This is part of our Mental Health & Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Cultural identify affects Latino youth self-esteem
Umaña-Taylor and Updegraff used data from a longitudinal study on Latino adolescents’ ethnic identity to determine whether self-esteem, cultural orientation, and ethnic identity had a mediating or moderating effect on the relationship between discrimination and depression. The study included 273 Latino adolescents, 84 percent of whom identified as Mexican-American, and 72 percent of whom were born in the U.S. Participants completed a questionnaire that included questions related to self-esteem, depressive symptoms, cultural orientation, ethnic identity, and perceived discrimination. Acculturation, the process by which recent immigrants adopt cultural ...
This is part of our Mental Health & Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Introduction
Currently, over 56 million Latinos live in the United States, making up almost 18 percent of the total U.S. population. By 2060, it’s projected that there will be 119 million Latinos in the U.S.1 In addition to being the largest racial or ethnic minority group in the country, Latinos are also the youngest: 17.9 million Latinos, or roughly one third of the U.S. Latino population, are under the age of 18. Even more striking, almost half of U.S.-born Latinos are younger than 18.2 Latino youth are more likely to have mental health issues than their peers, a concern that should be taken even more seriously considering the growing population of young Latinos in the U.S. Twenty-two percent ...
This is part of our Mental Health & Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Latino kids have unmet mental health care service needs
Latino children and other racial/ethnic minority youth are less likely to receive the necessary mental health care compared with their white peers.8,9 A cross-sectional study of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) addressed mental health issues among Latino children ages 2-14 who were living with at least one biological parent (31% were preschool aged 2-5 years, 45.9% were school-aged 6-10 years, and 23.3% were adolescent 11-14 years). Of the three groups, adolescents had the highest rate of clinical need for mental health services at 60.9 percent, followed by school-aged children (38.3%) and preschool children ...
This is part of our Mental Health & Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Impact of immigration on the Latino kids' mental health
Ko and Perreira conducted a cross-sectional study of interview data from the Latino Adolescent, Migration, Health, and Adaptation (LAMHA) project to understand the impact of immigration on the mental health of Latino children. The study included 283 pairs of first-generation Latino immigrant youth ages 12-19 and their caregivers. Participants were subjected to a survey with questions about mental health and experiences related to migration and acculturation (the process by which recent immigrants adopt cultural norms of their new country). Of these participants, 20 Latino adolescents ages 14-18, most of whom had emigrated from Mexico with their parents ...
This is part of our Mental Health & Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Physical activity is linked to mental health
Several studies have demonstrated a positive relationship between physical activity and mental health among Latino children. The converse is also true. Jernigan, et al., in a study of preadolescents (46.8% Latino), found that greater negative emotional symptoms at the baseline interview predicted a significantly increased BMI at a 2-year follow-up for Latino students (p=.03).45 In a cross-sectional review of data from the Healthy Youth/Healthy Adults study, which included 1,870 Latino and non-Latino white adolescents (77% were Latino) ages 14-18 from Nueces County, Tex., Brosnahan et al. investigated whether there was a relationship between physical activity ...
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 ...
Nearly 1 in 5 Latinos suffers a mental health problem. But Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups are less likely than whites to seek out treatment for mental health conditions. Why? How can we help? To celebrate Minority Mental Health Awareness Month in July, let's use #SaludTues on July 25, 2017, to tweet about Latino mental health issues, resources, and solutions! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Minority Mental Health Awareness Month”
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (12-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, July 25, 2017
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludToday
CO-HOSTS: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (@afspnational), National Alliance on Mental Illness (@NAMICommunicate), The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health ...
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 ...
One in five children ages 3 to 17 have a mental health condition. While most kids do not receive care for mental health conditions, it is even less likely for a Latino child to see a mental health provider. Latino children made 58% fewer visits to any mental health provider compared to white children. Latino kids were also less likely than white or black children to see a doctor. In 2013-2014, only 11.6% of Latino kids under age 18 went to a doctor’s office or clinic compared to 7.4% of white and 8.6% of black kids. A lack of mental health care can impact a child in many aspects of life. Kids with untreated mental health conditions are at a higher risk of suspension from school, dropping out, and even have a higher risk of being put in jail. One way to bridge the gap is to ...
