The duration of untreated psychosis among U.S. Latinxs and social and clinical correlates.

Purpose: This study (a) documents the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and (b) examines both social and clinical correlates of DUP in a sample of U.S. Latinxs with first-episode psychosis (FEP).

Toward reducing the duration of untreated psychosis in a Latinx community.

Objective: To carry out and evaluate a communications campaign (La CLAve) to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) in a U.S. Latinx community.

Social Identities of Persons With Schizophrenia and Social Functioning: Individual and Family Caregiver Perspectives.

We apply social identity theory and self-categorization theory to examine the role of social identities in relation to the recovery of persons with schizophrenia. We assess whether illness-based and non-illness-based identities held by both those with schizophrenia and their caregivers explain additional variance in social functioning in persons with schizophrenia beyond the previously established predictors of negative symptoms and theory of mind. Sixty Mexican-origin adults diagnosed with schizophrenia and their family caregivers were obtained through an outpatient mental health clinic located in either Los Angeles, CA, or in Puebla, Mexico.

Defining and assessing key behavioral indicators of the Shifting Cultural Lenses model of cultural competence.

Models of cultural competence highlight the importance of the sociocultural world that is inhabited by patients, and the question of how best to integrate sociocultural factors into clinical assessment and intervention. However, one significant limitation of such approaches is that they leave unclear what type of in-session therapist behaviors actually reflect cultural competence. We draw on the Shifting Cultural Lenses model to operationalize culturally competent in-session behaviors.

Lessons Learned in Clinical Research Recruitment of Immigrants and Minority Group Members with First-Episode Psychosis.

Recruitment of immigrants and racial and ethnic minorities with first-episode psychosis (FEP) for research studies presents numerous challenges. We describe methods used to recruit 43 U.S.

Norm comparisons of the Spanish-language and English-language WAIS-III: Implications for clinical assessment and test adaptation.

This study provides a systematic comparison of the norms of 3 Spanish-language Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS-III) batteries from Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico, and the U.S. English-language WAIS-III battery.

Towards the sustainability of information campaigns: training Promotores to increase the psychosis literacy of Spanish-speaking communities.

Purpose: To assess the acceptability and efficacy of training community health workers (promotores) in Mexico to both recognize psychosis and to teach others to recognize psychosis.

Methods: Two studies were carried out utilizing a single-group design. In Study 1, promotores watched a DVD-based psychosis literacy training.

Toward the early recognition of psychosis among Spanish-speaking adults on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Lack of knowledge about psychosis, a condition oftentimes associated with serious mental illness, may contribute to disparities in mental health service use. Psychoeducational interventions aimed at improving psychosis literacy have attracted significant attention recently, but few have focused on the growing numbers of ethnic and linguistic minorities in countries with large immigrant populations, such as the United States. This paper reports on 2 studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a DVD version of La CLAve, a psychoeducational program that aims to increase psychosis literacy among Spanish-speaking Latinos.

The expression of depression in Asian Americans and European Americans.

Past studies of the expression of depression in people of Asian descent have not considered whether observed ethnic differences in somatization or psychologization are a function of differences in the expression of the disorder or of group differences in the degree of depressive symptomatology. In the present study, we carried out χ(2) and Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses to examine ethnic differences in symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder in a nationally representative community sample of noninstitutionalized Asian Americans (n = 310) and European Americans (n = 1,763). IRT analyses were included because they can help discern whether there are differences in the expression of depressive symptoms, regardless of ethnic differences in the degree of depressive symptomatology.

Community determinants of Latinos' use of mental health services.

Objective: This study examined the role of community in understanding Latino adults' (18-64 years of age) use of community mental health services.

Methods: Service utilization data from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health were analyzed from 2003 in two service provider areas. Demographic data, including foreign-born status, language, education, and income for the Latino population, were obtained from the 2000 U.

Social processes underlying acculturation: a study of drinking behavior among immigrant Latinos in the Northeast United States.

STUDY GOALS: To identify social processes that underlie the relationship of acculturation and heavy drinking behavior among Latinos who have immigrated to the Northeast United States of America (USA). METHOD: Community-based recruitment strategies were used to identify 36 Latinos who reported heavy drinking. Participants were 48% female, 23 to 56 years of age, and were from South or Central America (39%) and the Caribbean (24%).

Ethnicity, expressed emotion, attributions, and course of schizophrenia: family warmth matters.

The authors examined the role of family factors and the course of schizophrenia by carrying out additional assessments and analyses in 2 previously published studies of Mexican American and Anglo American patients and families. The authors found partial support for an attributional model of relapse for families who are low in emotional overinvolvement. Attributions of control, criticism, and warmth together marginally predicted relapse.

Reflections on the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, Culture, Race, and Ethnicity.

The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the Supplement to the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, with an eye toward informing future efforts to prevent and treat mental illness among racial and ethnic minorities. I first briefly discuss the historical background of the Supplement. I then present its strengths, which include the authority and visibility of the Office of the Surgeon General, the organization of the report by racial/ethnic group, the examination of the social and historical context of each of the racial/ethnic groups, and the emphasis on science.

A research agenda to improve the accessibility and quality of mental health care for Latinos.

Given the persistent underutilization of mental health services by Latino persons, the mental health research agenda for this population should be shaped by a single practical issue: how to get quality mental health services to Latino consumers and their families. To address this issue, studies are needed that are longitudinal in design, that assess social factors in Latino communities, and that evaluate new and existing interventions. Collaborative investigations that draw on multidisciplinary perspectives and that are informed by multiple stakeholders (service providers, consumers, and policy makers) will increase the likelihood that such research has an impact on existing services.

Teaching culturally informed psychological assessment: conceptual issues and demonstrations.

Multicultural assessment requires a strong conceptual foundation to address the complex and dynamic nature of culture. I present 3 conceptual issues as well as the demonstrations or exercises that I use to teach these concepts to students in a doctoral program of clinical psychology. The first conceptual issue is that multicultural assessment requires a solid foundation in traditional assessment theory and methods.