Latino Respondents Research Articles

Racial-Ethnic Differences in Mental Health Stigma and Changes Over the Course of a Statewide Campaign.

The authors examined whether shifts in mental health-related stigma differed across racial-ethnic groups over the course of a California statewide antistigma campaign and whether racial-ethnic disparities were present at the beginning of the campaign and 1 year later. Participants had taken part in the 2013 and 2014 California Statewide Surveys (CASSs), a longitudinal, random-digit-dialing telephone survey of California adults ages ≥18 years (N=1,285). Surveys were administered in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Khmer, and Hmong. Compared with Whites, Latino and Asian respondents who preferred to take the survey in their native language had higher levels of mental health-related stigma on several domains of the 2013 CASS. Specifically, Latino and Asian respondents who completed the survey in their native language were more likely than White respondents to report social distance, prejudice, and perceptions of dangerousness toward people with mental illness. These racial-ethnic disparities persisted 1 year later on the 2014 CASS. Latino-Spanish respondents experienced significant decreases in social distance over the course of the campaign but not to a degree that eliminated disparities on the 2014 CASS. Of note, perceptions of dangerousness of people with mental illness significantly increased among Latino-Spanish respondents between the 2013 and 2014 CASSs. Future research is needed to better understand which components of antistigma campaigns are effective across racial-ethnic minority groups and whether more targeted efforts are needed, especially in light of the persistent and growing racial-ethnic disparities in mental health care.

Do Ranked Ballots Stimulate Candidate Entry?

Systems of ranked-choice voting (RCV) have been cast as ways to diversify candidate pipelines. One purported mechanism is that RCV lets trailing candidates seek non-first-place rankings from their competitors' supporters. In turn, that property might encourage more candidate entry. Does that property resonate with people? Does it operate as suggested on under-represented groups? We approach these questions via survey experiments on attitudes toward running for office. Two involve national surveys, one of which over-samples people of color (the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-election Survey, or CMPS). Two more are in Philadelphia -- large, diverse, and without local RCV advocacy at the time. Our treatments are: that voters can rank choices unlike in the current system (RCV), that transfers can help a person win (RCV+), and that RCV systems have been shown to benefit women and people of color (RCV++). We find null effects with four exceptions: positive for Black respondents from RCV+ (second Philadelphia experiment), positive for White respondents from RCV++ (second Philadelphia experiment), and negative for Latino respondents from RCV++ (second Philadelphia experiment and CMPS). However, none of these effects is large enough to offset generally low interest in running, and one of them (Latinos, second Philadelphia experiment) depends on the type of post-hoc analysis.

COVID-19 Is Having a Devastating Impact on the Economic Well-being of Latino Families.

Latino Americans are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to contract COVID-19 and to face disproportionately high mortality rates when they contract the virus. What has not been well understood is the impact COVID-19 is having on the economic well-being of Latino families. Using the Abriendo Puertas/Latino Decisions National Parent Survey (1195), we asked Latino respondents how the pandemic has impacted their employment, savings, and finances and we also asked them how they have been coping to make ends meet. Using descriptive analysis and ordinal least squares regression, we find that Latinos are experiencing high job loss and business closures. We also find that young parents (18–29-year olds) and those with income levels of $25,000 or lower are experiencing the most economic stress. We also find that Latinos are having difficulty making housing payments and postponing educational and health-related services to make ends meet. We also find that just over half of Latinos have emergency savings under $1000 which is important given that unemployment benefits expired on July 31, 2020. In conclusion, this research finds that Latinos are experiencing economic stressors and are engaging in coping strategies that are deeply concerning and which require explicit attention from policymakers. Given that Latinos took the longest to recover from the Great Recession, policymakers should keep this in mind as we continue to monitor the implications of the recession, ideally looking at mechanisms to reduce the stress for Latino families and encourage policies which target low-income working class Americans and small business owners.

