Association between maternal and child mental health among US Latinos: variation by nativity, ethnic subgroup, and time in the USA

Few studies have examined the association between maternal and youth mental health among US Latinos, or its variation by nativity, country of origin, ethnic subgroup, and time in the mainland US. Using 2007–2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data linking Latino youth ( N = 15,686 aged 5–17 years) and their mothers, we estimated multivariate models of the relationship between probable maternal mental illness (a composite of measures) and youth mental health impairment (Columbia Impairment Scale). C hildren of mothers with probable mental illness were more than three times as likely to have impairment as children of mothers without mental illness ( p