Mental health status among Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans, and non-Hispanic whites: the case of the misbegotten hypothesis.

Challenged Shrout et al.'s (1992) comparisons of mental health characteristics of island Puerto Ricans to Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites from the Los Angeles Epidemiological Catchment Area Study. The hypothesis tested by Shrout et al.--higher symptom counts but lower DSM-III prevalence rates among Puerto Ricans--was misattributed to Rogler (1989). We also question the validity of assessing lifetime prevalence and reaffirm the need for psychiatric epidemiological research to consider the role of culture in diagnostic criteria.