health issues and HIV/AIDS prevention (Chaze et al, 2015; Gerend et al, 2013; Lowe and Moore, 2014; Villatoro et al, 2014). When these conflicts occur, many immigrants turn to trusted community members and organizations for guidance.…”