摘要：Objectives. We examined the prevalence of depressive, anxiety, and substance use disorders among Latinos residing in the United States. Methods. We used data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, which included a nationally representative sample of Latinos. We calculated weighted prevalence rates of lifetime and past-year psychiatric disorders across different sociodemographic, ethnic, and immigration groups. Results. Lifetime psychiatric disorder prevalence estimates were 28.1% for men and 30.2% for women. Puerto Ricans had the highest overall prevalence rate among the Latino ethnic groups assessed. Increased rates of psychiatric disorders were observed among US-born, English-language-proficient, and third-generation Latinos. Conclusions. Our results provide important information about potential correlates of psychiatric problems among Latinos that can inform clinical practice and guide program development. Stressors associated with cultural transmutation may exert particular pressure on Latino men. Continued attention to environmental influences, especially among third-generation Latinos, is an important area for substance abuse program development. The influx of immigrants from Latin America in the past 3 decades is transforming the demographics of the United States, and it is estimated that 24% of the country’s population will be Latino by 2050. 1 Yet, a significant gap exists between the need for and availability of mental health services for Latinos, particularly immigrants and those with limited English-language proficiency. 2 , 3 If this gap is to be addressed, empirical research must focus on determining the particular mental health needs of Latino populations. Regional 4 , 5 as well as national 6 , 7 studies have begun to uncover differences in anxiety, depressive, and substance abuse disorders among Latinos that can be accounted for by nativity status. However, the majority of previous studies (see Grant et al. 8 for an exception) examining prevalence rates of these disorders have involved regional estimates of a single Latino group in 1 area of the country, 4 , 9 , 10 have represented aggregated Latino groups under 1 umbrella category, 11 , 12 or have included samples insufficient in size to allow for intergroup comparisons. 13 To our knowledge, only 2 recent studies have reported past-year prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders among Latinos. The first, the National Comorbidity Study Replication (NCS-R), 14 , 15 included only English-speaking Latinos and estimated psychiatric disorder rates using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI). 16 The second, the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, 8 , 17 included both English- and Spanish-speaking Latinos (15% of the Latino sample were interviewed in Spanish) and estimated psychiatric disorder rates using the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition 18 ( DSM-IV ). Population estimates of psychiatric disorders may provide incomplete profiles of overall prevalence differences across Latino subgroups as a result of nonrepresentative sampling (e.g., omission of Spanish speakers 11 , 14 or inclusion of only regional samples 9 ), a lack of comparisons between foreign-born and US-born Latinos, 10 or a failure to examine important covariates (e.g., migration history, language, years of residence in the United States 11 ). Such factors can limit identification of differential risk and protective factors for psychiatric disorders. 13 The National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) provides detailed data on psychiatric conditions and information on demographic, immigration, contextual, and sociostructural characteristics of Latino populations from different countries. It is the first nationally representative study of English-and Spanish-speaking Latinos to compare lifetime and past-year prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders across Latino subgroups using the WMH-CIDI. Another strength of the study is its inclusion of a substantial number of Spanish-speaking respondents (50%). We analyzed NLAAS data to assess characteristics differentiating Latinos with increased prevalences of past-year and lifetime psychiatric disorders. We evaluated prevalence rates of depressive, anxiety, and substance use disorders among both male and female Latinos across subethnicity, nativity, generational status, English-language proficiency, length of residence in the United States, and age at migration.
