Using youth participatory action research to explore the impacts of structural violence on LGBTQIA + youth health.

Queerphobia is defined as society's negative attitude towards LGBTQIA + people, translating into structures that marginalise LGBTQIA + people and contribute to health inequities that cause real harm and can be understood as structural violence. The purpose of this article is to explore what historically marginalised youth in a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project characterise as the big picture issues affecting the lives of LGBTQIA + youth. We used participatory arts-based methods to conduct community and identity building, define research questions and photo prompts, conduct data collection, engage in group thematic analysis, and make recommendations at the state policy level.

US-Mexico Border Stress and Daily Substance Use among Latino Youth: a Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Historically marginalized youth are at risk for daily substance use. Daily use may be associated with social and environmental factors.

Methods: In March 2018, we surveyed primarily Latino adolescents ages 14-18 who lived on the US-Mexico border and assessed associations between daily substance use, neighborhood stress, border community and immigration stress, and family support.

Participatory Action Research to Explore the Role of Structural Violence on Marginalized and Racialized Young Parents.

Structural inequities influence young parents' access to health care, housing, transportation, social support, education, and income. The current study adds to the extant literature by providing data directly obtained in collaboration with young parents to understand how structural violence affects the health and well-being of their families, ultimately resulting in community-driven policy recommendations developed in collaboration with the state health department. We engaged a diverse sample of young people-considered as community researchers in the project-including Black, Latinx, and/or LGBTQ+ pregnant and parenting young parents in a participatory action research (PAR) project in the spring of 2022 to explore their health and material needs while living in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Does high family support protect against substance use in adolescents who perceive high disordered neighborhood stress, border community and immigration stress or normalization of drug trafficking at the US-Mexico border? Analysis of the BASUS survey.

Background: Adolescent substance use is a significant issue which occurs during a critical period of life of youth. Perceived stress is a risk factor for adolescent substance use, and life events such as low family support, and community and familial turmoil often lead to ongoing feelings of stress and uncertainty. Similarly, structural factors such as poverty, local neighborhood disinvestment and disrepair, and exposure to racism and discrimination are linked to feelings of stress.

Mind the Gaps: The Need for Inclusion of Male-Identified Voices in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) inequities are well documented for historically excluded youth (i.e., youth of color, LGBTQIA+ youth, youth with disabilities, recently im/migrated youth) living in the U.

Perceived Normalization of Drug Trafficking and Adolescent Substance Use on the US-Mexico Border.

Background: Historically marginalized youth are at risk for daily substance use. Daily use may be associated with social and environmental factors.

Methods: In March 2018, we surveyed primarily Latino adolescents ages 14-18 who lived on the US-Mexico border and assessed associations between daily substance use, neighborhood stress, border community and immigration stress, and family support.

Structural Racism and Its Influence On Sexual and Reproductive Health Inequities Among Immigrant Youth.

This community-based participatory research study explores the influence of structural racism on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) inequities among immigrant, including refugee, youth. We conducted interviews with emerging youth and youth service providers living in two communities in Massachusetts. Our results detail three major themes illustrating how structural racism influences SRH inequities among immigrant youth: (1) lack of culture-centered SRH supports for recently immigrated youth; (2) immigration enforcement and fear impacting access to adolescent SRH (ASRH) education and services; and (3) perceived ineligibility related to tenuous legal status as a barrier to accessing ASRH services.

The use of digital stories as a health promotion intervention: a scoping review.

Background: It is challenging to develop health promotion interventions created in collaboration with communities affected by inequities that focus beyond individual behavior change. One potential solution is interventions that use digital stories (DS). Digital storytelling (DST) is an opportunity for reflection, connection with others, and the elevation of voices often absent from daily discourse.

The Need for Community-Responsive and Flexible Sex Ed for Historically Marginalized Youth.

Introduction: When it is offered, sexuality education in the USA is far from standardized. While studies have explored differences in delivery and type of sexuality education across the USA, sexual and reproductive health inequities persist among historically marginalized groups (Latino/a/x, Black, African American, LGBTQ +). There is a critical need to better understand the systemic barriers to receiving effective sexuality education in these communities.

The Gendered Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement: Latinas' Social Isolation in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

The 2017 revitalization of the controversial Security Communities program, which requires local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials in the United States, has made it urgent to better understand such enforcement programs' effects on the well-being of Latinas/os, especially the foreign-born. Social isolation from increased immigration enforcement can have significant impacts on economic, social, and health outcomes among Latina/o immigrants and non-immigrants. This article analyzes the gendered impacts of different levels of increased local involvement in immigration enforcement on social isolation, using a survey of over 2000 Latinas/os in four large US cities, all considered to be traditional destinations.

Using Participatory Methods to Enhance Youth Engagement in Substance Use Research.

Youth engagement in substance use research is critical to the understanding of correlates that lead to detrimental health and social outcomes for adolescents. In addition to the documented challenges related to youth recruitment for substance use research, Latinx youth living on the U.S.

Socioenvironmental Risk Factors for Adolescent Marijuana Use in a United States-Mexico Border Community.

Purpose: We examined how socioenvironmental risk factors unique to the United States-Mexico border, defined as border community and immigration stress, normalization of drug trafficking, and perceived disordered neighborhood stress, contribute to tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among adolescents residing there.

Design: Cross-sectional design.

Setting: The study was conducted at a high school on the United States-Mexico border.

Youth Participatory Action Research for Youth Substance Use Prevention: A Systematic Review.

A growing body of research points to the efficacy of participatory methods in decreasing rates of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and other risky behaviors among youth. However, to date, no systematic review of the literature has been conducted on Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) for youth substance use prevention. This review draws on the peer-reviewed literature on YPAR in the context of youth substance use prevention published from January 1, 1998 through April 30, 2018.

Developing a Binational Community-Based Participatory Research Partnership to Address Reproductive Health on the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Background: U.S.-Mexico border communities bear a disproportionate burden of adolescent pregnancy.

Structural Vulnerability Among Migrating Women and Children Fleeing Central America and Mexico: The Public Health Impact of "Humanitarian Parole".

Since October 2013, US Customs and Border Patrol has apprehended 15,979 families on the Southwest Border of the US. Daily, migrating women and children from Mexico and Central America that qualify for humanitarian parole are released from immigration detention to a humanitarian aid organization in Southern Arizona. After several days in detention facilities, these families arrive tired, hungry, dehydrated, and with minimal direction regarding their final destination, and adherence to the parameters of their parole.

History of Violence as a Predictor of HIV Risk among Multi-Ethnic, Urban Youth in the Southwest.

This community-based exploratory study examined the effects of a history of violence, ethnic identification, and acculturation status on HIV risk among a majority Latino sample of youth living in a large metropolitan area of the Southwest in the United States. The participants reported high rates of violence and attitudes that put them at risk for HIV/AIDS infection. They participated in 1 of 2 prevention interventions offered by a local non-governmental organization.