Bridging the Gap: Advancing Latine Representation in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Amidst US Demographic Shifts

The United States is witnessing a demographic transformation, with the Latine population rapidly growing. As the nation's demographics evolve, the underrepresentation of Latine child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) professionals compared to their proportion in the broader population underscores a pressing gap that requires prompt and focused efforts. This discrepancy is particularly concerning given the documented mental health inequities affecting Latine youth.¹ Using data from the 2020 US Census and the 2023 American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Professional Data, we found a pronounced gap in representation for the Latine community nationwide. Although Latine individuals constitute 18.7% of the US population, they account for only 8.5% of CAPs. Among individuals aged 18 years and younger, the Latine community is the second-largest racial or ethnic group, making up 25.5% of the population (Figure 1A, B). Given that this younger demographic is the core constituency of CAP services, it is imperative to diversify the CAP workforce to address the unique mental health challenges of Latine youth. Despite over 2 decades of demographic shifts, the percentage of Latine CAP residents declined from 2012 to 2019.² However, using data from the 2020-2023 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Report on Residents, we found a gradual increase in the percentage of Latine CAP residents, from 8.4% in 2020 to 11.6% in 2023 (Figure 1C). Although this trend indicates that current efforts may not suffice to address immediate needs, it also demonstrates the potential for improving the diversity of the CAP workforce to better serve the evolving demographics of the United States.