The psychology of justice buildings: A survey experiment on police architecture, public sentiment, and race

Empirical investigations examining how the architectural design of justice buildings impacts the public is scant and heavily skewed toward the design of penal institutions. Applying theories of hostile and welcoming building design, this study uses a survey experiment to investigate the impact that welcoming and hostile police station designs have on public affect and behaviorally relevant perceptions. Findings reveal main and interactive effects of architectural design on positive affect. Specifically, building design becomes a significant predictor of perceptions depending on an individual's self-identified racial or ethnic group, where Black and Latino respondents report greater positive emotional responses when presented with hostile as compared to welcoming building designs. However, there was no impact of building design on negative affect or behaviorally relevant perceptions to report crime. The results of this study have potential implications for impacting public perceptions about policing and improving service delivery experiences.

Life Domains and Dating Violence Among Latino Youth: A Partial Test of Agnew’s Integrated General Theory

In 2005, Agnew presented a new theoretical framework for understanding crime and delinquency. To date, this theory has not been thoroughly tested among various populations and types of crime. To address this gap in the research, the present study analyzes data gathered from the Dating Violence Among Latino Adolescents Study, providing a partial test of Agnew’s integrated general theory to determine its applicability to dating violence perpetration among Latino youth. Results from 669 Latino respondents showed that the theory’s constructs are modestly associated with perpetrating dating violence among this study population. Concepts depicting self (anger) and peer (peer bullying) domains are associated with the dependent variable, while school (school performance) and family (family support) domains were found to be nonsignificant. Among control and demographic variables, age, sex, depression, anxiety, and past dating victimization were also significant, while enculturation was nonsignificant. Overall, results are indicative of partial support for the theory. Prevention and intervention strategies based on the study’s findings targeted at reducing dating violence perpetration, such as recognizing signs of anger and reducing peer bullying victimization, are discussed.

Racial/ethnic differences in general physical symptoms and medically unexplained physical symptoms: Investigating the role of education.

Distressing physical symptoms (e.g., back pain, nausea), many of which lack medical explanation, are a common cause for medical help seeking. However, racial/ethnic and educational differences may complicate identification and explanation of such symptoms, potentially contributing to clinician misdiagnosis and patient dissatisfaction. To better understand this issue, we examined racial/ethnic differences in general physical symptoms (GPS) and, more specifically, medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) and whether differences varied by race/ethnicity and educational attainment. A sample of 4,864 Latino, Asian, and non-Latino White community respondents (54% female; average age of 41 years) self-reported their GPS. Two experts then rated whether endorsed symptoms were likely to have a medical basis. We assessed the associations of GPS and MUPS with race/ethnicity, age, gender, educational attainment, chronic physical conditions, and past-year psychiatric diagnoses. Asian respondents reported significantly fewer GPS than non-Latino Whites, and both Asian and Latino respondents endorsed significantly fewer MUPS than non-Latino Whites. When nativity and language were each included as covariates, racial/ethnic differences in GPS count were no longer observed; however, observed differences in MUPS count remained. Educational attainment did not demonstrate a significant relationship with either GPS or MUPS. Although comorbid mental health diagnoses were significantly related to both GPS and MUPS, age, gender, and comorbid physical conditions were the only significant predictors of GPS. Results from this study question existing stereotypical views of racial/ethnic differences in somatization and suggest that educational attainment does not significantly contribute to reported physical symptoms-with or without medical explanation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The Ripple Effect: The Political Consequences of Proximal Contact with Immigration Enforcement

AbstractA growing body of research suggests that proximal exposure to immigration enforcement can have important social and health-related consequences. However, there is little research identifying the impact of proximal contact with immigration policy on political attitudes and behaviors, and still less investigating the underlying mechanisms that might connect contact and political dispositions. Drawing on insights from criminal justice, we argue that proximal immigration contact influences political behavior via a sense of injustice with respect to the discriminatory application of immigration enforcement. The impact of a sense of injustice should primarily hold among Latinos, who are targeted on the basis of race, ethnicity, accent, and skin color. Nevertheless, it may also hold among Blacks, whose communities are targeted more generally, and Asians, to whom issues related to immigration are likewise important. In order to assess this theory, we leverage a survey with nationally representative samples of four different racial groups. We find that proximal contact motivates participation in protests, and does so indirectly via a sense of injustice for white and Asian respondents. Latino and Black respondents are primarily motivated by injustice irrespective of contact. In sum, the results suggest that immigration enforcement and non-immigration-related criminal justice policies may have similar political effects on those who are proximately affected.

