Statistics:

– 1 in 5 Americans has a mental health disorder

Source

– Neuropsychiatric disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. (followed by cardiovascular and circulatory diseases and neoplasms.  Neuropsychiatric means how mental health disorders affect the central nervous system)

Source

– The average delay between symptom onset and treatment is 11 years

Source

– 1 in 8 of all visits to U.S. emergency departments are related to mental and substance use disorders

Source

– More than 1 in 3 Latinas women  reported ever being a victim of an intimate partner’s sexual, physical violence or stalking

Source

– In 2017, suicide was second largest cause of death for latinx ages 15 to 34

Source

– Suicide attempts for Latinx girls, grades 9-12, were 40 % higher than for non-Latinx white girls in the same age group

Source

– Latinx recieves mental health treatment half as much as Non-Latinx white

Source

– The death rate from suicide for Latinx men was 4 times the rate for Latinx women

Source

– 76% of Latinx with anxiety and depression do not received appropriate mental health care

Source

– Only 20% of Latinx who experience symptoms of a psychological disorder talk to a doctor about their symptoms, and only 10% contact a mental health professional.

Source

– Top mental health barriers for Latinx are language barriers, no insurance, lack of cultural awareness, legal status, acculturation, stigma

Source

– Nearly 4 in 5 Latinx youth suffer at least one traumatic childhood experience like poverty or abuse, and lack the proper care, support and environment they need for healthy development in formative years .

Source

– Immigrants are more susceptible to developing PTSD and stress disorders, depending on the frequency, duration, and multiplicity of traumatic experiences suffered during various stages of migration (Kouyoumdjian et al., 2003)

Source

– Cultural dissonance and acculturative stress, discrimination, socioeconomic pressures, loss of social support mechanisms upon immigration, and exposure to drugs and alcohol often lead to chemical use and dependency” (Rios-Ellis, 2005, p.10).

Source

– Cultural Dissonance is an uncomfortable sense of inner conflict, disharmony, confusion, experienced by people during change in their cultural environment. The changes are often unexpected, unexplained or not understandable due to various types of cultural dynamics

– Acculturative Stress  is the psychological impact of adaptation to a new culture. Stress factors include family’s legal status, forced versus voluntary migration, and perceived discrimination