This study explored substance use trajectories and associations with mental health among an ethnically/racially diverse college student sample before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We combined repeated cross-sections and panel data from a total of 3,247 college students assessed with an online survey in 2018, 2019, and in three waves in 2020.…

School based health centers (SBHCs) are often at the front line of medical and mental health services for students in the schools they serve. Citywide school closures in New York City in March 2020 and ongoing social distancing procedures resulted in significant changes in SBHC services as well as access to these services. Furthermore, the…

This document presents a review of the history of the implementation of de-institutionalization in Queens County, a borough of New York City. A number of issues confronting the mental health profession, the community, the patients, and their families are discussed. It notes that Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, the major provider of services for the…

Findings suggest that the consistently high rates of survey reported symptoms among Puerto Rican respondents derive primarily from culturally patterned differences in modes of expressing distress. (Author/AM)

Drawing from a conceptual framework which hypothesizes a temporal sequence for persons who are in psychological distress, this paper focuses on two problems faced by chronically mentally ill (CMI) Hispanics in need of clinical services: (1) barriers in seeking follow-up clinical services upon discharge from a psychiatric hospital; and (2) barriers…

Puerto Ricans cope with the new environment on the mainland because of the supportive, help giving familial and cultural systems they bring with them, the supportive systems they create in the host country, and the supportive systems which, already there, are available for help. (Author)

Despite the growing accumulation of studies attesting to the association between life events and illness, either physical or mental, a number of critical methodological and conceptual issues are considered not to permit any clear answer to the basic questions regarding the importance of the role these events play in the etiology of such disorders.…

This report is an analysis of five ethnic groups in New York City (Jews, blacks, Puerto Ricans, Italians, and Irish), and makes correlations between ethnicity, social class and mental illness. It estimates the extent to which five indicators of health in area populations account for variation in rates of mental hospitalization for men and women…

A study examined the association between sexual risk behaviors of 110 psychiatrically referred Latino girls aged 13-18 and their HIV knowledge. Questionnaires completed by the girls indicated that girls engaging in higher levels of sexual activity had clearly acquired accurate knowledge concerning HIV transmission but had not integrated it into…

The focus of this study is on the relationship between community support programs and the provision of mental health services to urban Hispanic populations, and the impact of existing public policies and future policy options on the chronically mentally ill in Puerto Rican neighborhoods in New York City. This policy analysis uses five steps. (1)…

This government publication contains eight papers devoted to mental health and schools. Focus was on the conceptual basis for prevention of mental and emotional disorders in children and adults. Contributions deal with opportunities for school psychologists in this area, the ego process in learning, interventions that develop ego strength, and…

This hearing examines the mental health needs of America's Black and Hispanic elderly in New York State and, particularly, in the New York City area, and considers solutions for service delivery. Seven expert witnesses testified. Few research studies specifically target aged Blacks and Puerto Ricans; however, many minority elderly share the…