Introduction
Apart from the native American young, Latino youth record the highest suicide cases among minority groupings with more significant percentages of depressive symptoms following the rapidly growing number of young Latinos aged younger than 18. The stressors among Latino teenagers might result from immigration, cultural heritage, poverty, and marginalization. For instance, Latino youngsters face many challenges, such as the risk of behavioral issues like drug use, unplanned pregnancy, and low education levels. The emotional and mental health of Hispanic young people is of particular concern (Sanchez et al., 2019). Therefore, social discrimination is a concern that responsible parties need to seriously hold the increasing population of young non-Caucasians in the U.S. (Pineros-Leano et al., 2017). Although Latino children and young people face high levels of mental health problems, mental health services are used and received differently. Thus, this short discourse determines the vulnerability of the Hispanic youths and relates the social issue with the health promotion principles.
As the ethnic and racial makeup of the United States grows, the mental state of colored juveniles becomes more closely linked with the country’s welfare. Although most young minorities show remarkable resilience in their environments against adversity, many are incredibly susceptible to mental health problems (Isasi et al., 2016). Prolonged exposure to threats such as poverty, violence, and discrimination results in a large variety of mental and behavioral distress. In poor colored societies, mental illnesses often go undiagnosed owing to the unavailability of adequate, effective mental health care in those areas. In many different life fields, such as employment opportunities and other success and well-being paths, this integration of risk determinants to appropriate care is linked. Even though most teenage Latinos lead productive lives, some fight with ecological trauma that makes them sensitive to psychological difficulties (Gopalkrishnan, 2018). Compared to other ethnic groups, minority youth have a high prevalence of depressive symptoms. Studies show that young Hispanics, especially females, are more vulnerable to stress than other factions.
Specifically, Latino ethnic minorities rely on intrinsic resilience and external entities to accommodate the migration and cultural assimilation challenges. Unfortunately, the CDC’s national study indicates that Hispanic teenagers were 36.3% more likely than Whites to feel sad or despair. Also, bout 15.9% of migrants think of committing suicide (Mellick et al., 2019). Notably, the same report indicates that females (15.1%) are more likely to consider killing themselves than men (9.8%) (Mellick et al., 2019). The Hispanic youth visit the United States with a fortitude that safeguards them from transition and acculturation problems and stressors.
The reality that Hispanic youths are exposed to several obstacles to accessing adequate diagnostic and intervention services adds to these issues. Discrepancies in access to the right care services are attributable to a combination of structural problems, including service delivery and cost, health coverage, and transportation difficulties. In fact, in many underdeveloped communities, the lack of mental health services and a lack of professionals in mental health is a fundamental hurdle to access. The lack of continuity of care is also linked with cultural factors such as the fear of psychopathic stigma, especially for Hispanics and immigrant groups, and a lack of confidence in the healthcare systems for mental health care. Latin people are less inclined to seek psychiatric care (El Bouhaddani et al., 2019). Finally, the lack of adequate supervision of young Latino people worldwide in terms of language and culture contributes to the under-use of service.
Therefore, there is a much smaller risk for Asian American youngsters because these care requirements will receive specialist care or patient experience, producing long-term positive results compared with non-Latinos. While work is needed for psychiatric assistance for teenagers, mental health programs have been losing billions, and mental medical expenses and the workload on health facilities, educational institutions, correctional institutions, and nursing homes have been progressively passed on.
Summary of Articles Used for The Study
Although many report studies exist to help enlighten society about the complex nature of teenage Latinos and the undesirable mental health conditions, this section summarizes three sources to support the reliability of this short discourse. For instance, the article “Cultural Diversity and Mental Health: Considerations for Policy and Practice” by Narayan Gopalkrishnan explores the key issues lying at the crossroads of cognitive and cultural diversity. The article will also examine many of these concerns to raise the possibility of engaging in ethnicities more evenly and sustainably between mental healthcare settings and professionals.
“Psychotic experiences among ethnic majority and minority adolescents and the role of discrimination and ethnic identity” by El Bouhaddani, S. et al. (2019) used the cohort study method to show that in minority ethnic youth, mental health problems’ pervasiveness is higher than in native youth. The research evaluated an increase in the frequency of psychiatric symptoms in ethnic minority young people relative to their Dutch people in early adolescents’ psychological health in the Netherlands. Also, the researchers studied the link between psychiatric symptoms, racial heritage, and negative attitudes.
“Health Issues in Hispanic/Latino Youth” by Isasi, C. R. et al. (2016) focused on the functioning of obesity, breathing problems, and mental health as critical problems for Hispanic youth. The authors also discussed a load of these circumstances and the effects on health. The evaluation also emphasized the need for accurate data to help comprehend Hispanic youth’s state of health and develop intervention measures that meet their needs.
Health Promotion Discussion
Besides encouraging family involvement, collaborating with the primary healthcare providers will allow them to educate them about the complex nature of mental health conditions. Since Latinos with mental health concerns are twice likely to consult a PCP instead of a mental health professional, this populace needs to be reached by working with primary care. Educating them about the psychological roots of mental health conditions will enable them to reduce their exposure to the perceived factors and recommend alternative strategies to safeguard them from potential threats (Sanchez et al., 2019). For instance, a holistic treatment approach will also enable them to make changes to their living standards to boost their resilience against the adversities associated with psychological issues.
Increasing psychiatric services’ accessibility, convenience, and cost-effectiveness — especially those focusing on early detection and prevention — would help improve the standard of living of young people dealing with mental illnesses and would be a significant cost reduction for societies, provinces, and the nation. Some movement was undertaken to divert funds from detention and criminalization to society-based mental health services. More recently, the Cures Act of the 21st Century, adopted in December 2016 by President Obama, aimed to boost mental health care provision in underprivileged and community situations (Pineros-Leano et al., 2017). These steps towards enhanced community mental health initiatives should be commended and replicated across the country. But suppose the services are of excellent quality, appropriately designed to target and treat specific people at risk of depressive symptoms. In that case, the professionals predict that they will not achieve their desired results.
References
El Bouhaddani, S., van Domburgh, L., Schaefer, B., Doreleijers, T. A., & Veling, W. (2019). Psychotic experiences among ethnic majority and minority adolescents and the role of discrimination and ethnic identity. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 54(3), 343-353.
Gopalkrishnan, N. (2018). Cultural diversity and mental health: Considerations for policy and practice. Frontiers in Public Health, 6, 179.
Isasi, C. R., Rastogi, D., & Molina, K. (2016). Health issues in Hispanic/Latino youth. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 4(2), 67.
Mellick, W., Hatkevich, C., Venta, A., Hill, R. M., Kazimi, I., Elhai, J. D., & Sharp, C. (2019). Measurement invariance of depression symptom ratings across African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Caucasian adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Psychological Assessment, 31(6), 833.
Pineros-Leano, M., Liechty, J. M., & Piedra, L. M. (2017). Latino immigrants, depressive symptoms, and cognitive behavioral therapy: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 208, 567-576.
Sanchez, K., Killian, M. O., Eghaneyan, B. H., Cabassa, L. J., & Trivedi, M. H. (2019). Culturally adapted depression education and engagement in treatment among Hispanics in primary care: outcomes from a pilot feasibility study. BMC Family Practice, 20(1), 1-9.