Vaccine Uptake and Perspectives Among Latina Immigrant Mothers in Rural Communities in a Midwestern State.

Purpose: Examine the prevalence of and characteristics related to COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

Design: Quantitative and qualitative data collected at two-time points via phone interviews.

Setting: Rural Midwestern communities.

Causal effects of mental health on food security.

Although mental health conditions are known to be associated with socioeconomic hardships, their causal effects remain largely unexplored. Using a sample of low-income families in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we assess causal effects of serious mental illness (SMI) and related mental health conditions on family food security. We apply partial identification methods to account for fundamental endogeneity and measurement identification problems in a unified framework.

Validation of the Family Fear of Deportation Scale for youth.

Objective: This study reports on the psychometric properties of a new instrument to assess family fear of deportation in two versions (binary and polytomous response options).

Background: The impact of fear of deportation extends beyond foreign-born youth to U.S.

Hope for Latino immigrant youth: A longitudinal test of Snyder's Children's Hope Scale.

Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of Snyder's Children's Hope Scale (CHS) with first- and second-generation Latino immigrant youth, using item response theory, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and measurement invariance tests.

Background: Stress experienced by youth in 2020 has heightened interest in resilience factors such as hope. The CHS is widely used to measure hope but has not been validated for longitudinal assessments with immigrant populations.

PROMIS Pediatric Psychological Stress Measure: Validity for immigrant Latino youth.

Objective: This study assesses the psychometric properties of the four- and eight-item versions of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Psychological Stress Measure (PPSM) for use with Latino immigrant adolescents.

Background: Immigrant Latino youth are exposed to numerous stressors that can have consequences affecting health well into adulthood. However, few studies have assessed the suitability of psychosocial measures for this group.

Economic Pressure and Parent Acculturative Stress: Effects on Rural Midwestern Low-Income Latinx Child Behaviors.

Contrary to the visible Latinx population growth in rural America, rural Latinx households have experienced far greater economic disparities compared to Whites. Family economic stress predicts parents' emotional distress, lower family functioning, and places children at high risk for behavior problems. However, few studies have examined the combined effects of economic and acculturative stress on rural Latinx child behaviors, nor the family stress process among rural Latinx immigrant families in the Midwest, a new settlement area for Latinx and other immigrants (Kandel & Cromartie, 2004).

Impact of hair type, hair sample weight, external hair exposures, and race on cumulative hair cortisol.

The biomarker cortisol assesses the impact of biopsychosocial stressors that activate the stress response system. Hair has emerged as a valid and non-invasive means of gauging cumulative cortisol deposited over month-long periods of time. Established protocols for the extraction of hair cortisol are being validated and refined in humans, yet methodological information about hair characteristics on cortisol remains limited.

Reducing Obesogenic Eating Behaviors in Hispanic Children through a Family-Based, Culturally-Tailored RCT: .

Family-based interventions that incorporate culturally-tailored multi-component curricula and are grounded on evidence-based information and theoretical frameworks can help reduce the prevalence of obesity among Hispanic children. : Clearing the Path to Hispanic Health is a multi-site culturally-tailored randomized control trial that aims to reduce obesity rates in Hispanic families by delivering education on nutrition, family wellness, and physical activity. This study evaluated the effect of the six-week intervention on dietary behaviors of Hispanic children (6-18 years).

Preventing substance use among Latino youth: Initial results from a multistate family-based program focused on youth academic success.

Early initiation of alcohol or other substance use places adolescents at high risk for subsequent substance use disorders. Research on preventing substance use among Latino youth significantly lags behind the growth of this population. To assess the effects of a family-based intervention on past 30-day substance use in a population of Latino early adolescents (ClinicalTrials.

Shared Language Erosion: Rethinking Immigrant Family Communication and Impacts on Youth Development.

In this paper we make the case for Shared Language Erosion as a potential explanation for the negative outcomes described in the immigrant paradox for second- and third- generation immigrants (e.g., declines in physical, mental, and behavioral health).

Rural Midwestern Mexican Fathers' Perspectives on Family Food, Mealtimes, and Physical Activity.

Two focus group interviews with eight low-income Mexican fathers in two communities in a rural Midwestern state explored fathers' perceptions, behaviors, and roles related to child and family food consumption, mealtimes, and physical activity. On average, fathers were 34 years of age, had 10 years of formal education, and annual household incomes ranged from $36,250 to $46,249. Findings include the identification of fifteen themes through the process of thematic analysis that are organized by five thematic areas of interest ().

The Evolving Family Mealtime: Findings From Focus Group Interviews With Hispanic Mothers.

Background: Given the protective effects of shared family mealtimes and the importance of family in the Hispanic culture, this context should be explored further to determine how it can be leveraged and optimized for interventions.

Objective: This study aimed to explore contextual factors associated with family mealtimes in Mexican and Puerto Rican families.

Methods: A total of 63 mothers participated in 13 focus group interviews across 4 states.

Procuring Health: Experiences of Mexican Immigrant Women in Rural Midwestern Communities.

Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data from 15 first-generation Mexican immigrant women who resided in two rural Midwestern communities. Ten themes were identified and aligned with four thematic areas of interest ( meaning of being healthy, strategies to promote health, challenges to health, and supports for health). This study provides insights into the complexities and realities faced by Mexican immigrant women, as they strove to obtain optimal health in rural America, and contributes to the growing literature focused on health disparities among ethnic and racial minorities.

Health, Well-being, and Health Care Access in Rural Communities: Comparing Latino and Non-Latino White Low-income Families.

This study explores how low-income rural Latino children and their mothers differ from their non-Latino white counterparts in terms of health, well-being, and health care access. A subsample of non-Latino white (n = 201) and Latino (n = 157) children and their mothers was drawn from the Rural Families Speak about Health Project, a multistate, cross-sectional data set developed through mixed purposive sampling methods. Findings suggest that Latino children's families were disadvantaged in terms of child health and access to health care, whereas non-Latino white children's families were disadvantaged in terms of child behavior problems and maternal health and depression.