SOCIAL SUPPORT AND USE OF MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICES BY MEXICAN-AMERICANS AND NON-HISPANIC WHITES

It has been hypothesized that lack of social resources is associated with use of professional mental health services. Social resources may also have different relationships to mental health service use in cultural groups whose attitudes about use differ. This study tested these hypotheses using survey data from 1,149 non-Hispanic Whites and 1,244 Mexican Americans. The unmarried were more likely than the married to seek help from informal sources. People with little social support from their spouse or relatives were more likely to consult professional providers. Associations of social resources with help seeking did not decrease substantially when psychiatric disorder was controlled, suggesting that these relationships are direct, rather than being mediated by effects of social support on mental health status. Social resources had similar associations with help seeking among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites. © 1990, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.