Health Disparities & Mental Health
Though much of the work I currently do centers on health disparities and health equity, my past work focused more on mental health outcomes among racial/ethnic groups. I was part of a team of researchers interested in utilizing large Nationally Representative Data in the US from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys.
Featured Publications
Panic Attacks
Limited research had been conducted on panic attacks for racial/ethnic groups. As such, using the CPES data, we identified national trends of panic attacks among subsetted data of racial/ethnic minorities. Key findings were that (1) health lifestyle choices and (2) exposure to discrimination directly and significantly affected the chance of panic attacks. Those individuals who smoked or consumed excessive alcohol were more likely to have panic attacks. Nativity was also protective for racial/ethnic minorities. Click here for the PDF.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
This study reveals that lifetime GAD is correlated with many measures and classifications discussed herein. Nativity was protective, but only directionally. When interactions between race/ethnicity and nativity were evaluated, foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans exhibited lower rates of lifetime GAD. A lower percentage of foreign-born minorities met the criteria for GAD as compared to their American-born counterparts, and all racial and ethnic groups met the criteria for lifetime GAD at a lower rate as compared to American-born Whites. Click here for the PDF.
Depression
This study noted that lifetime major depressive disorder (depression) is correlated with many measures and classifications. Nativity was unilaterally protective. When interactions between race/ethnicity and nativity were evaluated, foreign-born Afro-Caribbeans and foreign-born Asians were found to exhibit lower rates of lifetime major depressive disorder, referred throughout as depression. A lower percentage of foreign-born Hispanics met the criteria for depression as compared to American-born Hispanics, but the interaction between nativity and Hispanic was not statistically significant when including discrimination, demographics, and SES. Click here for the PDF.