Racial and Ethnic Digital Divides in Posting COVID-19 Content on Social Media Among US Adults: Secondary Survey Analysis.

BackgroundPublic health surveillance experts are leveraging user-generated content on social media to track the spread and effects of COVID-19. However, racial and ethnic digital divides, which are disparities among people who have internet access and post on social media, can bias inferences. This bias is particularly problematic in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic because due to structural inequalities, members of racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately vulnerable to contracting the virus and to the deleterious economic and social effects from mitigation efforts. Further, important demographic intersections with race and ethnicity, such as gender and age, are rarely investigated in work characterizing social media users; however, they reflect additional axes of inequality shaping differential exposure to COVID-19 and its effects.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to characterize how the race and ethnicity of US adults are associated with their odds of posting COVID-19 content on social media and how gender and age modify these odds.MethodsWe performed a secondary analysis of a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center from March 19 to 24, 2020, using a national probability sample (N=10,510). Respondents were recruited from an online panel, where panelists without an internet-enabled device were given one to keep at no cost. The binary dependent variable was responses to an item asking whether respondents “used social media to share or post information about the coronavirus.” We used survey-weighted logistic regressions to estimate the odds of responding in the affirmative based on the race and ethnicity of respondents (white, black, Latino, other race/ethnicity), adjusted for covariates measuring sociodemographic background and COVID-19 experiences. We examined how gender (female, male) and age (18 to 30 years, 31 to 50 years, 51 to 64 years, and 65 years and older) intersected with race and ethnicity by estimating interactions.ResultsRespondents who identified as black (odds ratio [OR] 1.29, 95% CI 1.02-1.64; P=.03), Latino (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.36-2.04; P<.001), or other races/ethnicities (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.02-1.72; P=.03) had higher odds than respondents who identified as white of reporting that they posted COVID-19 content on social media. Women had higher odds of posting than men regardless of race and ethnicity (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.39-1.80; P<.001). Among men, respondents who identified as black, Latino, or members of other races/ethnicities were significantly more likely to post than respondents who identified as white. Older adults (65 years or older) had significantly lower odds (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.57-0.94; P=.01) of posting compared to younger adults (18-29 years), particularly among those identifying as other races/ethnicities. Latino respondents were the most likely to report posting across all age groups.ConclusionsIn the United States, members of racial and ethnic minority groups are most likely to contribute to COVID-19 content on social media, particularly among groups traditionally less likely to use social media (older adults and men). The next step is to ensure that data collection procedures capture this diversity by encompassing a breadth of search criteria and social media platforms.

Assessing the role of ethnic enclaves in the relationship between neighborhood conditions and participation in neighborhood-focused activism among Latinos in Chicago

ABSTRACT Latinos in the US often settle in ethnic enclave neighborhoods, which research and theory suggests have residents who are less engaged in neighborhood activism. However, we know little about the relationship between living in a Latino ethnic enclave compared to other types of neighborhoods and engaging in neighborhood-focused activism among Latinos. This study, therefore, investigates whether both neighborhood organizational resources and neighborhood needs influence participation in neighborhood-focused activism among Chicago Latinos, and especially, whether those relationships are strongest in Latino ethnic enclave neighborhoods. We conducted multilevel logistic regression predicting neighborhood activism among a subsample of Latino respondents from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study but found no significant neighborhood effects. However, we examined only residents of Mexican descent and found that both organizational resources and needs had the largest, positive effects on neighborhood activism in predominantly Mexican descent neighborhoods. This study contributes to our understanding of neighborhood context and Latino engagement.

Impact of the Terms "Regular" or "Pasable" as Spanish Translation for "Fair" of the Self-Rated Health Question Among US Latinos: A Randomized Experiment.

