Читать книгу Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology - Robert Weis - Страница 52

The relationship between ethnicity and childhood disorders is complex. Certain disorders are more commonly diagnosed in non-Latino White families. For example, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is approximately twice as high among young non-Latino White children (1.1%) compared to Latino (0.5%) or African American (0.4%) youths. Similarly, ADHD is more frequently diagnosed in non-Latino White youths (9.1%) than in African American (8.0%) or Latino (4.1%) children. Anxiety disorders are also slightly more common among White youths compared to their non-White peers (Perou et al., 2016).

On the other hand, African American youths are more likely to develop conduct problems than White youths. Specifically, approximately 8.1% of African American youths will develop oppositional defiant behavior or conduct disorder at some point in childhood, compared to 4.2% of White and 3.9% of Latino youths (Perou et al., 2016).

What explains these differences? One possibility is that differences in SES partially explain these differences in mental disorders across ethnicities. Sadly, members of many minority groups in the United States disproportionately come from lower-SES families (Taylor & Wang, 2013). Consequently, minority families often face many of the same risks confronted by low-SES families: reduced access to high-quality health care and nutrition, less optimal child care, impoverished educational experiences, and higher family stress. Immigrant families also face special risks, such as stress associated with language differences and acculturation (Coll & Magnuson, 2014). These risk factors might explain the higher prevalence of conduct problems among some minority youths. Indeed, when researchers control for SES, there are fewer differences in the percentage of children diagnosed with mental disorders across ethnic groups (Hayden & Mash, 2014).

Another possibility is that children’s racial or ethnic background might partially determine the likelihood that their disorders are identified and treated. For example, African American and Latino children tend to be diagnosed with autism much later than non-Latino White children (Ratto, Reznick, & Turner-Brown, 2015). Research indicates that minority parents are often less able to recognize the early signs of autism; consequently, their children’s disorder may remain undiagnosed and untreated (Magaña, Lopez, Aguinaga, & Morton, 2013). Similarly, recent research has found that many Latino parents regard the hyperactive–impulsive symptoms of ADHD to be developmentally normative. Consequently, they may be less likely to view their children’s symptoms as problematic and less likely to seek treatment (Gerdes, Lawton, Haack, & Hurtado, 2014).

A third possibility is that these differences in prevalence reflect cultural values across racial and ethnic groups. For example, African American adolescents are much less likely to develop alcohol and other drug use problems than non-Latino White adolescents (Kessler et al., 2012a). Some experts have argued that African American culture, which tends to discourage heavy alcohol use, protects many of these youths from substance use problems (Zapolski, Pedersen, McCarthy, & Smith, 2014). Furthermore, the more African American adolescents endorsed these cultural beliefs, the more likely they were to avoid alcohol and other drugs (Stock et al., 2013).

Review

 The prevalence of mental health problems is higher among adolescents than among prepubescent children.

 In childhood, boys are more likely to experience a mental health problem than girls. In adolescence, girls are more likely to experience a mental health problem than boys.

 SES reflects parents’ education, employment status, and income. Children from low-SES families are at increased risk for mental health problems.

 Certain disorders, like ADHD and anxiety disorders, are most often diagnosed in non-Latino White children. Other disorders, like conduct problems, are most often diagnosed in children from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. These differences might reflect family SES, cultural factors that affect help-seeking, and/or actual differences in prevalence as a function of race and ethnicity.