Finno-Velasquez Megan, Cardoso Jodi Berger, Dettlaff Alan J, Hurlburt Michael S
Dr. Finno-Velasquez and Dr. Hurlburt are with the School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (e-mail:
Psychiatr Serv. 2016 Feb;67(2):192-8. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201400444. Epub 2015 Oct 15.
Latino families may be at risk of experiencing stressors resulting from the immigration process, such as those related to documentation status and acculturation, that may increase their need for mental health services. However, little research exists on the mental health needs and service use of Latino children. This study examined how parental nativity and legal status influence mental health needs and service utilization among children in Latino families investigated by child welfare.
Data from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a nationally representative, prospective study of families investigated by child welfare agencies for maltreatment, were used to examine mental health need and service use in a subset of Latino children who remained in the home following a maltreatment investigation (N=390).
Although children of immigrants did not differ from children of U.S.-born parents in levels of clinical need, they had lower rates of mental health service receipt. After the analyses accounted for other relevant variables, the odds of receiving services were significantly lower (odds ratio=.09) for children whose parents were undocumented compared with children whose parents were U.S. citizens.
This study contributes to growing discourse on Latino family needs within the child welfare system. Analyses support earlier research regarding the effects of parent nativity on mental health service use and advance the literature by identifying parent legal status as a unique barrier to child service receipt.
拉丁裔家庭可能面临移民过程中产生的压力源，比如与证件身份和文化适应相关的压力源，这可能会增加他们对心理健康服务的需求。然而，关于拉丁裔儿童心理健康需求及服务使用情况的研究却很少。本研究调查了父母的出生地和法律身份如何影响儿童福利机构所调查的拉丁裔家庭中儿童的心理健康需求和服务利用情况。
第二次全国儿童和青少年幸福调查的数据被用于研究，该调查是一项具有全国代表性的前瞻性研究，研究对象是因虐待行为接受儿童福利机构调查的家庭。数据用于调查在虐待行为调查后仍留在家中的一部分拉丁裔儿童（N = 390）的心理健康需求和服务使用情况。
尽管移民儿童与美国本土出生的父母的孩子在临床需求水平上没有差异，但他们接受心理健康服务的比例较低。在分析中考虑了其他相关变量后，与父母为美国公民的孩子相比，父母无证件的孩子接受服务的几率显著更低（优势比 = 0.09）。
本研究为儿童福利系统内关于拉丁裔家庭需求的讨论增添了内容。分析结果支持了早期关于父母出生地对心理健康服务使用影响的研究，并通过将父母法律身份确定为儿童接受服务的一个独特障碍，推动了相关文献的发展。
