Latinx Families Research Articles

Examining the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of an advocacy program for Latinx families of transition-aged autistic youth.

To support Latinx families of autistic youth navigate school-based transition services and adult disability services, we provided a family advocacy program entitled, ASISTIR (Apoyando a nueStros hIjo/as con autiSmo obTener servIcios de tRansición; Supporting our Children with Autism to Obtain Transition Services). The ASISTIR program consisted of six, two-hour sessions and included the following topics: school-based transition planning, person-centered planning, Supplemental Security Income, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Home and Community-Based Medicaid Waiver. Twenty-nine Latinx family members completed the cohort-based ASISTIR program. After participating family members demonstrated increased knowledge of school-based transition planning and adult disability services. Participants also demonstrated increased empowerment and advocacy.

Parental warmth and parent-child conflict among U.S. Latinx families in middle childhood.

Grounded in family systems theory and using latent profile analysis, the present study examined (a) patterns of parent-child warmth and parent-child conflict within multiple dyads (mother-older child, mother-younger child, father-older child, father-younger child) among 305 U.S. Latinx families with fifth graders (Mage = 10.6; 46.6% female) and younger siblings (Mage = 8.20; 47.2% female) and (b) tested links of profile membership with child academic competence, negative peer relationships, and depressive symptoms. Two profiles were characterized by differential maternal and paternal warmth toward older versus younger siblings, with one of the profiles characterized by higher levels of conflict than the other, and a third profile included families where parent-child dyads were similar in their levels of moderately high warmth and low conflict. Profile membership was concurrently linked with children's academic competence, peer relationships, and depressive symptoms, with notable within-family differences for older versus younger siblings. Findings underscore the value of studying families as interrelated subsystems by capturing multiple dimensions of two children's relationships with mothers and fathers and provide insights for family-based prevention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for Parental Warmth and Parent–Child Conflict Among U.S. Latinx Families in Middle Childhood

Supplemental Material for Parental Warmth and Parent–Child Conflict Among U.S. Latinx Families in Middle Childhood

Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of Adapt 2 Asthma (A2A), a culturally relevant coping skills and asthma management intervention for Latinx Families

BackgroundLatinx children in the United States experience disparities in asthma control and asthma-related functional outcomes compared to non-Latinx White children, including more school absences, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations for asthma. Stress appears to play a role in asthma control, but interventions designed to address the role of stress in asthma control for Latinx children are limited.MethodThe current randomized controlled trial tests the effects of Adapt 2 Asthma (A2A), a family-based coping skills and asthma management intervention tailored to the stressors, strengths, and cultural beliefs of Latinx families, compared to an asthma self-management control arm (the Asthma Plan for Kids; APK). Latinx families of children ages 8 to 14 years old with asthma (target N = 280) are identified and enrolled from primary care clinics and randomly assigned to either A2A or APK. The intervention is delivered by lay health workers trained and receiving ongoing consultation from the study team. The primary outcome is child- and parent-reported asthma control, while secondary outcomes are child’s quality of life, lung function, school absences, and emergency department visits, and child and parent coping and family asthma management behaviors. Participants will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and at 6- and 12-month follow-up timepoints.DiscussionThis study has the potential to provide new evidence regarding the effects of culturally relevant coping and asthma management intervention strategies for Latinx children with asthma.Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT05118282. Registered on 11 November 2021.

Es Nuestra Oportunidad: Latinx Students Seeking Independence While Maintaining Familismo

ABSTRACT In many Latinx families, the core value of familismo is used in family-based decisions. Although not always culturally bonded, attributes of familismo are distinct across generations. For new Latinx youth, navigating the responsibility of community and familial relationships can be difficult when entering higher education. In the following study, researchers examined the role of familismo in relation to ethnic identity and belongingness among a sample of 98 Latinx university students through semi-structured interviews. The researchers discuss how the Latinx student populations handle the stress of higher education while maintaining cultural identity and traditional values of familismo.

Navigating and Resisting Educational Systems: The Experiences of Latinx Families in Rural Oregon.

This study explores the experiences of Latinx parents in rural Oregon from the perspectives of Latinx parents, Latinx students, and community practitioners to understand the barriers Latinx families encounter and how they leverage their community cultural wealth to address these barriers within the context of initiatives implemented by the district. This qualitative study is guided by the following questions: What barriers do Latinx families encounter in rural schools, and how do parents leverage their community cultural wealth to address these barriers? Findings indicate that even when families were engaged in initiatives (e.g., dual language immersion programs) implemented by the district to create a welcoming environment, Latinx parents continued to encounter multiple systemic barriers (e.g., immigration laws) and leveraged multiple forms of community cultural wealth (e.g., linguistic capital) to navigate these barriers. Our findings reveal the complex dynamics at play in rural school communities serving Latinx families.