Objectives. To examine measurement comparability of a Spanish version of self-rated health (SRH) with pasable as an alternative to regular for the response category "fair" in the English version.Methods. We translated "fair" into 2 Spanish versions: regular and pasable. We implemented a split-half experiment in 3 surveys independently conducted from October 2015 to January 2016, from April to November 2016, and from August to November 2017. Within each survey, we randomly assigned Spanish-interviewed Latino respondents to 1 of the 2 SRH versions. The total sample included 3261 Latino and 738 non-Latino White adults in the United States.Results. Spanish-interviewed Latinos reported substantively more favorable health on SRH with pasable than with regular. When pasable instead of regular was used for SRH, we observed a larger difference between respondents reporting positive versus negative SRH on objective health measures, including the frequency of doctor's visits. Furthermore, when we accounted for correlates of health, Latino-White disparities were attenuated with pasable.Conclusions. We recommend using pasable instead of regular for SRH Spanish translations to improve measurement equivalence in cross-lingual and cross-cultural research.

Political Discussion Networks and Political Engagement among Voters of Color

Despite a large and growing literature documenting the powerful and positive role that political discussion networks exert on the political behavior among whites, we know little about how political discussion networks affect political behavior among voters of color. To fill this void in the existing literature, we conducted an original survey in California to gather information on a diverse group of registered voters’ political discussion networks and political engagement. The social positioning of ethnoracial groups in society, we contend, will affect how network characteristics explain their levels of political engagement. Our results support this contention. While we find that network characteristics, including network size, partisan homogeneity, and discussion frequency are positively associated with validated voter turnout and nonelectoral political participation, the effects are not uniform across black, Latino, Asian American, and white respondents. This is the first study that examines the relationship between political discussion network characteristics and political engagement among voters of color. Our analysis demonstrates that the opportunities for political integration and engagement offered by political discussion networks are not afforded equally across the U.S. electorate, which has important implications for broader patterns of engagement.

Disputes of Self-reported Chronic Disease Over Time: The Role of Race, Ethnicity, Nativity, and Language of Interview.

Respondents in longitudinal health interview surveys may inconsistently report their chronic diseases across interview waves. Racial/ethnic minority adults have an increased burden of chronic diseases and may dispute chronic disease reports more frequently. We evaluated the longitudinal association between race/ethnicity, nativity, and language of interview with disputing previously reported chronic diseases. We performed secondary data analysis of nationally representative longitudinal data (Health and Retirement Study, 1998-2010) of adults 51 years or older (n=23,593). We estimated multilevel mixed-effects logistic models of disputes of previously reported chronic disease (hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, arthritis). Approximately 22% of Health and Retirement Study respondents disputed prior chronic disease self-reports across the entire study period; 21% of non-Latino white, 20.5% of non-Latino black, and 28% of Latino respondents disputed. In subgroup comparisons of model-predicted odds using postestimation commands, Latinos interviewed in Spanish have 34% greater odds of disputing compared with non-Latino whites interviewed in English and 35% greater odds of dispute relative to non-Latino blacks interviewed in English. The odds of disputing a prior chronic disease report were substantially higher for Latinos who were interviewed in Spanish compared with non-Latino white or black counterparts interviewed in English, even after accounting for other sociodemographic factors, cognitive declines, and time-in-sample considerations. Our findings point toward leveraging of multiple sources of data to triangulate information on chronic disease status as well as investigating potential mechanisms underlying the higher probability of dispute among Spanish-speaking Latino respondents.

Cancer-related Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors within the Latino Faith Community in South Los Angeles.

