Benjamin Cook ^1*, Margarita Alegría ¹, Julia Y. Lin ¹, Jing Guo ²

¹ Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance
² Cambridge Health Alliance

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bcook{at}charesearch.org.

	Abstract

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.

Key Words: Mental Health, Hispanics/Latinos, Statistics/Evaluation/Research