Cultural and linguistic considerations in psychodiagnosis with Hispanics: The need for an empirically informed process model

It is estimated that in the next century nearly half of the clientele seeki ng mental health services will be members of ethnic minority groups. Hispan ics ave the most vapidly growing population in the United States, and epide miological evidence suggests that they present higher levels of psychiatric symptomatology and prevalence rates of disorder compared with other ethnic groups. Despite the unprecedented recognition of cultural considerations f ound in DSM-IV for rendering a psychiatric diagnosis, there is still surpri singly little empirical research examining cultural and linguistic factors influencing the diagnostic process. This article critically reviews this re search and considers process variables that can inform social workers' cult urally sensitive diagnosis of Hispanics.