A recent article on HuffingtonPost.com about depression in Latinos really surprised me, since the data I’ve seen generally describes Latinos as positive or optimistic. Some other findings were:
- Mental illness, such as depression, often carries a stigma in the Hispanic community because of cultural and socioeconomic factors – “Even more so than American culture as a whole, Latino culture values self-reliance, which can discourage people from talking about their problems…”
- There’s a major shortage of Spanish-speaking health professionals
- Cultural barriers - “Many physicians, psychiatrists, therapists are well-trained…but they aren’t trained in understanding culture and how they’re impacting someone’s world.”
- 16 million Latinos – about 1 in 3, are presently uninsured in the U.S.
Maybe marketers need to take a second look. I don’t really have any answers, but I do have a lot of questions:
How many U.S. Latinos are currently battling depression?
How does depression vary based on level of acculturation?
Does country of origin play a role?
Parents, teens, recent arrivals adjusting to life in the U.S. — how are they coping?
Is this article an accurate depiction or just a catchy headline?
Has anyone else seen data that supports or contradicts this article? I’d love to know.
photo credit: graphic hunt
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ingrid Otero-Smart, Casanova Pendrill. Casanova Pendrill said: Are Latinos Struggling with Depression? New blog post touches on some rather surprising stats http://bit.ly/gBmpYS cc: @monicacamacho [...]
Several years ago, I worked on a program for Zoloft and found similar information. Latinas especially were prone to depression. The husbands would find work first and make connections while she was at home, without her support system, no command of the language, and coping with life in a new country. This on top of a cultural stigma on depression, made them feel isolated and out of control.
Thanks for the comment – definitely makes sense.
I remember one in-home ethnography last year where the mother was in a similar situation.
We could tell she was conflicted: on one end she was happy for the opportunities her children had in the U.S. Even so, she felt uncomfortable and perhaps disconnected from her kids, who wanted to spend more time with friends instead of family. It was radically different from life in Mexico where family always came first.
@DennisDemori
[...] DISCLOSURE: This post was originally published Feb. 17th. See the original + follow up comments on the Casanova Pendrill blog. [...]