Does Culture Influence Maternal Attitudes Towards Mood Symptoms in Mexican Children and Adolescents? (2012)

Undergraduates: Marissa Garcia, Marissa Garcia Andrew J. Freeman, Megan J. Freeman

Faculty Advisor: Eric Youngstrom
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Bipolar disorder is frequently misdiagnosed and untreated, especially in ethnic minority groups in the USA. It is crucial for clinicians to know if there are differences between white and Latino views about bipolar disorder, especially now that this population is rapidly growing in the USA. Participants were mothers from a rural community in Guanajuato, Mexico (N=38). The study had two objectives. The first objective was to test the reliability of the recently translated Spanish-version of the Child Mania Rating Scale (CMRS). The second objective was to investigate whether Mexican culture influences maternal attitudes about mood symptoms in children and adolescents through the use of the following questionnaires: CMRS, Beliefs about causes (BAC), and Familism scale. The results demonstrated that the reliability of the translated CMRS was excellent (alpha = .90). The CMRS suggested almost all children (95%) were at low risk for bipolar disorder. The results showed that Mexican mothers consider support and interconnectedness salient aspects of a family. Mothers did not attribute behavioral problems significantly to external causes. Mothers did not attribute behavioral problems to familial roles. The results have implications for the treatment of bipolar disorder among the Mexican community. Because family cohesiveness is such an integral aspect in this culture, family therapy may be an effective avenue when dealing with bipolar disorder.