Psychopathology, Treatment Outcome and Attitude Toward Mental Illness in Mexican American and European Patients

Lower socio-economic European American and Mexican American psychiatric inpatients were compared on degree of psychopathology, response to treatment and attitude toward mental illness and hospitalization. The Mexican American patients were proportionately under-represented, but did not differ from the European Americans in degree of psychopathology at admission nor in response to treatment-both groups showing a high degree of improvement by both MMPI and clinical judgement. However, the Mexican American patients did have a significantly more negative view of hospitalization and treatment, viewing it as controlling and restrictive which may account for their lower proportion in the patient population.