The effects of minority status versus ethnic culture on Mexican-
Americans' underutilization of mental health services were reassessed
through development and testing of an analytic path model that proposes a
sequence of factors, including Mexican-American ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, degree of social and institutional support, and depression, which
culminate in a person's decision to utilize mental health facilities. The
model also predicts that life stress will affect utilization through its
influence on depression. Data from 783 subjects generally supported the
model's predictions. A multifactorial approach to the causes of mental
health problems and utilization behavior in the Mexican-American population
is suggested.
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