THE MENTAL-HEALTH RELEVANCE OF IDIOMS OF DISTRESS ANGER AND PERCEPTIONS OF INJUSTICE AMONG NEW-YORK PUERTO-RICANS

Cultural sensitivity in mental health research is enhanced by examinin g the collective perceptions of members of ethnic groups about their o wn idiomatic expressions of distress. Such an examination was conducte d with Puerto Ricans living in New York City, beginning with focus gro up discussions. Their prevailing idioms of distress, based upon themes of anger and injustice, were correlated widely with professionally de veloped measures of anxiety, depression, and somatization and with uti lization of professional mental health care. By examining the relation ship between idioms of distress, saliently volunteered by members of t he ethnic ingroup, on the one hand, and professional care and assessme nts of mental health, on the other, we increase our culturally based u nderstanding of mental health in the community.