Trajectories of Change in Parent–Child Interaction Therapy Outcomes in Latinx Families: Implications for Cultural Adaptation

ABSTRACT Objective Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a parenting program in which caregivers must achieve “skill criteria” in using Do Skills and avoiding Don’t Skills to complete treatment. Despite PCIT’s emphasis on these skills, little is known about how Latinx caregivers acquire these Western-based parenting practices and whether cultural mismatches lead to inequities in outcomes. This study compared the trajectories of change in PCIT skills and treatment outcomes of Latinx and non-Latinx White families. Method We analyzed weekly treatment data from 64 families (20.3% Spanish-speaking Latinx, 51.6% English-speaking Latinx, 28.1% non-Latinx White) served in community clinics. Caregivers were mostly females (95.3%), on average 35.13 years old, and lived in poverty (77.6%). PCIT skills were coded using the Dyadic Parent–Child Interaction Coding System, and child behavior problems were reported using the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory. Results Latinx and non-Latinx White caregivers acquired Do Skills similarly during treatment. In contrast, some Latinx caregivers began treatment using significantly more Don’t Skills and needed more sessions to achieve some aspects of PCIT skill criteria compared with non-Latinx White caregivers. Latinx families also experienced similar or even more pronounced reductions in child behavior problems than non-Latinx White families. There were no significant differences in the percentage of caregivers who achieved PCIT skill criteria or left treatment prematurely. Conclusions This study provides evidence that strictly defined PCIT skill criteria may lead to inequities in treatment length for some Latinx families. Informed by these findings, we propose data-driven adaptations to improve the cultural fit of PCIT for Latinx groups.

Changes in Latinx parenting behaviors during adolescence: Variation by neighborhood characteristics.

General parenting research indicates parenting shifts, such as declines in parental warmth, parent-child conflict, and parental monitoring and increases in parental autonomy support, as youth progress through adolescence. Culturally and contextually informed scholarship, however, acknowledges that stability and change in parenting behaviors among ethnically and racially minoritized families and across different neighborhood environments may follow distinct patterns. Neighborhood structural disadvantages might disrupt parenting, and parents might adapt parenting in response to neighborhood opportunities and challenges. This study explored stability and change in parenting processes (e.g., conflict, warmth, control, solicitation, autonomy support) from early to middle adolescence among Latinx families across neighborhoods that varied on key characteristics: concentrated poverty, ethnic concentration, and ethnic-racial diversity. Data derived from the "Caminos" study, which utilized an accelerated longitudinal design of 547 Latinx adolescents (MW1age = 13.31 years; 55.4% girls; 89.6% U.S. born). Two-level growth models were used to analyze 10 time points of data following adolescents from Spring of sixth to Fall of 11th grade. Parent-adolescent conflict and warmth declined linearly; parental solicitation showed a curvilinear increase that flattened over time; parental behavioral control and autonomy support remained stable. Some parenting trajectories varied systematically by neighborhood structural characteristics. This study underscored the significance of culturally and contextually informed frameworks for understanding changes in Latinx parenting during offspring adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Health Care Access Among Children in Latinx Families Across U.S. Destinations

Latinx children now live in a wider array of U.S. geographic areas than in the past, including both established and new areas of Latinx settlement. This geographic heterogeneity could be consequential for Latinx children’s health care access, with prior research suggesting increased health access barriers for Latinx children in new versus established areas of settlement. Merging public-use county-level data with restricted individual-level health data from the National Health Interview Survey (2010–2014), we quantitatively examine how three health access indicators—health insurance coverage, delayed care, and usual place of care—differ among children (ages 4–17) in Latinx immigrant, Latinx U.S.-born, White U.S.-born, and Black U.S.-born families (n = 89,994) across established, fast-growing hub, new, and minor Latinx destination counties. We also examine the potential roles of local immigrant hostilities and health care resources in contributing to health access differences across destinations. In fully adjusted models, children in new destinations are less likely to have health insurance than peers in established destinations, and this disparity is even wider for Latinx children of immigrants. Adjusted model results also show that children in new destinations are more likely to have delayed care than those in established destinations, and children in these four groups in new destinations, fast-growing hubs, and minor destinations are more likely to have no usual place of care than peers in established destinations. Our results are consistent with prior work suggesting that more health care access barriers exist for children, particularly Latinx children of immigrants, in new versus established Latinx destinations.

