Mental and Behavioral Health in Hispanic/Latinos

In 2024,
- Hispanic adults received mental health treatment at a rate that was 28% lower than the total population.1
- Hispanic adults report experiencing serious psychological distress at a rate that is 5% lower than the total population.2
Suicide was the second leading cause of death among Hispanics aged 25-34 in 2023.3

Visit MedlinePlus for Spanish-language information about mental health.

For more information and resources on mental health, visit Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) webpage.

Looking for curated searches on mental health within minority and tribal populations, including Hispanic/Latino populations, in the United States and its territories? Check out the OMH Knowledge Center Topic Guides.

Mental health status

Serious psychological distress in the past year among adults ages 18 years and over, percentage, 2024
Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
13.2	13.9	0.95

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2025. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 6.88B. For the definition of “serious psychological distress,” see Appendix A.

Serious psychological distress in the past 30 days among adults ages 18 and over, percentage of poverty level, 2015–2016
	Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
Below 100 percent	6.8	9.3	0.73
100 percent to less than 200 percent	4.1	5.8	0.71
200 percent to less than 400 percent	2.6	2.5	1.04

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2019. Health United States, 2017. Table 46. For the definition of “serious psychological distress,” see Appendix.

Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, or that everything is an effort, all or most of the time, among persons ages 18 and over, 2018
	Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
Sadness	3.9	3.0	1.30
Hopelessness	3.2	2.3	1.39
Worthlessness	2.4	2.3	1.04
Everything is an effort	7.3	7.3	1.00

Source: CDC, 2021. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-7c. For the explanation of response categories see footnote 1 to Table A-7c.

Serious psychological distress among persons ages 18 and over, percentage, 2018
	Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
Male	3.5	2.9	1.21
Female	5.4	4.8	1.13
Both Sexes	4.4	3.9	1.13

Source: CDC, 2021. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-8c. For the definition of “serious psychological distress,” see footnote 1 to Table A-8c.

Major depressive episode in the past year among persons ages 18 and over, percentage, 2024
Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
6.8	8.2	0.83

Source: SAMHSA, 2025. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 6.41B. For the definition of “major depressive episode,” see Appendix A.

Any mental illness in the past year among persons ages 18 and over, percentage, 2024
Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
20.7	23.4	0.88

Source: SAMHSA, 2025. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 6.7B. For the definition of “any mental illness,” see Appendix A.

Death rates

Age-adjusted death rates for suicide by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 2022
	Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
Both sexes	8.1	14.2	0.57
Male	13.0	23.0	0.57
Female	3.1	5.9	0.53

Source: CDC, 2025. Deaths: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 4. Table 11.

Suicide rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin, 2019: Males
	Hispanic Males	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
15–24 years	16.6	22.0	0.75
25–44 years	16.1	28.0	0.58
45–64 years	12.9	29.9	0.43
65 years and over	12.3	31.7	0.39
All ages, age adjusted	11.6	22.4	0.52

Source: CDC, 2023. Health, United States, 2020–2021. Table SuicMort.

Suicide rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin, 2019: Females
	Hispanic Females	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
15–24 years	4.4	5.5	0.80
25–44 years	4.0	7.4	0.54
45–64 years	4.2	9.6	0.44
65 years and over	1.0	5.2	0.19
All ages, age adjusted	3.0	6.0	0.50

Source: CDC, 2023. Health, United States, 2020–2021. Table SuicMort.

Adolescents

Death rates for suicide: ages 15–19, 2022
	Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic / Total Population Ratio
Male	10.1	13.9	0.73
Female	4.2	4.7	0.89
Total	7.2	9.5	0.76

Source: CDC. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) National Violent Death Reporting System. Violent Deaths Report.

Students in grades 9–12 who seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months, percentage, 2023
	Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic/ Total Population Ratio
Male	12.1	14.1	0.86
Female	24.3	27.1	0.90
Total	18.2	20.4	0.89

Source: CDC, 2024. High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. High School Students Who Seriously Considered Attempting Suicide, 2023.

Students in grades 9–12 who attempted suicide in the past 12 months, percentage, 2023
	Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic/ Total Population Ratio
Male	6.6	6.4	1.03
Female	14.8	12.6	1.17
Total	10.8	9.5	1.14

Source: CDC, 2024. High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. High School Students Who Actually Attempted Suicide, 2023.

Access to healthcare

Adults ages 18 and over who received mental health treatment in the past year, percentage, 2024
Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic/ Total Population Ratio
16.4	22.9	0.72

Source: SAMHSA, 2025. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 6.21B.

Adults ages 18 and over who received mental health treatment through prescription medication, percentage, 2024
Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic/ Total Population Ratio
10.4	16.7	0.62

Source: SAMHSA, 2025. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 6.25B.

Adults ages 18 and over with a major depressive episode in the past year who received treatment for depression, percentage, 2024
Hispanic	Total Population	Hispanic/ Total Population Ratio
53.7	64.4	0.83

Source: SAMHSA, 2025. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 6.43B. For the definition of “major depressive episode,” see Appendix A.

1 SAMHSA, 2025. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 6.21B. (Back to top)

2 SAMHSA, 2025. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 6.88B. (Back to top)

3 CDC. Web Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). Leading Causes of Death. (Back to top)

Date Last Reviewed: September 2025