Diagnostic and Treatment Differences among Five Ethnic Groups

Abstract

This study compared the diagnosis and treatment of white American psychiatric patients to those of black, Mexican, Vietnamese, and Filipino American psychiatric patients ( N = 293) in four public mental health agencies. Aspects of diagnosis examined were primary psychiatric diagnosis, somatic complaints, and social, legal, and economic problems. Aspects of treatment studied were treatment modality, duration of treatment, frequency of treatment, number of visits, and therapists' disciplines. Although important differences among groups emerged, the pronounced differences in diagnosis and treatment reported in the literature between whites and ethnic minorities were not supported. This might be partially attributed to the similarity of economic class among these samples.