Abstract
Latino youth are far more likely than their peers to have mental health issues. These often go unaddressed and untreated. Why? Immigration, poverty, bullying, and other family and social factors can stress Latino youth. But there’s good news, too. Programs are emerging to reduce family, school, and community stress. These can positively impact mental health among this population. Promising policies, while few, also are emerging. Read the News Release (PDF)
Read the Issue Brief (PDF)
Explore success stories and find tools to take action!
Contents
Introduction & Methods. This Salud America! research review assesses available research about mental health and access to care among Latino youth. This review also examines programs and policies to tackle ...
This is part of our Mental Health & Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Latina youth have a very high rate of thinking about suicide
Latino females in grades 9-12 had the highest rate of suicidal ideation, at 25.6 percent, compared to 22.8 percent among their white peers, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health’s assessment of Latino mental health based on results from the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS), a self-report survey of high school students. The rate for Latino males of the same age group was much lower (12%), but it was still higher than that of white peers (11.5%). Latino females also reported the highest rate of suicide attempt (15.1% versus 9.8%), and Latino males reported a higher rate than their ...
Latino parents in Holyoke, MA (49.49% Latino population) have taken drastic measures in an effort to achieve a better standard of education equity for their children, according to The Boston Globe. In August 2017, the group Padres de Latinos de las Escuelas de Springfield y Holyoke (PLESH) filed a lawsuit against the Holyoke Public School District claiming that there was a failing to “provide adequate translation of educational documents” for parents with limited English proficiency. Nearly half of the 5,300 students in Holyoke live in homes where English isn’t the primary language. Per The Boston Globe report, 80% of all students in the district are Latino and the lawsuit focuses heavily on minority children in special education. “Nothing has changed,” said Glorimar ...
Latinos report the highest levels of stress among groups, due to money, employment, and family and health issues, according to the recent American Psychological Association (APA) annual Stress in America survey. When it comes to stress and mental health, Latinos often go untreated or undiagnosed. Persistent stress in young children can become toxic, according to new research from the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. This toxic stress has been shown to cause “brain changes” that can interfere with learning and lead to more problems in adulthood. The research was unable to pinpoint exactly how many children have been harmed to date by toxic stress, but the data showed that many live in circumstances that experts say “put them at risk.” Other findings ...
Bullying can stress a Latino child's emotions and mental health, and can contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. That's bad enough. But bullying also can keep a child from attending school and impact the finances of school districts across the country, according to a new study by UT Austin, Medline reports. About 10% of kids in California (38.39% Latino population) missed at least one day of school in a month because they felt "unsafe" due to bullying, according to the study. That's about 301,000 kids missing school. And California schools—which get funding based on student attendance instead of total enrollment like in many other states—lose in excess of $275 million in funding each year when these bullied kids stay home. “Bullying ...
The classic bully takes a kid's lunch money. But a new type of bully—"school lunch shaming," when a student has no money for lunch to begin with—is on the upswing in schools across the country, CNN reports. This type of "hidden" or "unintentional" bullying greatly affects Latino kids. Latino kids comprise about 1 in 4 of the kids participating in the National School Lunch Program, according to the UnidosUS. "It's the working poor who get screwed," Jill Duban, who heads up a program called Common Threads a school district that helps low-income and homeless families, told CNN. "The lunch ladies are not always nice about it."
Brown bags of shame
Despite the large expansion of free and reduced lunch programs across the country, many kids simply cannot afford to pay $2.35 for ...
So many people share their lives on social media every day. Instagram has 500 million active monthly users worldwide, including 1 in 3 Latinos. Facebook has nearly 2 billion active monthly users. But questions remain about how social networks impact users' mental health. For example, CNN posted this week: "Instagram worst social media app for young people's mental health." The article cites a survey of 1,500 young people on how social media platforms impact their health, depression, anxiety, self-esteem and body image. The survey indicated Instagram negatively affected body image, sleep patterns, and "FOMO"—the fear of missing out. “Platforms that are supposed to help young people connect with each other may actually be fueling a mental health crisis,” Shirley Cramer ...
There is a shortage of mental health professionals in the United States. This situation is more severe for Latino and other minorities, who face barriers of language and culture that can make it hard to seek and get help, Pew Charitable Trusts reports. Take, for instance, Ana Paula Guerrero of Aurora, Ill. Guerrero says it makes it easier and better for her therapy if she doesn't have to translate her emotions from her native Spanish to her adopted English. "When I am talking about certain feelings in Spanish, it's (about) vocabulary and being able to gather the words to express yourself," Guerrero told the Daily Herald of Illinois for a report on language barriers to mental health care. "It's not the feeling itself, but the ability to communicate what you are ...
Chances are good you or someone you know has a mental health issue. In fact, during any given year, about 1 in every 4 people in the United States has a diagnosable disorder, two-thirds of which goes untreated, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Latinos report the highest stress across money, employment, family responsibilities, and health concerns, a recent survey reported. What’s worse, many are unable to get the help they need to either treat their conditions or even get a diagnosis. Telemedicine is an emerging answer to these issues. Doctors are increasingly “linking up” with their patients by phone, email, and webcam more frequently thanks to faster Internet connections. This can reduce some of the cost and rising need for ...
