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Acculturative stress in hispanic/latino illegal immigrants
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“In studies comparing the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in whites, African Americans, and Latinos, higher rates of depression, depressive symptoms, and diagnosed mental illness were found in Latinos (Radloff, 1977; Vernon & Roberts, 1982).” Within the Latino community, there are several risk factors leading to these mental illnesses. Some of those include socioeconomic factors, acculturation, and acculturative stress. Although this is the case, there is an underutilization of mental health services by Latinos which is of growing concern. There are several barriers that Latino’s experience when seeking counseling or therapy for mental illness. According to Sue and Sue’s Barriers to Multicultural Counseling and Therapy, effective counselors
With the growing population of minorities in the United States, it is reasonable to believe that at some point in a counselor or therapist career, there will be a session with a Latino/Hispanic client. From a cultural competence perspective, it is imperative that a counselor understands the Latino/Hispanic culture and their worldviews. Counseling Latinos offer to be discussed in the paper is the case of an Alberto and Angela a Mexican American couple married for 27 years. Alberto has recently lost his job. (
All minority groups experience discrimination which leads to increased levels of stress in those individuals. As the level of stress goes up, so does the risk for several health complications including those related to mental health. Wells, Klap, Koike, and Sherbourne (2001) conducted a study examining the disparities in mental health care among black, Hispanic, and white Americans. Of those Hispanics in the study (n=617), 16.6% of them had a probable mental disorder compared to 13.4% of whites (n=7,299). Hispanics also had a higher incidence of substance abuse problems with 9% of those surveyed meeting criteria compared to 7.6% of whites. Hispanics also had the least reported perceived need for treatment with 10.4% for mental health and only 1.3% for substance abuse. A clinician treating Antonio should keep in mind that he has a higher likelihood of having a mental illness or substance use disorder than a white client as well as the fact that if he does meet the criteria for either, that he probably does not believe he needs
The Latino community is considered the largest demographic minority in the United States and is expect to increase by approximately 15% in 2050 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2002). The Latino population is comprised of many subgroups from many different regions that have developed unique beliefs, norms, and sociopolitical experiences. Although the term Latino is used throughout this paper, it is important to underscore the great diversity found within the Latino community to avoid the development and perpetuation of stereotypes. In clinical practice, it is important to evaluate the individual in terms of their racial identity, acculturation, and socioeconomic status among other factors to create a more individualized and effective treatment
Many Latinos do not seek treatment because they don't recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions or know where to find help. This is an important aspect of this issue since it is impossible to know if there is a problem with ourselves if they’re not talked about to us. In turn, this increases the stigma associated with mental health issues and worry that they will be seen as weak, crazy or shameful. Even simply spreading the basic information about the common conditions, will help convince people that it is normal to be born with, or develop these
Mental illness is an increasing problem in America. Currently about 26.2% of Americans suffer from a mental disorder. A mental illness/disorder is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to relate to others and daily functions. Mental illness can affect humans of any age, race, gender and socioeconomic status. However the care that is needed to effectively cure and help the people affected by the illness is not equal for everyone here in American, especially for African Americans.
Mental health care disparities can be rooted in inequalities in access to good providers, differences in insurance coverage, or discrimination by health professionals in the clinical encounter (McGuire & Miranda, 2008). Surely, those who are affected by these disparities are minorities Blacks and Latinos compare to Whites. Due to higher rates of poverty and poor health among United States minorities compared with whites. Moreover, the fact that poverty and poor health are
Latinos have struggled to discover their place inside of a white America for too many years. Past stereotypes and across racism they have fought to belong. Still America is unwilling to open her arms to them. Instead she demands assimilation. With her pot full of stew she asks, "What flavor will you add to this brew?" Some question, some rebel, and others climb in. I argue that it is not the Latino who willingly agreed to partake in this stew. It is America who forced her ideals upon them through mass media and stale history. However her effort has failed, for they have refused to melt.
Mental illness is an addition to all of the previously listed perceived disadvantages of Native Americans by those of other ethnicities. Many believe that Native Americans are at a higher risk for mental illness than those of European descent. Many also believe that Native Americans have more people suffer from depression than their white counterparts (Stark & Wilkins, American Indian Politics and the American Political System, 2011). There have been studies conducted to test whether or not this is the case, with mixed results. Some studies say that Natives are at a higher risk and others say they are not. This discrepancy makes the answer unclear. If Natives are actually at a higher risk for and have more people suffering from depression than individuals of European descent, the question to ask is, “why?” Several factors play into depression and other mental illness, including biology, social standing, history, family, and any preexisting/comorbid diseases that could contribute to or cause depression.
