Susan Caplan
Intersection of Cultural and Religious Beliefs About Mental Health: Latinos in the Faith-Based Setting
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
introduction hispanicslatinos utilize mental health care rate half nonhispanic whites stigma cultural religious values play significant role mental health care utilization disparities purpose study explore beliefs mental illness among latino faithbased communities methods qualitative approach used explore perceptions mental illness elicited el buen consejo mental health literacy intervention delivered within three faithbased settings results participants socialized believe persons mental illness dangerous control suffering incurable illness resulted rejection ostracism families would deny existence depression mental illness unless symptoms greatly interfered daily functioning lifethreatening religious coping prayer faith god believed protective factors causal attributions depression biomedical religious lack faith praying demons sinful behaviors parents conclusion latinos rely upon churches major social educational spiritual resource cultural values among latinos source strength also contribute stigma faithbased community important target mental health literacy antistigma interventions