I RESEARCH AIiD PRACTICE I Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Use of Mental Health Services in Poverty Areas

Racial/ethnic disparities in health and mental health status have received increasing atten-tion. Well-documented gaps in health status are believed to reflect, among other factors, underlying differences in access to care. In the mental health arena, researchers have repeat-edly demonstrated differences in rates and pat-terns of mental health treatment for African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans.1- ' 0 The surgeon general's report on mental health noted that the needs of minority racial/ ethnic groups remain largely unmet 1 ' Among minority persons who have received mental health treatment, premature termination has been especially problematic.3,IIJ2 Several fac