Ni De Aquí, Ni De Allá: Navigating the Complex Realities of Latine Mental Health
by Felipe Maria Luba Aggio, APC
After a groundbreaking halftime performance by Grammy award winning singer and Spotify's most-streamed artist of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2025, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (commonly known as Bad Bunny) has officially cemented Latine music and culture into the United States' zeitgeist. But what does it mean to be Latine? And how does Latinidad impact mental health?
First things first: Understanding the differences between Latino, Latine, Latinx, and Hispanic
While Hispanic and Latino are often thrown around interchangeably, they actually differ semantically and in how they are used. To begin, both Latino and Hispanic refer to ethnocultural identities rather than racial labels. Being Hispanic refers to people that come from Spanish speaking countries; this would include the European country of Spain and exclude the South American country of Brasil. On the other hand, being Latino focuses on Latin American¹ heritage; this would include Brasil but exclude Spain.
The vast majority of what people consider “Latinos” or “Hispanics” (Mexicans, Guatemalans, Salvadoreans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, Costa Ricans, Panamanians, Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, Bolivians, Paraguayans, Uruguayans, Chileans, and Argentinians) are in fact technically both. However, it's important to note that some Latinos like to distance themselves from their countries’ colonial history by rejecting the Hispanic moniker and exclusively using Latino/a/e. At the same time, some Latinos are proud of their Iberian heritage and prefer to be called Hispanic. This distinction is often tied to the form of Spanish one chooses to speak. Many Latinos love their traditional way of speaking Spanish which is often filled with cultural phrases “dichos” and local slang, while others ascribe to the Real Academia Española's² “official version” of Spanish.
Nevertheless, with the empowerment of the Queer community in the 21st century, the term Latino began to receive criticism for being male-centric. The addition of Latina, meant to highlight the important contributions and distinct lived experiences of female Latinos, also eventually faced resistance for adhering to the gender binary. Thus Latinx, a gender-neutral³ option, was introduced. However, many Latinos felt that this option ignored their language heritage (the “x” sound cannot be easily pronounced or pluralized in Spanish or Portuguese) and appeared to be an anglicized term created by English-speaking academics and politicians who understood little of the Latin languages. Therefore, Latine, the gender-neutral and naturally occurring ending in Spanish and Portuguese, was introduced.
Keep in mind that not all Latinos ascribe to the ideal of gender neutrality, so the term Latine is still rejected in certain Latin American communities. Additionally, many Spanish language purists haven't adopted the Latine moniker either, often citing how Spanish grammar is strictly binary, requiring every noun, pronoun, and adjective to be either masculine or feminine.
Most importantly, the vast majority of Latin American descendants identify more closely with their country of origin and family cultural background than any of the ethnocultural monikers mentioned above. As a therapist educated in promoting client autonomy I would suggest the most important thing to take away from this is that everyone should be able to define their own identity however they'd like. Some people may prefer Hispanic, some Latine, and others may not have a preference. At the same time, some individuals might prefer that you get to know their nationality or even locality, rather than grouping them with a term representing over 600 million people and a minimum of 18 distinct countries.
Latinidad and Mental Health
While Latinos are often grouped together in the United States, Latinos themselves come from various nationalities, communities, and backgrounds. To begin, each Latin American country has its own way of speaking Spanish (or its own romance and indigenous languages!), and its own culture, cuisine, and traditions. Furthermore, Latinos can be of African origins, European origins, and Indigenous origins, or a mixture of all three. Therefore, there is no right way to sound Latine, look Latine or be Latine.
Biculturalism (or triculturalism, etc.) is the experience of having strong cultural and familial ties from a country other than the one you live in. Many second and third generation (and onward) immigrants of Spanish speaking descendents experience what's referred to as “Ni De Aquí, Ni De Allá”. A unique psychological experience of balancing two worlds and not feeling fully from either the United States or their families’ country of origin.
Even so, there are many similarities between Latin Americans living in the United States. This is because of comparable linguistic foundations, colonial subjugations, Catholic backgrounds, Indigenous roots, African traditions, and shared experiences as immigrants or minorities. These shared core values often impact Latinos and should be considered by mental health professionals. For example, many Latinos are socialized into adhering to familismo, machismo/marianismo, respeto, personalismo, and espiritualismo. These traditional values, respectively, emphasize the importance of:
Extended family loyalty, collective decision-making, and supporting relatives over individual desires (familismo)
Traditional gender roles where the men are strong, dominant, and providing and the women are self-sacrificing, nurturing, and spiritually pure (machismo/marianismo)
Adhering to your place within the family and community hierarchy (respeto)
Prioritizing warm and human connection before business, medical care, or official work can take place (personalismo)
Respecting that spiritual forces (including God, angels, ancestors, saints, and spirits) may actively intervene in daily life, health, and well-being (espiritualismo)
Although well intentioned, each one can lead to various negative mental health outcomes. For example:
Familismo can lead to prolonged family conflict when individuals' desires differ from their family members, or, guilt and anxiety when individuals try to set boundaries or pursue personal goals
Machismo often results in Latine men being unrealistically stoic and can lead to higher rates of substance abuse, anger, and severe depression, as well as relational conflict.
Marianismo can lead women to tolerate abusive, neglectful, or deeply unhappy relationships.
Respeto can help intergenerational trauma, physical abuse, or sexual abuse stay hidden.
Personalismo can make it harder for Latinos to understand cold and bureaucratic Western institutions leading to individuals internalizing their struggles, not getting professional support, and self-alienating.
Espiritualismo can result in individuals believing their psychological suffering is a result of personal moral failure or religious punishment, rather than a treatable chemical imbalance or psychological condition.
While not all Latin American descendants act strictly in accordance with these cultural values, it's important to consider culturally responsive counseling strategies when working with Latinos. Some of these in my work include:
Evaluating levels of acculturation by explicitly assessing generational status, migration history, and exposure to immigratory stress.
Initiating conversations about identity and racism by having discussions about systemic racialization or ethno-racial trauma based on skin tone, country of origin, language ability, and documented status.
Promoting positive ethnic identity development by helping clients explore, embrace, and integrate their ethnocultural background into a cohesive and healthy self-concept.
Utilizing clients' own cultural strengths by affirming traditional Latine values into active psychological resources and protective coping mechanisms.
Encouraging translanguaging by promoting bilingual and multilingual clients to fluidly weave, shuttle, and alternate between languages as a mechanism of emotional agency and comfort.
From navigating the linguistic nuances of terms like Hispanic, Latino, and Latine, to balancing the bicultural weight of ni de aquí, ni de allá, identity remains deeply personal and self-defined for Latinos. While shared cultural values like familismo and respeto offer profound community strength, they can also inadvertently foster unique psychological stressors, guilt, and emotional barriers. Ultimately, supporting the mental well-being of the Latin American community requires a culturally responsive approach that honors individual autonomy, embraces linguistic fluidity, and transforms traditional ethnocultural values into active psychological resources. If you would like to meet with a fluently trilingual (Portuguese & Spanish) and identity affirming Latine therapist, visit Felipe Aggio's profile page or schedule a free consultation directly with him here.
References
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Lopez, M. H., Krogstad, J. M., & Passel, J. S. (2024, September 12). Who is Hispanic? Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/12/who-is-hispanic/
Piña, G., Lopez, M. H., Mukherjee, S., Fahmy, D., & Cahn, A. (2026, July 9). U.S. Hispanics are divided on whether their identity helps or hurts them in America. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2026/07/09/u-s-hispanics-are-divided-on-whether-their-identity-helps-or-hurts-them-in-america/
