Latino Children’s Mental Health: An Analysis of Risk Factors, Healthcare Access, and Intervention Strategies

• Main Author: Ian Holloway
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Columbia University Libraries 2012-10-01
• Series: Columbia Social Work Review
• Subjects: Social work; Social service; Mental health; Latinex children; Latino children; Mental healthcare services; Mental health in children
• Online Access: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D82J6NQQ/download

Research suggests that Latino children are at an elevated risk for a variety of mental health problems (Flores, Fuentes-Afflic, Barbot, et al., 2002). Latinos are often vulnerable to the deleterious effects of poverty, institutional racism, community violence and other types of psychosocial stressors, which have been linked to negative mental health outcomes (Flisher, Kramer, Grosser, et al., 1997; Saunders, Resnick, Hoberman, et al., 1994). Furthermore, Latino children are likely to face significant cant barriers to accessing mental healthcare services, such as limited availability of Spanish-speaking providers, difficulty obtaining and navigating health insurance, and cultural obstacles, such as the belief that mental illness is a spiritual or religious matter. The current paper will: (1) explore specific risk factors.