Latinx parent-child acculturative stress profiles and their relation to expressed emotion and academic achievement.

This study derived parent-child acculturative stress (AS) profiles to evaluate how dyadic AS relates to parental expressed emotion (EE) and academic achievement. A sample of 284 Latinx youth (Mage = 11.5 years; 55.6% female) and their parents completed The Acculturative Stress Measure, and AS profiles were obtained using latent profile analyses (LPA). Profiles were compared across two outcomes: child and parent reports of parental EE using the Brief Dyadic Scale of Expressed Emotion, which measures parental warmth, criticism, and emotional overinvolvement (EOI), and child standardized test scores. Four AS profiles emerged using LPA fit indices: high child-low parent (HCLP; 7.7%), low child-high parent (LCHP; 13.4%), moderate child-low parent (MCLP; 14.4%), and low child-low parent (LCLP; 64.4%). Youth and parents in profiles reporting higher AS reported higher EE, particularly EOI. Youth in profiles characterized by greater AS obtained lower test scores. Parent and child dyads can experience different levels of AS. Higher dyadic AS was associated with worse perceived parental attitudes, as measured by EE, and lower academic achievement. Parental EE subscale differences varied based on the informant and their AS level. Findings underscore the importance of considering cultural factors and incorporating multiple family member experiences to meet the needs of Latinx families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Más que palabras: Understanding the mental health and behavioral consequences of sociodemographic risk and deportation fears in Latinx families.

Exponential increases in deportation and negative public discourse have resulted in heightened fears of profiling and deportation among Latinx immigrant families in the United States. Deportation fears could compound the inequalities Latinx families face, worsening mental and behavioral health. To better understand the mental health consequences of the climate of deportation concerns among low-income Latinx mothers in the United States, we conducted a linguistic analysis of interviews of Latinx mothers' parenting experiences, examining their use of words related to deportation fears (e.g., separado). We examined the interaction of sociodemographic risk with maternal deportation fears in predicting maternal and youth mental health. Recent immigrant Latinx mothers (N = 160) and youth (Mage = 12.88, SDage = 1.73) completed the Parent Development Interview-Revised (Slade et al., 2004), analyzed using a deportation fears custom dictionary (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count; Pennebaker et al., 2003). Mothers completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 2001); youth completed the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991). Cumulative sociodemographic risk was assessed using a composite score of six risk variables. Regressions revealed significant Sociodemographic Risk × Deportation Fear interactions for maternal depression (p = .01) and youth depression (p < .01) but not for maternal anxiety, youth anxiety, or aggression. As sociodemographic risk increased, associations between deportation fears and psychopathology decreased. The adverse impact of maternal deportation fears on mental health is visible only when demographic stress is lower. Deportation fears may increase mental health risk, potentially reducing treatment seeking among families previously at lower risk. Findings underscore the importance of policy and sociocultural shifts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Liberal policies does not mean equitable policies: Latinx families' experiences navigating social policies in Oregon and California.

The United States government has implemented various social policies (e.g., Medicare) to support children and families (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023). An emerging body of research seems to indicate that many of these programs are being underutilized by Latinx families even though they are sorely needed. Latinx families are often framed as undeserving, taking advantage of social policies, and as a criminal threat to the United States (Baranauskas & Stowell, 2022). Drawing on cultural stress theory (Salas-Wright & Schwartz, 2019), the present study explores how the deficit framing of Latinx families influences how they navigate social policies. This study draws on data from four qualitative projects across Oregon and California that explored the experiences of Latinx families accessing services to support their families. Findings indicate that Latinx families experience multiple stressors when navigating social policies or programs (e.g., shame/fear and racism) for their families. These stressors discourage Latinx families from accessing social programs, which exacerbates disparities in the health, development, and learning of Latinx children and families. Findings from this study can further inform advocacy efforts to create meaningful systemic changes that reduce inequities and call out discrimination/racism within our policy system. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Latinx youth's and parents' covid-19 beliefs, vaccine hesitancy and vaccination rates: Longitudinal associations in a community sample.

