Family factors contribute to general anxiety disorder and suicidal ideation among Latina Americans.

PURPOSE: Despite a rapidly growing Latina/o American population, little is known about modifiable factors that could protect Latinas against major psychiatric disorders. The present study explored psychosocial risk (Negative Interaction) and protective factors (Family Cohesion, Social Support, Religious Involvement, Racial and Ethnic Identity) for major depressive disorder (MDD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), and suicidal ideation (SI) among Latinas participating in the first national mental health epidemiological survey of Latina Americans. METHOD: We conducted three sets of logistic regressions, predicting outcomes for 1,427 Latinas identified in the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), the first nationally representative, epidemiological study of Latino and Asian Americans living in the United States. These analyses followed preplanned steps: Model 1 used known predictors as controls and Model 2 added psychosocial risk and predictive factors beyond the known predictors. RESULTS: For each outcome examined, psychosocial risk and protective factors produced a significantly better model fit in Model 2 than sociodemographic and acculturation variables known to predict mental health outcomes in Model 1. Negative Interactions were associated with increased likelihood of GAD and SI, whereas Family Cohesion seemed to be protective against GAD. No psychosocial factors predicted MDD. CONCLUSIONS: Differential protective and risk factors for major psychiatric disorders suggest that assessment and intervention may need certain sex-specific components in order to improve health care and prevention for Latinas.

Racial/ethnic identity and subjective physical and mental health of Latino Americans: an asset within?

Social Identity Theory indicates that ethnic identity could benefit minority members in a society because of its promotion of a sense of belonging, or of its buffering of the damage of discrimination. Despite growing investigation about Latinos' overall health, few studies have simultaneously examined the influence of multiple cultural strength factors, especially racial/ethnic identity, social support, and religious attendance, on these outcomes. Using the National Latino and Asian American Study, we examine the potential predictive value of these cultural strength factors on Latinos' Self-Rated Mental and Physical Health (SRMH and SRPH). Two separate two-step regression models revealed significant positive effects of racial/ethnic identity on both mental and physical health of Latinos, above and beyond the effect of known demographic and acculturation factors, such as discrimination. Religious attendance had a positive effect on SRMH but not on SRPH. The deteriorating roles of discrimination, in mental health only, and that of Length in the US in both outcomes, however, was primarily not altered by entry of these cultural strength factors. The independent direct effect of racial/ethnic identity among Latinos nationwide may suggest that this cultural strength is an internalized protective asset. Longitudinal data is needed to explore its underlying mechanism and long-term impact.