Variation in Psychological Distress, Life Impairment, and Unmet Need for Care Among Groups of American Indian/Alaska Native Adults in California

This brief evaluates mental health data estimates for all adults who self-identified as AIAN as an aggregate population. It then examines three separate groups forming that population: 1) those who identify as AIAN-alone (non-Latino), 2) those who identify as both AIAN and Latino, and 3) those who identify as both AIAN and one or more other races, such as non-Latino white, Black, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Hereafter, the groups will be referred to as AIAN-alone, AIAN-Latino, and AIAN-multiracial, respectively. Five years of pooled data from the 2019 to 2023 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) were used.

Findings: When AIAN adults were examined separately as three groups, those who identified as AIAN-Latino or as AIAN-multiracial were found to be 1.5 times as likely to have had SPD and MPD as AIAN-alone adults (23% and 24%, respectively, vs. 15%). Among AIAN adults with SPD or MPD, about 7 in 10 experienced severe impairment in their family relationships, work duties, social life, or households chores because of their mental health issues, ranging from 65% for AIAN-Latino adults to 71% for AIAN-alone and AIAN multiracial adults. Among AIAN adults with SPD or MPD, AIAN-Latino adults (67%) were more likely than AIAN-multiracial adults (54%) to have had unmet mental health care needs in the past year. Additionally, more than half (59%) of AIAN-alone adults with SPD or MPD had unmet needs.