Mexican Descent Research Articles

Reducing cultural mismatch: Latino students' neuroendocrine and affective stress responses following cultural diversity and inclusion reminder

Cultural mismatch theory suggests that a poor fit between the cultural values endorsed by individuals and the institutions to which they belong results in emotional distress and activation of physiological stress processes, particularly for underrepresented groups. To test a novel paradigm for reducing perceptions of this cultural mismatch, the current experiment evaluated whether reminding first-year Latino university students (N = 84; Mage = 18.56; SD = 0.35; 63.1% female; 85.7% Mexican descent; 65.5% first-generation college students) about institutional support for cultural diversity and inclusion would reduce neuroendocrine and affective responses to psychosocial stress. Prior to completing a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test, participants were randomly assigned to view either a video conveying university commitment to cultural diversity and inclusion (n = 45) or a control video (n = 39) depicting a campus tour. Five saliva samples assayed for cortisol and corresponding negative affect measures were collected to assess stress reactivity and recovery patterns (pre-task baseline, post-task +30 min, +45 min, +60 min, +75 min). Repeated measures data were analyzed using bilinear spline growth models. Viewing the culture video (compared to control) significantly reduced cortisol reactivity to the TSST and post-task negative affect levels, specifically for students endorsing higher Latino cultural values (e.g., familism, respect). Post-task cortisol levels were also reduced for students endorsing higher U.S. mainstream cultural values (e.g., self-reliance, competition). Results provide novel evidence for cultural diversity in stress responsivity and individual variation in approaches to reduce perceived cultural mismatch.

Early-onset Paget's disease of bone in a Mexican family caused by a novel tandem duplication (77dup27) in TNFRSF11A that encodes RANK.

Four heterozygous in-frame tandem duplications of different lengths in TNFRSF11A, the gene that encodes receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK), constitutively activate RANK and lead to high turnover skeletal disease. Each duplication elongates the signal peptide of RANK. The 18-base pair (bp) duplication at position 84 (84dup18) causes familial expansile osteolysis (FEO), the 15-bp duplication at position 84 (84dup15) causes expansile skeletal hyperphosphatasia (ESH), the 12-bp duplication at position 90 (90dup12) causes panostotic expansile bone disease (PEBD), and the 27-bp duplication causes early-onset Paget's disease of bone (PDB2). The severity of the associated skeletal disease seems inversely related to the duplication's length. Additional 15- and 18-bp duplications of TNFRSF11A fit this pattern. Herein, we delineate the skeletal disease of a middle-aged man of Mexican descent who we found to harbor a novel 27-bp tandem duplication at position 77 (77dup27) of TNFRSF11A. His disorder shares features, particularly hand involvement, with the single Japanese (75dup27) and Chinese (78dup27) kindreds with PDB2 (PDB2Jpn and PDB2Chn, respectively). However, his distinct hearing loss developed later in adulthood compared to the other 27-bp families. He reported no morbidities during childhood, but in his late 20s developed unexplained tooth loss, low-trauma fractures, post-operative hypercalcemia, and painless enlargement of his fingers. Biochemical studies showed elevated serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone-specific ALP, C-telopeptide, and osteocalcin consistent with rapid bone remodeling. Radiologic imaging revealed remarkably lucent bones with vertebral compression fractures, calvarial lucencies, and thinned long bone cortices. DXA showed extremely low bone mineral density. His disorder genetically and phenotypically fits best with PDB2 and can be called PDB2Mex.

Wild Rose: The Life and Times of Victor Marion Rose, Poet and Early Historian of Texas by Louise S. O’Connor