The Latinx population has the second highest COVID-19 death rate among racial/ethnic groups in the United States and less than half of Latinx youth aged 5-17 years old completed their COVID-19 primary vaccination series as of September 2022. COVID-19 vaccine misinformation detrimentally impacts vaccination rates. In this study, we examined factors that predicted Latinx youth COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and vaccination status. A community-based sample of 290 Latinx parent and adolescent dyads from a Southwestern metropolitan area of the United States who were recruited to complete an online survey at baseline at T1 (August 2020 -March 2021) and one year later. We tested a longitudinal mediation model in which we examined individual and family factors that would predict youth COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and vaccination status over time. Youth's pandemic disbelief (i.e., the belief that the COVID-19 pandemic is a conspiracy or not real) predicted greater youth's COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, and in turn, a lower likelihood of youth's COVID-19 vaccination. Youth's pandemic disbelief also predicted greater parent's vaccination hesitancy which, in turn, predicted greater youth's vaccination hesitancy and a lower likelihood of COVID-19 vaccination. Parents' pandemic disbelief predicted their own COVID-19 hesitancy, but not youth hesitancy. Our study findings provide initial evidence that general pandemic disbelief was a significant driver of vaccine hesitancy and vaccination among Latinx families. The study contributes to the limited research investigating COVID-19 vaccination in the Latinx community and among Latinx youth, further aiding how COVID-19 vaccine disparities can be mitigated among racial/ethnic populations.

Exploring Sibling Relationship Quality among Latinx Siblings: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review addresses the gap in the literature regarding sibling relationship quality among Latinx families, a topic that has not been comprehensively examined to date. This study aimed to synthesize current research on sibling relationship quality in Latinx families, focusing on the influence of cultural factors, identifying key variables associated with sibling relationship quality, and evaluating the methodological approaches used. This paper is a systematic review based on a recently published evidence and gap map (EGM) that identified and visually presented all published studies investigating sibling relationship quality. Additional inclusion criteria were applied to select articles that specifically examined sibling relationship quality in the United States samples with at least 50% Latinx participants. The review included 12 articles representing 6 distinct studies, revealing significant findings on the roles of familism, simpatía, and gender in shaping sibling dynamics. Results indicated that cultural values such as familism and simpatía positively influence sibling intimacy and warmth, while gender dynamics further moderate these relationships. Methodologically, the articles employed longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, utilizing various quantitative measures. The findings underscore the importance of culturally sensitive approaches in studying sibling relationships and highlight the need for further research to explore these dynamics in diverse Latinx subgroups.

Facilitators and Barriers to Shared Decision-Making Communication Between Latina Mothers and Pediatric Mental Healthcare Providers

ABSTRACT This study assessed communication factors influencing shared decision-making (SDM) between language-congruent clinicians and Latina mothers of pediatric mental health patients. The sample comprised Latinx youth up to 22 years old who were enrolled in mental healthcare and attended mental health-related sessions with their parent. One hundred transcripts depicting mental health visits were coded using the Conversation Analysis framework. Coding included inductive coding that came from analyzing the structure, or orderliness, of the visits and content discussed that affects SDM. Thematic qualitative analysis revealed that facilitators to SDM included collaborative engagement, parents being active in tailoring session content, and integrating the preferences, roles, and next steps for treatment among all participants. Barriers included unskilled interpersonal interactions undermining rapport, off-topic conversations becoming the session’s focus, poor time management, and irregularly integrating parent/patient preferences into the clinician’s decisions regarding the child’s treatment. Additionally, visit content, structure, tone, and interpersonal engagement were factors that variably facilitated or served as barriers to patient participation in SDM and were integral to collaborative, family-centered care. These findings delineated characteristics of pediatric mental health conversations and identified areas to strengthen communication between parents, patients, and clinicians to shift toward more effective SDM and improve patient outcomes among Latinx families.

Caregiver experienced racism, acculturative stress, and political hostility predict anxiety in Latinx families residing in the United States.

Cultural stress potently predicts mental health inequities, such as anxiety, among adult and adolescent immigrants in the United States. However, less work has focused on preadolescence, a period marked by neurodevelopmental and psychosocial changes that can exacerbate anxiety symptoms. Latina girls, who exhibit heightened levels of untreated anxiety, may be at elevated risk. The present study tests whether cultural stress predicts anxiety symptoms in Latina girls and their caregivers. The primary caregivers of 161 predominantly Mexican-identifying Latina girls (Mage = 10.70, SD = 1.68) reported their exposure to racism, acculturative stress, and political hostility. They also reported their own and their daughter's anxiety severity. To index cultural stress, a principal component was extracted from composite scores of the racism, acculturative stress, and political hostility questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses then tested whether the multidetermined cultural stress component predicted caregiver and child anxiety, with child age, annual household income, and subjective socioeconomic status entered at the first step. Cultural stress positively predicted caregiver (ΔR² = .13, p < .001) and child (ΔR² = .15, p < .001) anxiety symptoms over and above the observed inverse effects of subjective socioeconomic status, such that higher levels of cultural stress were associated with elevated levels of caregiver (ß = .37, p < .001) and child (ß = .39, p < .001) anxiety symptoms. The results of this study highlight the role of racism, acculturative stress, and political hostility in escalating anxiety symptoms in Latinx families and identify cultural stress as a factor that likely contributes to the high rates of anxiety in Latina girls during a key developmental period. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Indigenous Latinx students and translanguaging: The possibilities and challenges of using K’iche’ in a kindergarten Spanish-English handwriting classroom

