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144 data on children in our society illustrates that these factors are becoming more prevalent in the lives of our children and that more and more children are subjected to one or more of these factors that place them at-risk of emotional turmoil and developmental disruptions. The high rates of psychiatric hospitalization, homelassness, adolescent suicide, adolescent homicide, foster care placements, school dropout, teenage pregnancy, and juvenile arrests attest to, and are the results of, the critical condition of children and adolescents in our society.

Given the disproportionate presence of many of these factors in the lives of many children of color, it would be logical to assume that they experience a greater incidence of emotional disorders.

However, there are few studies or sources that address the prevalence of emotional disturbances among children of color. For instance, there has been little research that has focused systematically on the psychological development of Native American children and adolescents, but some studies have estimated the prevalence of psychological disorders among them (LaFromboise and Low, 1989). A study conducted by Ablon, Metcalf and Miller, in 1967, estimates that 10-20 percent of Native American child/-en needed psychiatric help. Wallace (1972) found that up to 25 percent of Indian children displayed psychological problems. In a more recent study of American Indian-Alaska Native youth health, Blum et. al (1992) found that Native American youth reported substantial stress and depression. In fact, six percent of the population displayed severe emotional distress. Further, 17 percent of the survey participants reported that they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives.

For Asian /Pacific Islander Americans, prevalence rates are also hard to obtain, primarily because this generic grouping includes many different ethnic populations. Studies that have attempted to separate them into their ethnic groups, i.e. Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Cambodians, etc. have found that there are differential rates of mental and psychiatric problems among them (Meinhardt etal., 1986).

However, these studies and surveys were not focused on children and adolescents. In general, Asian American children and adolescents are underreprasented in mental health services. An assumption is made, therefore, that low utilization rates imply a low incidence of mental health problems in Asian American communities which may not be true (Nagata, 1989).

There have also not been any systematic epidemiological studies of prevalence among Latino/Hispanic children and adolescents. As noted with the Asian American grouping, the generic grouping of Hispanic tends to mask the many different ethnic groups that are encompassed, including Cubans, Mexican Americans, Puerto P,icans, etc. However, the literature often suggests that the prevalence of psychological distress among the various Hispanic groups are at least as high as in the overall population and, in some instances, higher (Ramirez, 1989). Clinical data on Puerto Rican children and adolescents in New York tend to suggest that there is a wide range of psychiatric symptoms among them and in some categories of psychiatric symptomatology, there are higher percentages of emotional disturbance among Puerto Rican children than among majority children (Canino, Earley and Rogter, 1980). In a review by Ramirez (1989) of one clinical setting, Mexican American children received diagnoses similar to those of non-Mexican American children, but were slightly more likely to receive certain diagnoses such as conduct disorder and affeetive psychosis.

There is an assumption that African American children have high rates of psychological and behavioral disorders, although there are no large-scale epidemiological surveys of African American mental health problems (Gibbs, 1989). However, clinical and other studies have shown that rates of severe depression have ranged from 5 to 15 percent, with higher rates found among males and lowincome African American adolescents. Psychiatric hospitalization rates of African American youth have