Journal of Latina/o psychology最新文献

Preliminary evidence suggests that the stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the entire family system, necessitating a family-wide and culturally sensitive approach to understanding its impact. Little is known regarding the nuanced associations between pandemic stressors and the mental health of parents and youth, particularly among ethnic minority communities. In this study, we examine low income Latine families, who were adversely affected by the pandemic, exploring within-dyad associations between subtypes of pandemic stressors with mental health. Youth (ages 8-17) and their mothers (M _age=41.03 years) were followed from pre-pandemic to during the pandemic, completing measures of mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression) and pandemic stress. Findings revealed domain specificity of associations, suggesting that the pandemic was differentially linked with depression and anxiety for youth and mothers. Further, our data revealed evidence of partner effects of mothers' pandemic stressors (previous COVID-19 infection, risk of contracting COVID-19, financial and physical impact) on youth depression, as well as partner effects of youth's and mother's pandemic stressors. Findings reveal a complex pattern of interrelations between youth and mother stress exposure and mental health during this time, providing directions for prevention/intervention efforts for underserved populations during global crises.

Latinx individuals face significant tobacco-related disparities, particularly in cessation care. In particular, little is known about barriers and facilitators of quitting smoking among Spanish-preferring Latinx. This study examined the perspectives of Latinxs who smoke and have psychological distress regarding the factors influencing their smoking and quitting behaviors and experiences with cessation treatment. A cross-sectional, exploratory multi-method study included 18 Latinx adults who smoke and completed a questionnaire on demographics, tobacco use, and mental health, followed by a semi-structured interview. Participants' responses (N=18) were analyzed using a deductive-inductive thematic analyses approach organized with the Dedoose software. Participants' ages ranged from 24-61 years (M=39.63, SD=9.89); 68.5% were employed part-time or full-time, and 37.5% reported financial strain. Themes were organized according to the various levels of the Socioecological model: (1) Intrapersonal (psychological distress, addiction, health concerns, personal attributes); (2) Interpersonal (stigma, external pressures, social support); (3) Organizational (preferences related to treatment content, format, delivery and frequency), (4) Community (familismo), and (5) Social/Policy (second hand smoke reduction and prevention among youth). Participants had little to no experience with cessation treatment. Findings were generally consistent with the limited existent literature on smoking motivation and cessation among Spanish-preferring Latinxs and expand previous work by highlighting potential treatment targets in the development and/or adaptation of culturally relevant interventions for this group.

Achieving health equity for U.S. Latinas requires a better understanding of how cultural factors influence mental health, especially during life transitions. This study examined one cultural factor, familism, in relation to depressive symptoms and stress among U.S. and foreign-born Latinas during early parenting. We also tested whether associations varied by nativity. Data were drawn from a sample of 420 U.S.- and foreign-born Latina mothers participating in a large, multisite, community-based study in the US. Familism was measured at 12 months postpartum across three facets: (a) family obligations, (b) family as a source of support, and (c) family as referents. Depressive symptoms and perceived stress were measured at 12 and 18 months after birth using standardized scales. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that one year after the birth of a child, higher familism was associated with lower depressive symptoms and lower perceived stress. Six months later, only the family support facet of familism remained significantly associated with lower perceived stress, but not with lower depressive symptoms. U.S.-born Latinas endorsed lower levels of familism compared to foreign-born Latinas. Moderation analyses showed that familism was associated with lower perceived stress at 18 months after birth among U.S.-born Latinas, but not among foreign-born Latinas. Familism may play a protective role against depression and stress in the early parenting period, particularly for U.S.-born Latina mothers. These findings highlight the importance of Latinx culture as a potential source of resilience and can inform efforts to improve mental health among childbearing Latinas.

Latine youth are at an increased risk of exposure to stress and trauma, and face significant educational inequities and cultural stressors. Thus, the current cross-sectional survey examined the role of acculturation based on language use as a moderator in the relationship between traumatic stress and academic functioning among immigrant and U.S. born Latine youth in one community middle school (N = 130). We examined language use as a moderator in the relationship between violence exposure and academic outcomes, as well as between PTSD symptoms and academic outcomes. Analyses revealed that students who reported higher levels of Spanish language use, and higher levels of violence exposure, had significantly lower GPAs. Additionally, we found that students who spoke less Spanish, and who had higher PTSD symptoms, had a lower GPA. Present findings highlight the importance of and link between mental health, cultural-linguistic factors, and academic performance in Latine youth. Particularly, self-reported Spanish language use appears to be both a buffering and risk factor as related to the academic achievement of Latine middle school students in the U.S. However, there is a need to further explore these pathways and linkages, particularly for Latine youth, who are disadvantaged by higher exposure to stressors and by multiple inequities in education. By investing in policies and practices that affirm Latine students' cultural and linguistic strengths while addressing their unique challenges, we can foster environments where they thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.

