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Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to examine geographic variation in unmet need for mental health care among racially/ethnically diverse adults with psychiatric disorders in the US.Methods: Drawn from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES; 2001-2003), adults with any past year psychiatric disorder diagnosis (n = 3211) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds were selected for analyses. Using weighted data, descriptive analyses and logistic regression analyses were conducted.Results: Two-thirds of the total sample had unmet mental health care need, which differed significantly by race/ethnicity (p < .001). Logistic regression analyses show regional variation of the effect of race/ethnicity in unmet need: after adjusting for covariates, Latinos in the South, Blacks and Latinos in the Midwest, and Latinos and Asians in the West had higher unmet need than non-Hispanic Whites, whereas no significant racial/ethnic effects were found in the Northeast.Conclusions: Findings suggest that geographic region plays an important role in the sufficient use of mental health services among racial/ethnic minorities. Further research should elucidate reasons for geographic disparities in mental health care among racial/ethnic minority adults to reduce disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To describe the Great Smoky Mountains Study (GSMS).Methods: GSMS is a longitudinal study of child psychiatric disorders that began in 1992 to look at need for mental health services in a rural area of the USA. Over 20 years it has expanded its range to include developmental epidemiology more generally, not only the development of psychiatric and substance abuse problems but also their correlates and predictors: family and environmental risk, physical development including puberty, stress and stress-related hormones, trauma, the impact of poverty, genetic markers, and epigenetics. Now that participants are in their 30s the focus has shifted to adult outcomes of childhood psychopathology and risk, and early physical, cognitive, and psychological markers of aging.Results: This paper describes the results from over 11,000 interviews, examples of the study's contributions to science and policy, and plans for the future.Conclusions: Longitudinal studies can provide insights that aid in policy planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]