Socioeconomic status, ethnicity, psychological distress, and readiness to utilize a mental health facility

Abstract

The effects of minority status versus ethnic culture on Mexican-Americans' underutilization of mental health services were reassessed through development and testing of an analytic path model that proposes a sequence of factors, including Mexican-American ethnicity, socioeconomic status, degree of social and institutional support, and depression, which culminate in a person's decision to utilize mental health facilities. The model also predicts that life stress will affect utilization through its influence on depression. Data from 783 subjects generally supported the model's predictions. A multifactorial approach to the causes of mental health problems and utilization behavior in the Mexican-American population is suggested.