Likelihood of Using Mental Health Services among Asians and Latinos in the U.S.: An Acculturative Approach

Prior research indicates that because of acculturation, racial minorities’ use of mental health services increases with each subsequent generation. Yet little is known about how refining generational categories to include the 1.5 and 2.5 generations affects the association between acculturation and the perceived need for mental health resources. Using the National Latino and Asian American Study, the present study examined the interplay between generation status, acculturation, socioeconomic status (SES), and perceived need to seek mental health services among Asians (N = 2,095) and Latinos (N = 2,554) in the United States. The findings indicate that the interrelationships between these factors may be different for Asians and Latinos and that it is crucial to use more refined generational categories in intergenerational health mobility research. Specifically, the 1.5, 2.5 and third generations are associated with an increase in perception of needing to seek mental health resources among Asians. Furthermore, the findings highlight the importance of taking into consideration the implications of several acculturation measures on the association between generation status and the perception of mental health services. In particular, English proficiency accounts for the impact of generation status partially among Asians and completely among Latinos. Lastly, this study demonstrates that not only various acculturation measures, but also some SES factors (i.e., education and employment) might make a difference in the effect of generation status on access to mental health services.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor

University of Houston

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Lopez, Angelica A.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Monserud, Maria A.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Anderson, Kathryn F.
• Narendorf, Sarah C.

• Mental health
• service use
• acculturation
• 1.5 generation
• 2.5 generation

Statement dc:rights

• The author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10657/6643

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/6643