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Psychology of Latino Adults: Challenges and an Agenda for Action

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Handbook of Race and Development in Mental Health

Abstract

In 2004, Latinos in the United States numbered 41 million, with 31% under the age of 16. Over the period from 2000 to 2004, Latino population growth represented half the total growth in the United States (The National Academies 2007). Part of this considerable increase includes immigration from Latin America, some who confront major challenges in integrating into the country, such as lack of English proficiency and different norms and lifestyle circumstances (Guarnaccia et al. 2007). These new immigrants also sustain strong ties with their home communities, interacting by phone and email, which contributes to the maintenance of language and culture (Levitt et al. 2003; Viruell-Fuentes 2006). These transnational dynamics pose complex challenges of how best to provide services, given Latinos’ circumstances (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2001).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School and Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research, Cambridge Health Alliance, 120 Beacon Street, 4th floor, 02143, Somerville, MA, USA

    Margarita Alegría

  2. Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research, Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, 120 Beacon Street, 4th Floor, 02143, Somerville, MA, USA

    Norah Mulvaney-Day

  3. Harvard University School of Public Health and Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research, 120 Beacon Street, 4th Floor, 02143, Somerville, MA, USA

    Meghan Woo

  4. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 510 E. Chalmers, 61820, Champaign, IL, USA

    Edna A. Viruell-Fuentes

Authors
  1. Margarita Alegría
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  2. Norah Mulvaney-Day
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  3. Meghan Woo
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  4. Edna A. Viruell-Fuentes
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Correspondence to Margarita Alegría .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Church St. 530, Ann Arbor, 48109, Michigan, USA

    Edward C. Chang

  2. , Department of Psychology, Indiana University Kokomo, 2300 S. Washington St., Kokomo, 46904, Indiana, USA

    Christina A. Downey

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Alegría, M., Mulvaney-Day, N., Woo, M., Viruell-Fuentes, E.A. (2012). Psychology of Latino Adults: Challenges and an Agenda for Action. In: Chang, E., Downey, C. (eds) Handbook of Race and Development in Mental Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0424-8_16

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