Expression of symptomatic distress by Puerto Rican and Euro-American patients with depression and schizophrenia.
Latinos, principally Puerto Rican, and Euro-American psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or major depression were compared on their responses to the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The internal consistency reliability of the BSI dimensions and factor structures were comparable in the two cultural groups. Puerto Rican respondents scored significantly higher than Euro-Americans on the Global Severity Index, an index of distress, as well as on several subscales of the instrument. Multiple regression analysis suggested differences in expression of symptoms between Latinos and Euro-Americans only for obsessive compulsive and anxiety symptoms once general severity of symptom expression was controlled. Differences in symptom expression on the BSI associated with ethnicity were greater than those associated with diagnosis.
Department of Psychology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7123, USA.
V L
VL
Coelho
M E
ME
Strauss
J H
JH
Jenkins
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012923:Social Class; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data