Qualitative Social Work 0(00) 1–18 ! The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1473325012468478 qsw.sagepub.com Article How do new immigrant Latino parents interpret problem behavior in adolescents? Mimi V Chapman School of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA Gabriela L Stein Clinical Psychology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA Abstract Parents are gatekeepers for their children’s mental-health treatment, yet many are unclear about what behaviors warrant intervention. Seeking treatment is further com- plicated for immigrant parents whose cultural backgrounds may influence their under- standing of mental health. This analysis uses qualitative data from [MASKED], which is a representative study of newly immigrated youth (12–18 years) and their parents, to examine parental perceptions of mental health and to determine patterns of help seeking and service use. Sixteen parents participated in semistructured qualitative inter- views that used vignettes to elicit parental beliefs about adolescent behavior and mental health. Findings suggest parents 1) identify behavior that meets diagnostic criteria as problematic; 2) ascribe those behaviors to a range of etiologies; and 3) desire to inter- vene. Two areas of service delivery emerged as problematic: many parents expect services delivered in ways that conflict with current practice standards, and new immi- grant families often encounter cultural and practical barriers to accessing care. Keywords Immigration, mental health, parents When adolescents experience mental-health problems, multiple factors often con- verge to make accessing effective treatment difficult. Although significant Corresponding author: Mimi V Chapman, School of Social Work, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 325 Pittsboro Street, CB# 3550, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3550, USA. Email: mimi@email.unc.edu at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on February 16, 2015 qsw.sagepub.com Downloaded from