Ethnic differences in perceived impairment and need for care.
Latino children in the U.S. have high rates of unmet need for mental health services, perhaps due to biased perceptions of impairment and need for care by parents and providers. We tested this argument using an experimental vignette design. Vignettes described children with problems that varied on severity (mild vs. serious), nature of the problem (internalizing vs. externalizing), as well as gender and ethnicity (Latino vs. Anglo). Raters were Latino and Anglo parents (N = 185) and providers (N = 189). Vignettes with Latino names were viewed as more impaired by both parents and providers, and this effect was significantly stronger in Latino vignettes with less severe problems. Severity and Latino features of vignettes also interacted with judgments of need for service. At higher severity, vignettes with Anglo names were judged to need service more than vignettes with Latino names, despite the same judged levels of impairment. Results are discussed in the light of the unmet need for Latinos.
University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-5067, USA. ligia.chavez@upr.edu
Ligia M
LM
Chavez
Patrick E
PE
Shrout
Margarita
M
Alegría
Sheri
S
Lapatin
Glorisa
G
Canino
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001900:Boston; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology