Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007;4(1):19-47.
doi: 10.1080/15427600701480980.

Looking Beyond Nativity: The Relation of Age of Immigration, Length of Residence, and Birth Cohorts to the Risk of Onset of Psychiatric Disorders for Latinos

Affiliations

Looking Beyond Nativity: The Relation of Age of Immigration, Length of Residence, and Birth Cohorts to the Risk of Onset of Psychiatric Disorders for Latinos

Margarita Alegria et al. Res Hum Dev. 2007.

Abstract

Past studies yield inconsistent results regarding risk of psychopathology for U.S. Latinos by nativity possibly due to differences across immigrants in their age of arrival to the U.S., their length of residence in the U.S., or birth-cohort differences. This paper seeks to document the relation of age of arrival, time in the U.S., and cohort effects on the risk of onset of psychiatric disorders using a nationally representative sample of 2554 Latinos in the coterminous United States. Risk of onset of psychiatric disorders was assessed using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI, Kessler & Ustun, 2004). Findings indicate that Latino immigrants have lower risks of onset for some psychiatric disorders in their country of origin, but once in the U.S., Latino immigrants appear to experience similar risks of onset as U.S.-born Latinos of the same age. The longer Latino immigrants remain in their country of origin, the less cumulative risk of onset they experience, resulting in lower lifetime rates of disorders. These findings could potentially be due to variation in cultural and social norms and expectations across geographical contexts, differences in family structure and gender roles, as well as artifactual-level explanations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Weighted exponential survival models fit by age for male depressive disorders by nativity and age of arrival into the U.S.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Weighted exponential survival models fit by age for female depressive disorders by nativity and age of arrival into the U.S.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Weighted exponential survival models fit by age for male substance use disorders by nativity and age of arrival into the U.S.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Weighted exponential survival models fit by age for female substance use disorders by nativity and age of arrival into the U.S.

References

    1. Alderete E, Vega W, Kolody B, Aguilar-Gaxiola S. Effects of time in the United States and Indian ethnicity on DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans in California. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders. 2000;188:90–100. - PubMed
    1. Alegría M, Canino G, Stinson F, Grant B. Nativity and DSM-IV psychiatric disorders among Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans and non-Latino Whites in the United States: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2006;67(1):56–65. - PubMed
    1. Alegría M, Shrout P, Woo M, Guarnaccia P, Sribney W, Vila D, et al. Understanding Differences in Past-Year Psychiatric Disorders for Latinos living in the U.S. Social Science & Medicine. in press. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alegría M, Takeuchi D, Canino G, Duan N, Shrout P, Meng X-L, et al. Considering Context, Place and Culture: the National Latino and Asian American Study. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research. 2004;13(4):208–220. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th Edition American Psychiatric Association; 1994.

LinkOut - more resources