In infancy and toddlerhood, caregivers are responsible for externally co-regulating their children's emotions and physiology through their responses to emotional arousal. These caregiving behaviors influence toddlers' emotion regulation, which impacts long-term physical, academic, cognitive, and socioemotional development. Though caregiving responses are culturally embedded, limited research has explored how cultural norms influence Mexican American mothers' emotion socialization behaviors. This study examined how mothers' Mexican heritage cultural values (i.e., familismo, respeto, religiosity, and traditional gender roles) predicted their supportive and suppressive responses to toddlers' negative emotions. Participants included 145 Mexican American mothers (M=25.85 years, SD=5.41) living with their toddlers (M=18.33 months, SD=2.10) in Northern California. Mothers reported significantly more supportive than suppressive reactions to negative emotions. Valuing familismo was associated with more supportive responses, whereas valuing respeto was associated with more suppressive responses. Traditional gender role values were associated with less supportive and more suppressive responses, with no significant differences based on the child's sex. Findings underscore the powerful role of cultural values in shaping how Mexican American mothers respond to their toddlers' emotions, which may lay the groundwork for children's long-term socioemotional development.

Lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still of grave concern to families within the U.S. Latine community, as pre-pandemic disparities in healthcare and economic stability were significantly exacerbated by the global crisis (Martínez et al., 2021). In this mixed-methods study, we interviewed 42 pregnant and postpartum Latine mothers from low-income households living in the New York Metropolitan area to better understand pandemic related challenges and potential sources of support unique to this group of women. First, we identified broad themes related to specific psychosocial stressors impacting Latine mothers and their families. Second, in an effort to investigate coping strategies that may buffer feelings of persistent stress, mothers were divided into sustained-stress and tapered-stress groups based on reported levels of perceived stress during the height of the pandemic (March-April 2020) compared to the time of interview (August-December 2020). These two groups of mothers were significantly different on levels of PTSD symptoms, social support, and perceived discrimination. Notably, mothers in the tapered-stress group who reported lower-levels of stress at the time of interview described experiences of being distracted by daily activities or by family members as a coping mechanism. Together, these findings highlight the need to address structural barriers and improve access to mental health support in order to mitigate continuing sources of pandemic related stressors for Latine families.

The present study had two aims: (a) to take a person-centered approach and identify profiles of assets that include active coping, bicultural competency, and preparation for bias, among Latinx adolescents, and (b) examine the relations between asset profiles and Latinx adolescents' school functioning and mental health. The present study used cross-sectional data from 201 middle school students (M = 12.35, SD = 1.05). Latent profile analysis was used to identify unique profiles, and a classify-analyze approach was taken to examine differences in school belonging, grades, and depressive symptoms by profile membership. Five unique profiles emerged, the average competencies-low bias preparation; high competencies-low bias preparation; average assets; high assets; and average to low competencies-high bias preparation profiles. The ANCOVAs showed adolescents' school belonging and depressive symptoms differed by profile membership, no differences were found for grades. Latinx adolescents rely on both universal and ethnic-cultural assets to support school belonging and mental health (i.e., lower depressive symptoms).

Traditional feminine gender roles (TFGRs) may be important sociocultural predictors of drinking among U.S. Latinas; however, examining the explanatory role of drinking motives will improve current understanding of the connection between TFGRs and alcohol use. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the indirect pathways between four subscales of TFGRs, four subscales of drinking motives, and alcohol outcomes among Latina young adults. A large sample (N = 1,984) of Latina students from 12 U.S. universities completed an online survey. We used an indirect effects approach, in which four subscales of TFGRs predicted five subscales of drinking motives, which predicted alcohol use and negative consequences. Some TFGR subscales (i.e., family pillar and subordinate/self-silencing) predicted greater alcohol use and negative consequences through externally oriented and internally oriented motives. The TFGR subscale virtuous and chaste predicted less alcohol use and negative consequences through both externally and internally oriented motives. This study highlights the importance of modeling sociocultural factors as upstream of cognitive motivational processes to better explain alcohol use among U.S. Latina young adults.

Hurricane María prompted a large-scale migration from Puerto Rico to the United States. Among other changes, this entailed a disruption to youths' education and necessitated navigating a new educational system. While prior research indicates that school environments are important influences on migrant adolescents' behavioral health, the specific mechanisms of this influence remain underexplored. Guided by cultural stress theory, we conducted qualitative interviews with Puerto Rican adolescents and parents (N=76) displaced to Florida by Hurricane María to explore how cultural stress manifests in the school context. The findings highlight three significant axes of interaction within the school context: language stress for youth and parents, peer relationships, and parental involvement with schools. This study underscores the critical role of schools in shaping the experiences of cultural stress for Puerto Rican Hurricane María crisis migrant children and parents. It emphasizes the importance of multilingual support, positive peer relationships, and addressing cultural differences in parental involvement to mitigate the negative impact of cultural stress on their well-being and educational outcomes.

Personal relationships research is increasingly addressing the impact of both mothers and fathers parenting behaviors on youth' development. This study addresses the relative dearth of research on the effects of fathers versus mothers on youth behavioral adjustment within U.S. Latine families and examined the relations among parental warmth/ harshness and youth' aggressive behaviors considering anxiety and familism as mediators, and whether associations differed by parent and youth gender. Data were from a sample of 307 U.S. Latine youth (51% boys; Mage = 12.21 years, 46.5% girls). Using a cross-sectional mediational path model, significant indirect associations between parental warmth/harshness and youth aggressive behaviors via anxiety (in both models) and familism (only in the fathers' model) were found. The findings highlight the deleterious effects of parental harshness on youth' social-emotional wellbeing and behaviors and advance understanding on unique associations between mothers' and fathers' behaviors and youth' aggressive behaviors.