Mental Health, Religion & Culture 2010, 1–23, iFirst Correlates of religious, supernatural and psychosocial causal beliefs about depression among Latino immigrants in primary care Susan Caplan a * , Manuel Paris b , Robin Whittemore c , Mayur Desai d , Jane Dixon c , Jennifer Alvidrez e , Javier Escobar f and Lawrence Scahill g a Nursing and Health Professions, University of Southern Maine, PO Box 9300, Portland, 04064 USA; b Department of Psychiatry, CMHC - The Hispanic Clinic, Yale University, 34 Park St., New Haven, 06519 United States; c Department of Nursing, Yale School of Nursing, Yale University, 100 Church Street South, New Haven, 06536 USA; d Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, 60 College Street, New Haven, 06520 USA; e Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, Box 0852, 7M- TRCR, SFGH, San Francisco, 94143 USA; f Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Clinical Academic Building, 125 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, 08901 USA; g Department of Psychiatry/Nursing, Yale Child Study Center, Yale University, 230 South Frontage Road, P.O. Box 207900, New Haven, 06520 USA (Received 2 November 2009; final version received 3 February 2010) The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore causal attributions about depression and to identify psychosocial factors associated with these beliefs among Latino immigrants. We interviewed 177 primary care patients with instruments to assess causal beliefs, depressive and somatic symptoms, ethnic identity and stigma. An exploratory factor analysis of the Causal Beliefs scale yielded three factors, ‘‘Balance,’’ ‘‘Psychosocial’’ and ‘‘Malevolent Spirituality/ Transgressions’’ that were used as dependent variables in multivariate analyses. Depressive symptoms, age, country of origin and religiosity were significantly associated with particular factors of causal beliefs. Those with higher education were most likely to endorse psychosocial causal beliefs. Stigma pertained to causal beliefs related to ‘‘malevolent forces’’ and ‘‘personal transgressions.’’ In conclu- sion, psychosocial and religious explanations of illness were strongly endorsed by these Latino immigrants, indicating a dual system of Western-medicine and traditional beliefs. These results suggest culturally-specific interventions for improving health knowledge and communication with patients about depression. Keywords: Hispanics/Latinos; immigrants; depression; primary care; causal attributions; health beliefs; stigma Introduction By 2050, Hispanics will comprise an estimated 29% of the population of the United States (Passel & D’Vera Cohn, 2008), more than half of whom will be foreign born (United States Census Bureau, 2004). There are numerous differences among Latinos, reflecting the disparate cultures and histories of their countries of origin, their reasons for migration and their experiences in the United States. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans are the *Corresponding author. Email: scaplan@usm.maine.edu ISSN 1367–4676 print/ISSN 1469–9737 online ß 2010 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/13674676.2010.497810 http://www.informaworld.com