Political violence, psychosocial trauma, and the context of mental health services use among immigrant Latinos in the United States

Abstract

Objectives We present the prevalence of political violence (PV) of immigrant Latinos in the US, and perceived need for and correlates of mental health services use among this population. Methods We use the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), a nationally representative epidemiological survey of US Latinos, including a probability sample of 1630 immigrant Latinos. We use a conceptual framework that assumes a strong role of social and cultural factors in understanding the risk for psychopathology and mental health service use. Results Eleven percent of all immigrant Latinos reported PV exposure and 76% described additional lifetime traumas. Among those with a history of PV, an increased likelihood of using mental health services was associated with female gender, English language proficiency, experiencing personal assaults, higher perceived discrimination, and having an anxiety or substance disorder. Specific subgroups of Latinos, including men and Mexican immigrants, were less likely to access mental health services after experiencing PV. Perceived need for mental health services use is the strongest correlate of any lifetime and last 12 months service use. Conclusions The strong consequences of PV suggest the need for systematic screening and referral strategies. Specific outreach interventions focused on perceptions of need could be helpful for subgroups of Latinos including men who are particularly underrepresented in mental health services but who exhibit significant trauma histories.

The Family-School-Primary Care Triangle and the Access to Mental Health Care Among Migrant and Ethnic Minorities

“…Accessing mental health care services is more difficult for migrant and ethnic minorities as they must overcome a range of barriers, at multiple levels [1,2,7,28]. Once accessed, the care they receive is often of a lower quality [2].…”

Pre-migration Trauma Exposure and Psychological Distress for Asian American Immigrants: Linking the Pre- and Post-migration Contexts

“…For instance, some studies have found that pre-migration trauma exposure is a strong predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), depression, long-term psychological dysfunction, and lower levels of use of mental health services [13,18,19]. Others contended that post-migration stressors are far more impactful than pre-migration trauma [17,[20][21][22].…”

Evaluation of a Multi-Phase Trauma-Focused Intervention with Latino Youth

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