Psychology doctoral student Mónica Sánchez and associate professor of psychology Esteban Cardemil are co-authors of the paper “Brave new world: Mental health experiences of Puerto Ricans, immigrant Latinos and Brazilians in Massachusetts,” published in the January 2014 issue of  Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.

An understanding of ethnic differences  in mental health experiences and care helps ensure that often under-served minority populations have sufficient access to treatment for illnesses like depression and anxiety. In this paper, the authors investigated whether or not there were significant differences in the experiences and treatment of anxiety and depression between three immigrant Latino sub-populations, and what role, if any, stigma associated with mental illness and degree of acculturation to mainstream U.S. culture played in these differences. The results of this study suggest that Puerto Ricans may be more likely than Brazilians and other immigrant Latinos both to experience anxiety and to seek treatment for both anxiety and depression. While the perceived stigma of mental illness did not seem to be a factor in these differences,  greater degrees of acculturation in the Brazilian population corresponded with increased treatment seeking for anxiety.

Sanchez is a clinical psychology doctoral candidate at Clark whose research interests include exploring the effects of culture on psychopathology.

Cardemil’s research focuses on the understanding and addressing mental healthcare disparities in the United States that continue to disproportionately affect individuals from low-income and racial/ethnic minority backgrounds.