Health Promotion Among the Hispanic Minority Health is determined in the nation by the minority health. "Approximately 36 percent of the population belongs to a racial or ethnic minority group" (CDC, 2015).One of these are the "Hispanics or Latinos are the largest racial/ethnic minority population in the United States" (CDC, 2015). "About 1 in 6 people living in the US are Hispanic" (CDC, 2015). Therefore, this student will make the comparison between the status of the health of Hispanic minority and the nations ,barriers of health behavior This paper will compare the health status of the Hispanic minority with the nations, barriers to health seeking behaviors, and methods of promoting health among this population. Status of Health Among Hispanic Minority "Heart disease and cancer in Hispanics are the two leading causes of death, accounting for about 2 of 5 deaths, which is about the same for whites" (CDC, 2015). "Hispanics have more deaths from diabetes and chronic liver disease than whites, and similar numbers of deaths from kidney disease" (CDC, 2015). Even though the percentage of Hispanics suffering from high blood pressure are17% in comparison to 20% of whites. Hispanics are 68% that suffered poorly controlled high blood pressure compare to whites which are 54%. Even though Health risks may vary among Hispanic subgroup and whether they are US born or not. Lower death rate is suffered by the Hispanic than whites .But Hispanic has about 50% higher death rate from diabetes. Many deaths may be prevented within the Hispanic population with an increase in education and health screening . Barriers to Health Promotion in the Hispanic Minority "Social factors may play a major role in Hispanic health" (CDC, 2015). According to the art...
The general purpose of this study was to find out how attitudes and acculturation processes of people of African American descent impacted their willingness and attitudes toward receiving psychological help. While this was a broa...
In Sherman Alexie’s novel Indian Killer, there are many characters who struggle with mental disorders. Alexie states “She was manic-depressive and simply couldn’t take care of herself,” this is just one of the mental illnesses suffered in the book (212). Mental disorders are prevalent in the United States. All races are at risk of mental illness. In the article "Mental Health and Substance Abuse Characteristics Among a Clinical Sample of Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Youths in a Large California Metropolitan Area: a Descriptive Study" Daniel Dickerson and Carrie Johnson state “AI/ANs [American Indians/ Alaska Native] between the ages of 15 and 24 have the highest suicide rates in the United States compared to other racial/ethnic groups” (Dickerson and Johnson, 56). Native Americans are highly perceptible to mental illness due to the historical trauma their culture has endured.
The use of alcohol and substances are small among the Hispanic or Latino culture, but higher due to socioeconomic status. I have a better understanding of the triggers that could cause the Hispanic culture to become stressful and vulnerable even before living in the United States. This course has been a crucial weapon for social workers to be engage with Hispanic teens to combat the use of alcohol abuse by using the SBIRT tools. The SBIRT tools also provides theoretical frameworks that steps throughout the process to break free silence, shame, and uncover substance abuse.
During my research, I came across several articles that stated that generally people of color do not seek out mental health services. According to an article in Ebony Magazine by Nia Hamm, “African Americans are 20% more likely to report having serious psychological distress than non-Hispanic Whites, stated by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, but yet young adult African Americans, especially those with higher levels of education, are less likely to seek mental health services than their White counterparts, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association.” The reason that a vast majority of people of color may choose to suppress their mental health conditions is because of their upbringing. From history, it has been stated that people of color were not allowed to seek aid and/or guidance when battling with dilemmas. As generations progressed, so did traditions, but some traditions that were instilled within ancestors, remained prevalent and passed on throughout future generations.
To answer the questions posed by the literature review, several articles were chosen to inform a study that was more synergistic in nature instead of experimental, spanning the fields of feminism, sociology, psychology, and anthropology. They provided two theoretical frameworks for racially driven stress the Minority Stress Model or the Acculturative Stress. The minority stress model is primarily found in LGBT literature describes a conflict between minority and majority values that leads to psychological distress and then poor health outcomes (Dentato, 2012). Meanwhile, the Acculturative Stress model is usually used in the context of Latino immigration and cultural dispersion, it describes the stresses and conflicts brought from entry into
My specific task for the practicum was to develop a mental health component for Project RICE. I carried out my assignments under the supervision of a faculty member; Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith is a Professor of Applied Psychology. Dr. Smith conducts research on the impact of immigration, community contexts, individual differences, and racial minority status on the mental health of individuals and families.