Mental Health, Utilization of Services, and Disparities

• U.S.-born Hispanics report higher rates for most psychiatric disorders than Hispanic immigrants. ⁴

• Studies have shown that older Hispanic adults and Hispanic youth are especially vulnerable to psychological stresses associated with immigration and acculturation. ⁵

• Approximately 1 in 10 Hispanics with a mental disorder use mental health services from a general health care provider, while only 1 in 20 receive such services from a mental health specialist. ⁶

• Hispanics are more likely to report poor communication with their health provider. Several studies have found that bilingual patients are evaluated differently when interviewed in English as opposed to Spanish and that Hispanics are more frequently undertreated.⁵

• Nationally, 21.1% of Hispanics are uninsured, compared with 7.5% of White non-Hispanic Americans. Low rates of insurance coverage for Hispanic is likely to be a function of ethnicity, immigration status, and citizenship status. ⁷ ⁸

Disparities in Hispanic/Latino Children and Adolescents

• Hispanic children and adolescents are at significant risk for mental health problems, and in many cases at greater risk than white children.⁹

• Among Hispanic students in grades 9-12 in 2015: 18.9% had seriously considered attempting suicide, 15.7% had made a plan to attempt suicide, 11.3% had attempted suicide, and 4.1% had made a suicide attempt that resulted in an injury, poisoning, or overdose that required medical attention. These rates were consistently higher in Hispanic students than in white and black students. ¹⁰

• In 2014, Hispanic and white adolescents aged 12-17 in the U.S. were more likely than black or Asian adolescents to have initiated alcohol use or cigarette use in the past year. About 10% of white and Hispanic adolescents initiated alcohol use, compared with 7.3% for blacks and 4.7% for Asian. Approximately 3.9% of Hispanic adolescents initiated cigarette use, compared with 3.5% for white adolescents, 2.2% for black adolescents, and 1.5% for Asian adolescents. ¹¹

• Hispanic adolescents are half as likely than white adolescents to use antidepressants. ¹²

• Hispanic children are half as likely as white children to use stimulants to treat disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD). ¹³