The goal of this study was to establish relationships with Latino churches in South Los Angeles and to collect data from parishioners regarding their access to care, cancer risk factors, and cancer-related knowledge, attitudes and screening. In 2014, we approached five Latino churches. All allowed us to describe the study and to consent potential respondents at a designated time during the church service. 398 Latino respondents (75% female) completed the survey in English (15%) or Spanish (85%). Most respondents were born in Mexico (63%). Only 56% had health insurance and 51% had a regular doctor. Based on self-reported height and weight, 33% were overweight and 51% were obese. However, only 42% of obese respondents had been told by their doctor that they were obese. Although it is well-established that obesity is a major cancer risk factor, respondents lacked knowledge about the important role of nutrition and exercise in cancer prevention. Among women, adherence to national screening guidelines was 88% for cervical cancer, 72% for breast cancer and 58% for colorectal cancer. However, they were quite willing to undergo cancer screening if recommended by a physician and reported few barriers to colorectal cancer screening. Our data suggest a need to focus on both primary and secondary cancer prevention by promoting healthy lifestyles to curb the obesity epidemic and by promoting colorectal cancer screening. These data will inform future interventions to promote wellness in South Los Angeles in collaboration with the Latino faith community.

Perceived microaggressions in health care: A measurement study.

The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Microaggressions in Health Care Scale (MHCS), including factor structure, measurement invariance, and internal consistency reliability. We used a cross-sectional research design to study perceived racial microaggressions, discrimination, and mental health in 296 African American and Latino respondents. Participants completed measures that assess healthcare microaggressions and daily discrimination as well as the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results revealed that the MHCS has promising psychometric properties. The confirmatory factory analysis (CFA) revealed that the MHCS is a unidimensional scale. Multi-group CFAs provided evidence of measurement invariance across racial / ethnic groups and gender. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was .88 for the overall sample. Microaggressions correlated with daily discrimination scores (r = .67), as well as mental health symptoms (r’s = .40 –.52). The MHCS is a brief, valid, and reliable measure that can be used to assess and monitor racial and cultural forces that shape patient-provider interactions. This study concludes with a discussion of the ongoing need for research on microaggressions in healthcare as well as implications for future research.

Do Latinos still support immigrant rights activism? Examining Latino attitudes a decade after the 2006 protest wave

ABSTRACTThe historic and primarily Latino 2006 immigrant rights protest wave occurred in response to proposed federal anti-immigrant legislation (H.R. 4437). Research on the unprecedented series of demonstrations suggests that the draconian and racialized nature of the bill helps explain why it incited large-scale collective action. Utilising a new survey with a considerable oversample of Latino respondents, the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS), this paper investigates the role that collective identities, racialisation, and social networks play in Latino support for contemporary immigrant rights activism. To do so, we incorporate measures such as linked fate, perceptions of anti-immigrant sentiments, knowing undocumented people, and concerns about immigration enforcement policies. The results of our analysis indicate that some of the same factors that influenced Latino engagement in the 2006 mobilisations, such as identity and racialisation, concerns over enforcement, and social networks, continue to impact Latino support for contentious politics on behalf of the foreign-born. We also find evidence that political party and past protest activity, play a significant role in explaining levels of support for activism. Our results have important implications for understanding how anti-immigrant policies and racialized nativism influence Latino support for contentious politics.

Sanctuary City Attitudes as Racialized Politics: The Relevance of Ethno-Racial Stereotypes

Sanctuary cities, those who limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal authorities enforcing immigration laws, are drawing greater attention in political and media discourse. Researchers have yet to determine whether public opinion about sanctuary city status is tied to traditional racial attitudes such as ethno-racial stereotypes. We utilize the 2017 Los Angeles Public Opinion Survey (N=1,083) to examine whether sanctuary city attitudes can be considered racial attitudes. Ordinal logistic regression models reveal that among white, black, and some Latino respondents, opposition to Los Angeles as a sanctuary city is linked to perceptions of Latinos as discriminatory. Among Asians, support for Los Angeles as a sanctuary city is linked to perceptions of whites as discriminatory. The latter finding suggests ethno-racial stereotypes might serve as an indicator of the perceived context of reception that an immigrant may encounter. Future studies should examine these results in greater detail.

Race, Partisanship, and Attitudes Toward Public Policy Commonality and Legislative Districts

AbstractThis paper utilizes original survey data to examine whether individuals believe they share views on public policy with members of their own racial or ethnic group and whether they place an importance on living in legislative districts with people from their own racial or ethnic group. We find strong evidence that Latino and African-American respondents have a sense of shared policy preferences within their own group. Our results also indicate white Republicans are very likely to view themselves as having shared policy preferences within their group. Respondents who have a strong sense of shared policy preferences with their racial group are also the most likely to think it is important to live in legislative districts with others from their own racial or ethnic group. This paper affords a deeper understanding of the extent to which voters express commonality with their racial and ethnic minority group on matters related to public policy.

