Caplan, S. (2019). Intersection of cultural and religious beliefs about mental health: Latinos in the faith-based setting. Hispanic Health Care International, 17(1) 4-10.
In her article, Caplan (2019) addresses the impact of religion and culture on Hispanics/Latinos’ mental health care receiving and their attitude to mental health treatment. Regardless of the fact that they may be regarded as the United States’ largest minority group representing almost 18% of the population, individuals of Hispanic/Latino origin “utilize mental health care at a rate that is about half that of non-Hispanic Whites” (Caplan, 2019, p. 4). It goes without saying that lack of insurance and culturally competent providers, language barriers, and discrimination are factors that contribute to this tendency. However, this article aims to investigate how people’s beliefs related to mental health and disorders affect their utilization of mental health care facilities.
The design of this study is a qualitative descriptive approach used for an in-depth understanding of the issue through the descriptions of participants’ subjective experiences. It was conducted within a framework of “El Buen Consejo,” a specific intervention created in the faith-based setting for the enhancement of mental health literacy for engagement in treatment (Caplan, 2019). 64 participants involved in the intervention’s sessions were asked about their attitude to mental illness, depression, and people who face these health conditions for the subsequent analysis of their answers.
The results of this research demonstrate that Hispanics/Latinos rarely address mental health care facilities due to the stigmatization of mental health disorders. For them, individuals with mental illness are dangerous and uncontrollable – thus, they deserve ostracism and rejection. At the same time, in relation to depression, the majority of families either deny its existence or connect it with a lack of faith and praying, sinful behaviors, and demons when symptoms are obvious and severe. In general, for Hispanics/Latinos, churches are regarded as the source of spirituality, education, and socialization that prevent the occurrence of mental health disorders. From a personal perspective, it is unreasonable to ignore mental illnesses and discriminate against people who face them. Although religion empowers people, it contributes to their stigmatization as well. In this case, it is essential to educate faith-based communities improving their literacy in relation to mental health to help people with depression and other disorders who live in them.
Delucio, K., Morgan-Consoli, M. L., & Israel, T. (2020). Lo que se ve no se pregunta: Exploring nonverbal gay identity disclosure among Mexican American gay men. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 8(1), 21-40.
In their article, Delucio et al. (2020) investigates the disclosure of gay identity among Mexican American gay men. In general, coming out as a verbal expression of one’s sexual identity is regarded as highly positive for a person’s well-being. As a result, in the present day, it is actively exploited by the White LGBTQ community (Delucio et al., 2020). At the same time, for Latino gay men, the applicability of coming out is substantially limited as a gay identity presents “conflict regarding Latinx cultural values, traditions, and beliefs” (Delucio et al., 2020, p. 24). In addition, the expression of the characteristics of machismo, including explicit sexual prowess, dominance over women, aggression, absence of emotional expression, and substance abuse, is regarded as the only appropriate behavior for men. Thus, the purpose of this research is to examine how Latino gay men understand and express their sexual identity with a focus on non-verbal disclosure.
Six self-identified Mexican American, gay men were chosen for semi-structured interviews that covered four topics: contextual or non-verbal disclosure, gender negotiations, normalizing same-sex relationships, and the navigation of disclosure expectations. All participants confirmed that certain gender-related expectations were placed upon them by families and the members of the Latino community (Delucio et al., 2020). In turn, while a gay identity remains the unspoken subject, gay men are managed to express their identity in a non-verbal way, including particular signs and signals, such as an eye contact, behavioral patterns, and the absence of discussions related to heterosexual relationships, that introduce a notion of “silent truth.” In other words, a gay identity becomes so obvious that it does not need coming out. At the same time, while a family is an essential part of a Latino gay man, the integration of same-sex partners into the family setting is applied for the normalization of same-sex relationships (Delucio et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the participants do not have a common opinion related to coming out – while some of them believe it is essential, others think that non-verbal disclosure is currently enough.
All in all, the findings of this research demonstrate the impact of culture and traditions on the possibility of verbal disclosure of gay identity. For Latino gay men whose gender-related expectations were articulated by families and communities, coming out may be regarded as highly limited or impossible as it may lead to social confrontation. As a result, they use non-verbal disclosure strategies to reveal their sexual identity and normalize same-sex relationships without verbal confirmation to avoid negative reactions. However, those individuals who choose verbal disclose for their psychological well-being should not be ignored or stigmatized.
Goetter, E. M., Frumkin, M. R., Palitz, S. A., Swee, M. B., Baker, A. W., Bui, E., & Simon, N. M. (2020). Barriers to mental health treatment among individuals with social anxiety disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Psychological Services, 17(1), 5-12.
Goetter et al. (2020) aim to examine factors that limit the utilization of mental health treatment by patients with a social anxiety disorder (SAD) or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The significance of this research is determined by the fact that anxiety disorders prevail over other mental health conditions affecting almost 30% of individuals in the United States (Goetter et al., 2020). SAD and GAD are characterized by uncontrollable worry, tension, fear, and the avoidance of social interactions. Left untreated, they may substantially impact an individual’s well-being and worsen his life quality.
For this study, 226 nontreatment-seeking participants with SAD or GAD were randomly chosen for semi-structured interviews dedicated to the reasons why they do not receive medical assistance. Stigma, shame, financial and logistical barriers, and lack of information were identified as the highest cited factors that limit treatment seeking. In other words, the majority of participants mentioned that they did not know where to search for help, did not trust health care providers, or preferred to cope with their health condition on their own believing that they would be criticized by others in the case of treatment receiving. Moreover, they expressed concerns about the efficiency and cost of treatment. From a personal perspective, this situation is unacceptable as every person deserves treatment if he faces any health disorders. In this case, there should be more culturally competent health care providers in medical settings, and society should be generally educated to accept the existence of anxiety disorders and the significance of help in such cases.