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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.137091v1 99/12/2247    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Cook, B. Articles by Guo, J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Cook, B. Articles by Guo, J. Related Collections Mental Health Hispanics/Latinos Immigration Surveys

Benjamin Cook, PhD, MPH, Margarita Alegría, PhD, Julia Y. Lin, PhD and Jing Guo, MS

Benjamin Cook, Margarita Alegría, and Julia Y. Lin are with the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Somerville, MA. Jing Guo is with the Department of Health Studies at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Benjamin Cook, PhD, Cambridge Health Alliance, Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research, 120 Beacon St, 4th Floor, Somerville, MA 02143 (e-mail: bcook{at}charesearch.org). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

Objectives. We examined potential pathways by which time in the United States may relate to differences in the predicted probability of past-year psychiatric disorder among Latino immigrants as compared with US-born Latinos.

Methods. We estimated predicted probabilities of psychiatric disorder for US-born and immigrant groups with varying time in the United States, adjusting for different combinations of covariates. We examined 6 pathways by which time in the United States could be associated with psychiatric disorders.

Results. Increased time in the United States is associated with higher risk of psychiatric disorders among Latino immigrants. After adjustment for covariates, differences in psychiatric disorder rates between US-born and immigrant Latinos disappear. Discrimination and family cultural conflict appear to play a significant role in the association between time in the United States and the likelihood of developing psychiatric disorders.

Conclusions. Increased perceived discrimination and family cultural conflict are pathways by which acculturation might relate to deterioration of mental health for immigrants. Future studies assessing how these implicit pathways evolve as contact with US culture increases may help to identify strategies for ensuring maintenance of mental health for Latino immigrants.