Family factors contribute to general anxiety disorder and suicidal ideation among Latina Americans.

PURPOSE: Despite a rapidly growing Latina/o American population, little is known about modifiable factors that could protect Latinas against major psychiatric disorders. The present study explored psychosocial risk (Negative Interaction) and protective factors (Family Cohesion, Social Support, Religious Involvement, Racial and Ethnic Identity) for major depressive disorder (MDD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), and suicidal ideation (SI) among Latinas participating in the first national mental health epidemiological survey of Latina Americans.

METHOD: We conducted three sets of logistic regressions, predicting outcomes for 1,427 Latinas identified in the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), the first nationally representative, epidemiological study of Latino and Asian Americans living in the United States. These analyses followed preplanned steps: Model 1 used known predictors as controls and Model 2 added psychosocial risk and predictive factors beyond the known predictors.

RESULTS: For each outcome examined, psychosocial risk and protective factors produced a significantly better model fit in Model 2 than sociodemographic and acculturation variables known to predict mental health outcomes in Model 1. Negative Interactions were associated with increased likelihood of GAD and SI, whereas Family Cohesion seemed to be protective against GAD. No psychosocial factors predicted MDD.

CONCLUSIONS: Differential protective and risk factors for major psychiatric disorders suggest that assessment and intervention may need certain sex-specific components in order to improve health care and prevention for Latinas.