Increasing Access to Mental Health Services for Bisexual Latino Men

The empirical exploration of mental health problems among Latino bisexual men is scarce. Theories of minority stress indicate a difference between “minority stressors” and “general stressors” and how they affect the mental health of minority groups. Using this framework, we created a mixed-methods model to explore the difference among Latino bisexual men in New York City (N=142). Using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) we measured stress, depression, and anxiety, and used specific scales to measure familial and work factors to compare the predictive values of familial factors (minority stressors) and work factors (general stressors). We also measured four cultural factors to assess their potential influence on our hypothesized stressors. Our results indicated that bisexual Latino men in our sample experienced negative mental health outcomes due to familial and work pressures. Familial factors were stronger predictors of negative mental health outcomes than work factors, supporting our hypothesis that minority and general stressors would promote different outcomes. Cultural factors such as acculturation and length of living in the United States were not associated with negative mental health outcomes among our bisexual Latino population. This study contributes to the gap in literature addressing mental health among the Latino bisexual men. In this presentation we will discuss strategies for combating these different types of stressors and increasing Latino bisexual population's access to effective mental health care.