ABSTRACT Many Indigenous Latinx students in Spanish/English dual language programs in the US speak languages that are often not valued or taken advantage of in the process of learning Spanish and English. This participatory critical (collective) autoethnography explores the possibilities of handwriting lessons as a vehicle for the incorporation of K’iche’ (a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala) into the classroom. Findings reveal ways in which the activities helped to elevate the status of K’iche’ in the school and make students/families feel more valued, but also ways to improve the activities so that Indigenous Latinx families have a more central role.

Sociopolitically and Trauma-Informed Public Health Practice With Latinx Families: Conceptual Framework and Best Practices.

Public health practitioners working with Latinx families in the United States must consider the historical contexts of colonization and slavery that have created conditions of violence, displacement, and social and economic marginalization throughout Latin America. Although shared experiences of colonization, dispossession, and migration affect all Latinxs, diverse national histories and sociopolitical contexts, migration patterns, and intersecting identities (e.g., gender, social class, race) complicate efforts to develop a uniform approach to this heterogeneous population. We provide a critical analysis of (1) how past experiences contribute to collective trauma and motivate migration, and (2) how these experiences are replicated in the United States through immigration-related adversities that deprive and threaten children and families through marginalization, fear of detention and deportation, and family separation brought on by a parent's deportation. This knowledge is imperative to advance research, practice, and policymaking with US Latinx populations. We provide best practice recommendations for a sociopolitically and trauma- informed public health workforce interfacing with Latinxs in the United States. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S6):S485-S494. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307589) [Formula: see text].

Reimagining Latinx Family Engagement in Schools Through Technological Equity, Culture and Linguistic Assets

ABSTRACT Research related to the engagement of parents in education continues to perpetuate critical misconceptions in the education of English Learners (ELs), as ideological mind-sets and mislabeling of Latinx families intentionally diminish their roles, importance, participation, and histories. The effects of COVID-19 pandemic on mitigating online instruction, exposed the magnitude of the technological inequities for Latinx families already marginalized by systemic discrimination and social injustices. Schools not only need to commit to training all educators on how to engage all families but to also consider providing technology training to parents of ELs. This five-year study aimed to improve the education of ELs by increasing the engagement of parents through technology. The research presented how the parents’ confidence levels on the use of technology remained moderate to low, even after participating in teacher-parent workshops targeted at increasing their skills. However, the study also demonstrated steady gains in confidence over time in using technology at home with their children. Findings indicate that parents need access to ample internet connectivity, basic knowledge of online communication, access to platforms used by schools, and ways they can monitor and support their children through technology. Trusting teacher–parent relationships served as a unifying element in cultivating community-school relations.

Short report: Integrated evaluations for autism spectrum disorder in pediatric primary care clinics.

Primary care providers often screen for autism during well child visits in the first few years of life and refer children for diagnostic evaluations when needed. However, most children do not receive a diagnosis until years later which delays access to services. Racism, socioeconomic status, and other systemic inequalities that limit access to health care further delay diagnostic evaluations. Mental health clinicians who work in primary care clinics can help address barriers to accessing diagnostic evaluation services once they are recommended by their primary care provider. However, mental health clinicians who work in primary care typically do not have training in diagnosing autism. The goal of this study was to evaluate a program training mental health professionals working in an urban primary care setting, primarily serving Black and Latinx families insured by Medicaid, to provide autism diagnostic evaluations. Two hundred and fifty children completed evaluations through the Autism in Primary Care (APC) program. The wait time to access an evaluation through APC was significantly shorter than through standard avenues of care (e.g. referring to a separate autism clinic). Referring primary care providers and caregivers endorsed high levels of satisfaction with the program. Conducting autism evaluations in primary care settings offers a promising opportunity to improve earlier diagnosis and treatment access for families, reduce inequities in care, and increase caregiver and child well-being.