Improving Response Rates and Representation of Hard-to-Reach Groups in Family Experience Surveys

ObjectiveMost US hospitals conduct patient experience surveys by mail or telephone after discharge to assess patient/family centeredness of care. Pediatric response rates are usually very low, especially for black, Latino, and low-income respondents. We investigated whether day of discharge surveying using tablets improves response rates and respondent representativeness. MethodsThis was a quasi-experimental study of parents of patients discharged from 4 units of a children's hospital. Parents were assigned to receive the Child Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) via an audio-enabled tablet before discharge or via mail at approximately 1 week postdischarge. Intervention and control conditions alternated by week. We compared response rates, child/respondent characteristics, and mean top-box scores between tablet and mail only arms. ResultsAdministering Child HCAHPS on a tablet was administratively feasible and did not interfere with the discharge process (median completion time, 12.4 minutes). The response rate was 71.1% (424 of 596) for tablet versus 16.3% (96 of 588) for mail only. Although the tablet response rate was higher in every subgroup, tablet respondents were more likely to be fathers (20.4% vs 6.4%; P = .006), more likely to have a high school education or less (17.5% vs 8.4%; P = .002), less likely to be white (56.8% vs 71.9%; P = .006), and more likely to be publicly insured (31.4% vs 19.8%; P = .02). Tablet scores were significantly higher than mail only scores for 3 of 17 measures. ConclusionsThe response rate for day of discharge tablet survey administration was >4-fold higher than with single-wave mail-only administration, with greater participation of hard-to-reach groups. These findings suggest tablet administration before discharge shows great promise for real-time feedback and QI and may transform the field of inpatient survey administration.

Local Origins: Context, Group Identity, and Politics of Place

In-group identity is particularly important in understanding political behavior among minority populations living in the United States. Despite its importance, we know relativity little about what explains variation in perceptions of group identity among U.S.-based minority groups. I develop a theoretical framework drawing extensively for social identity theory to explain development of in-group identities among Latinos in the United States. I suggest the availability of neighborhood-level ethnic stimuli increases the likelihood that Latinos will come to see themselves a part of pan-ethnic group rather than a unique individual. I use the 2008 Collaborative Multi-Racial Political Survey (CMPS), a nationally representative public opinion poll of registered voters with oversamples of Latino respondents. I find that the availability of ethnic stimuli positively associates with stronger perceptions of group identity among Latinos. Latinos who live in contexts rich with ethnic stimuli and cues are more likely to adopt in-group identities than those who live in environments lacking ethnically salient resources.

Embryonic Politics: Attitudes about Abortion, Stem Cell Research, and IVF

AbstractEfforts by anti-abortion advocates to introduce “personhood” initiatives, which state that human life begins at fertilization, have prompted concern among infertility specialists that these initiatives would hinder access to in vitro fertilization (IVF). Yet, our understanding of public opinion about IVF is limited. It remains unclear whether attitudes about this technology are consistent with opinions about other issues related to human embryos, particularly abortion and embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. Using data from a nationally representative survey, I fill this gap by exploring the role that religion plays in shaping attitudes about a range of embryonic politics issues. I find that religiosity, income, and ideology strongly influence whether individuals view these issues in moral terms. Respondents who are most devout and Evangelical Protestants are most likely to consistently oppose all three embryonic politics issues. Yet, the relationship between religion and attitudes about the morality of each procedure is also influenced by the procedure's outcome, with religion most influential with respect to abortion attitudes and least influential in the case of IVF. Additionally, women are less likely than men to describe IVF as morally wrong, while, in comparison to non-Hispanic whites, Latino respondents are more likely to do so.Replication Data. Replication data is publicly available on the website of the Pew Research Center Religion and Public Life Project.