Predictors of Everyday Functioning Among Older Mexican Americans vs. Anglo-Americans With Schizophrenia
Neelum D. Jeste, BS; David J. Moore, PhD; Sherrill R. Goldman, MA; Jesus Bucardo, MD; Wendy Davila-Fraga, MD; Shahrokh Golshan, PhD; Dilip V. Jeste, MD; and Thomas L. Patterson, PhD
J Clin Psychiatry 2005;66(14):1304-1311
© Copyright 2015 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.
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Objective: We assessed clinical,
demographic, and cognitive predictors of everyday
functioning in Mexican American and Anglo-American
outpatients with schizophrenia.
Method: Three groups of participants aged
40 years and over with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder
were compared: 79 Anglo-Americans, 24 Mexican American patients who chose to be tested
in English, and 33 Mexican American patients who preferred Spanish. The study was conducted
from October 2001 to July 2004.
Results: On demographic, clinical,
cognitive, and functional measures, Anglo-American
participants were generally similar to Mexican
American participants who opted for being tested
in English. Mexican American participants who preferred Spanish were significantly different
from the other 2 groups on several measures,
including everyday functioning performance. To
determine the predictors of everyday functioning,
separate regression analyses were conducted for each
of the 3 groups. Cognitive ability consistently accounted for the greatest proportion of variance
in performance regardless of ethnicity, language preference, or education. Among the
Mexican American participants, level of acculturation
was the second strongest predictor of everyday
functioning when the group was examined as a
whole; however, acculturation was not a significant
predictor when controlling for language preference.
Conclusion: Cognitive performance and
language preference (a proxy for acculturation)
may play a particularly important role in
predicting ability to perform everyday tasks. Further
studies to better understand the potential impact of
ethnicity, culture, education, and language on
everyday functioning may help develop more
specific and culture-sensitive intervention strategies
for different ethnic groups.