Addressing Latino parents’ mental health needs is critical to supporting their families’ well-being. Parents’ mental health can affect multiple aspects of family life, including their ability to secure and maintain employment and provide financially for their family, the health and stability of couples’ relationships, and the quality of parent-child interactions.1,2,3,4 To adequately support parents who face mental health disorders, researchers and mental health professionals need information about the prevalence of mental disorders among Hispanic parents specifically, and how this prevalence varies among Latino subgroups.
This brief uses data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III), a nationally representative sample of the United States civilian population ages 18 and older, to describe the prevalence of mental health disorders among Hispanic parents of children under age 18—measured by the prevalence of having ever experienced major depression, anxiety, substance use, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and having ever attempted suicide. Unlike many national surveys that collect limited information about a select number of mental health indicators, the NESARC-III collects detailed information about mental health symptoms to derive clinical diagnoses of mental health disorders.
We also examine the variation in prevalence of mental health disorders within the Latino parent community by place of birth (U.S. state-born versus non-U.S. state-born) and heritage (country of origin). Because of differences in the distribution of non-U.S. state-born versus U.S. state-born Hispanics within heritage, we examine heritage and place of birth jointly to understand whether differences in the prevalence of mental health disorders by heritage are maintained after considering differences by place of birth. We conclude by discussing strategies for improving access to mental health services for Hispanic parents of children under age 18.
KEY FINDINGS
Over one third (37%) of Latino parents have experienced a mental health disorder—depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, or PTSD—at some point in their lives. The prevalence of mental health disorders was lower among Hispanic parents than among non-Hispanic parents. Among Latino parents with children under age 18:
- Twenty-two percent experienced a substance use disorder at some time in their lives.
- Fourteen percent experienced major depression.
- Eleven percent had an anxiety disorder.
- Eight percent experienced PTSD.
Hispanic parents who were born outside of the 50 states had a lower prevalence of mental health disorders than Latino parents born in the 50 states. Twenty-nine percent of non-U.S. state-born Hispanic parents had experienced a mental health disorder, compared to 51 percent of U.S. state-born Latino parents.
Parents of Puerto Rican heritage were more likely to have experienced a mental health disorder at some point in their lives than parents whose ancestry was from Mexico, El Salvador, or other Central American countries. However, differences by heritage were no longer present after adjusting for place of birth.
ADDITIONAL CONTEXT
While many children whose parents have experienced a mental health disorder go on to have healthy lives, the presence of a mental health disorder in parents can increase the child’s risk for negative emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and physical health outcomes during childhood and later in life. 4,5,6,7 These risks are attributed to a mixture of genetic, biological, and environmental factors (e.g., less supportive parenting, stressful home environments, environmental risks shared by parents and their children).8,9,10,11
Mental health disorders are common in the general population, but most individuals respond well to treatment.12 However, mental health care remains difficult for racial and ethnic minority groups to access, which represents a significant health inequality that has only grown over the years.13 Hispanic populations, in particular, face multiple barriers that limit their access to mental health care and treatment.14,15 For example, only 6 percent of licensed psychologists in the United States are able to provide mental health services in Spanish,16 and just 61 percent of Latino adults in the United States speak English “very” or “pretty” well—creating a mismatch between potential demand for, and supply of, linguistically appropriate mental health care.17 Further, Latino individuals in the United States have limited access to culturally responsive services that reflect an understanding of their cultural norms, immigration, trauma and acculturation experiences, variation in the presentation of mental health symptoms, and the history of stigma and mistrust of the mental health field among Latino communities.18,19,20,21
The Latino population is diverse in terms of heritage, languages spoken, migration histories, traumas encountered, catalysts for migration, and experiences of and levels of exposure to U.S. culture.22,23 These differences can affect Latino populations’ mental health outcomes and their level of access to mental health services.24,25,26 For example, notable differences in physical and mental health have been observed between Latinos born in the United States and those born outside of the United States, with immigrants showing better outcomes.27 Similarly, the mental health outcomes of Hispanic populations seem to differ by Latino heritage (e.g., Mexican, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran),27 but these comparisons are not commonly examined due to limitations in sample sizes. Identifying how mental health disorders vary across different groups of Latino parents allows researchers and mental health professionals to understand the needs of different subpopulations and target culturally responsive mental health services.
Source: The National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families
Research Publication (May 19, 2022)
Authors: María A. Ramos-Olazagasti & C. Andrew Conway