Reviewed by: Wild Rose: The Life and Times of Victor Marion Rose, Poet and Early Historian of Texas by Louise S. O’Connor Jillian Spivey Caddell Wild Rose: The Life and Times of Victor Marion Rose, Poet and Early Historian of Texas. By Louise S. O’Connor. Clayton Wheat Williams Texas Life Series. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2018. Pp. xx, 176. $30.00, ISBN 978-1-62349-675-3.) In his eventful life, Victor Marion Rose penned books of poetry and Texas history and edited newspapers, and this biography by Louise S. O’Connor seeks to establish Rose’s place in the pantheon of southern writers. O’Connor’s project is deeply personal and richly researched. Rose’s descendant, she often cites her own archive of his works alongside interviews with fellow family members. She paints a nuanced portrait of a man whose flowery pen got him into and out of scrapes but who, O’Connor insists, “was one of the few people that could write about the times from an insider’s perspective” (p. 14). Wild Rose: The Life and Times of Victor Marion Rose, Poet and Early Historian of Texas positions Rose as an important witness to key events in Texas history, from the Civil War and the end of slavery to the shift from farming to ranching. Rose was born into an influential slave-owning Texas family in 1842. Given the backdrop of what O’Connor calls the “honor system of the south,” which she associates with “courage, strength, and violence (when necessary),” Rose was an anomaly more interested in poetry than in outdoor pursuits (pp. 29, 7). Yet in one of the many paradoxes of his life, he left college to fight for the Confederate army. Later, as he forged a career in letters and newspaper editing, he also was an alcoholic and womanizer. O’Connor at times struggles to balance her desire to venerate Rose as an underappreciated writer with the plain and sometimes unsavory facts of his biography. Wild Rose is most valuable as a work of Texas history. Rose’s life encapsulates many of the singular circumstances of nineteenth-century Texas. Descended from English immigrants, Rose encountered people of Mexican, German, Native American, and African American descent throughout his career. He lived through many of the state’s most tumultuous times and chronicled them as a historian and poet. The book is also an instructive lesson in nineteenth-century print cultures. As Rose flitted between literary genres and media after the Civil War, readers see the product of a century in which [End Page 494] new technologies and advancements in education made books and newspapers proliferate, even in locations far from the traditional U.S. centers of publication. O’Connor’s biography is less successful when it attempts to gloss broad social movements, such as the Old South and its racism. When Rose writes an African American character speaking in dialect, O’Connor explains that he does it “not only for humor but as a protection for his own, at times, unpopular ideas” (p. 75). Elsewhere O’Connor describes a piece in which Rose uses “‘watermelon eating and google-eyed’ descriptions of blacks,” before assuring her readers that “[h]e went on to rise above this take later” (p. 97). Rose’s abusive treatment of women is similarly acknowledged but shrugged away, as O’Connor writes that Rose “was seemingly attracted to women apparently not imbued with the ethics” he praised in his writing (p. 9). The author seems to want to have it both ways: Rose is depicted as both entrenched in his times and transgressive of them. One wishes that, instead of insisting on Rose’s exceptionalism, O’Connor had acknowledged how paradoxical yet typical many of Rose’s opinions were. Jillian Spivey Caddell University of Kent Copyright © 2020 The Southern Historical Association

Agent of Change: Adela Sloss-Vento by Cynthia E. Orozco

Reviewed by: Agent of Change: Adela Sloss-Vento by Cynthia E. Orozco Teresa Palomo Acosta Agent of Change: Adela Sloss-Vento. By Cynthia E. Orozco. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2020. Pp. 310. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) By 1970, Adela Sloss-Vento had authored more publications on civil rights than any other Mexican American woman. Guided by her Christian faith and her commitment to justice, she had developed over numerous decades into an unmatched advocate for immigrants, farm laborers, and women, firmly placing her at the center of the Mexican American struggle for civil rights. Her political activism is the soul of Cynthia E. Orozco's superb two-part book. Part one follows Sloss-Vento's decades-long journey as a civil rights leader, public intellectual, and feminist. Beginning at the age of twenty-six, she vigorously helped shape the Mexican American civil rights agenda in stages from 1927 to 1950, from 1950 to 1963, and from 1963 to 1978, remaining an influential voice until 1990. Part two expertly analyzes Sloss-Vento as "a beneficiary of modern gendered selfhood" (171) and provides insights into her role as a public intellectual. Sloss-Vento's commitment to la causa made her a collaborator with Alonso S. Perales, the primary founder of the League of United Latin [End Page 233] American Citizens (LULAC); an archivist of important Mexican American civil rights documents; and a uniquely gifted composer of the "art of lettered protest" (131). Orozco illustrates through extensive chapter sub-sections the overarching theme of her book, that Sloss-Vento was a consummate proponent of Mexican Americans' rights. For instance, she provided support for Comité Pro Defensa Escolar Del Rio, which was crucial to Salvatierra v. Del Rio Independent School District, the first class-action case brought by LULAC against segregated education in Texas. In her writings, Sloss-Vento denounced fascism and endorsed pan-Americanism and the Good Neighbor Policy with Mexico. Her prolific letters and opinion pieces in newspapers and her letters to public officials are noted throughout, illustrating the agenda she undertook. For instance, in a letter to the Valley Morning Star (Harlingen), she proclaimed that a Mrs. L. J. Ring "reveals a lack of Christianity and the lack of democratic principles" (33), while in an essay in El Heraldo of Corpus Christi, she attacked "hatred against people of Mexican descent" (61). In an essay in LULAC News, she abhorred the oppression of women within the Mexican American family, and she wrote to Governor Coke Stevenson about using the press and the law to support racial harmony "in the homes and in the schools" (60). Adela Sloss-Vento also promoted the Chicano movement. In 1967, for example, she supported the walkout by Elsa-Edcouch public school students who demanded classes in "Chicano and Mexican history" (84), and she endorsed La Raza Unida Party as a continuation of the political rights efforts she had entered decades before. In Agent of Change, Cynthia E. Orozco has marshalled in-depth materials that convincingly spell out how Adela Sloss-Vento took on the powerful and proved herself to be a committed, smart, and tough servant of her people. Through her actions and her innumerable writings, Sloss-Vento proclaimed the urgent necessity "to build a better America" (178). This essential and timely book reinforces her significance to that cause and to Mexican American history. Teresa Palomo Acosta Austin, Texas Copyright © 2020 The Texas State Historical Association

Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas by Stephen Harrigan

Reviewed by: Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas by Stephen Harrigan Randolph “Mike” Campbell Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas. By Stephen Harrigan. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2019. Pp. 925. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) In 2015, the University of Texas Press announced an ambitious publishing project entitled the Texas Bookshelf, which would begin with a new overview of the Lone Star State’s history and continue with thirteen other volumes covering key subjects such as politics, business, music, and sports. Big Wonderful Thing, a title taken from artist Georgia O’Keeffe’s first reaction to seeing Texas, launches the series in the highly readable fashion that those familiar with Stephen Harrigan’s work as a journalist, essayist, and novelist would expect. The book is huge, but it deals with a huge subject—the story of Texas from its prehistory until the first decades of the twenty-first century. Harrigan intends to be inclusive of the great variety of people who built Texas and to tell their stories in ways that would interest and entertain readers today. Accordingly, he begins most of the book’s fifty-six chapters with a vignette describing an individual or a small group who played [End Page 82] notable roles in an important episode or development in Texas’s past. For example, from the Spanish colonial era, famous figures such as Cabeza de Vaca and LaSalle are featured, but so are persons such as María de Jesús de Agreda, “The Lady in Blue,” who likely are not so familiar to most readers. Perhaps the best chapter title of all is reserved for the one dealing with James E. Ferguson, the only Texas governor forced from office by impeachment. It is simply titled “Pa.” Harrigan tells stories of many famous adventures of Texas’s past, such as the revolt against Mexico, the nearly ten years as an independent republic, the cattle drives and great ranches of the late nineteenth century, and the oil booms of the early twentieth century. However, he does not shy away from the ugly aspects of Texas’s past. For example, the chapter on Reconstruction begins with the story of the murder of Lucy Grimes, a freedwoman, by two former Confederate soldiers in Harrison County, a murder that went unpunished in spite of the efforts of the local Freedman’s Bureau agent to bring the killers to trial. He also recounts the brutal treatment handed out by Texas Rangers on the border to sediciosos, people of Mexican descent who were accused of conspiracy and violence against the United States during the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910. Virtually all of the biographical vignettes are informative and good reading. For example, sketches of Heman Sweatt and Emma Tenayuca offer fine introductions to minority leaders often unknown in Anglo Texas. Some, such as the one on Lyndon B. Johnson, use the extensive research of others to paint indelible pictures of their subjects. And finally, the notorious, such as Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the much-romanticized killers during the early 1930s, and Charles Whitman, the infamous shooter from the UT Campus Tower in 1966, have their places. Taken together, the biographical sketches create a great impression of Texas as a spectacular place populated over the years by people who in general never knew how to be dull. What Harrigan does not do (and, in fairness, never intended to do) is offer any general interpretation that provides Texans with what historians like to call a “usable past.” Such a history seeks to inform a people about where they have been with the intent of helping them understand where they are now as a guide to what they might try to do next. Big Wonderful Thing is a popular history that does exactly what the author intended: provide highly readable and entertaining coverage of the sweep of Texas history. By contrast, an academic history of the Lone Star State would offer an interpretive account that might ask, for example, if Texas’s heritage is essentially southern, western, or something of an amalgam of the two with a strong Hispanic influence, best called southwestern. Answers to this question differ, and all are hedged...

The Catholic Church in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston and Desegregation, 1945–1984

The Catholic Church in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston and Desegregation, 1945–1984 Mark Newman (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Opened in 1929, Our Mother of Mercy in Frenchtown was Houston’s first Creole of color church. Source: Wikimedia Commons, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OurMotherofMercyChurchHouston.JPG> [Accessed March 26, 2020]. [End Page 16] Born in Houston in 1943, Madeline E. Johnson, a member of St. Nicholas, an African American Catholic church founded in Houston’s Third Ward in 1887, recalled that in her youth she and a cousin once attended Mass at Our Mother of Mercy, a Creole of color church in the Fifth Ward. To her shock and surprise, an usher pushed her and her cousin aside at the altar rail until the last Creole had received communion. Many Creoles of color, who had a mix of French and African (and sometimes Spanish and Native American) ancestry and often spoke French or a French- and African- influenced Creole language, did not consider themselves black as segregation laws categorized them, but to be a distinct group, based on their racial and cultural characteristics. Creoles of color, Johnson remembered, “thought they were better than us. We had segregation within segregation.”1 [End Page 17] In an ironic twist, Creoles of color, whose migration from southwestern Louisiana in the 1920s had created the Frenchtown neighborhood in the Fifth Ward, had helped raise funds to build Our Mother Mercy of Church in 1929 to avoid segregation. They wanted their own church because ethnic Mexicans had segregated them in the rear pews of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, a parish in the Second Ward for people of Mexican descent, and made them take Communion last. According to historian Roberto R. Treviño, the Diocese of Galveston (the Diocese of Galveston-Houston from 1959), established Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, its first “Mexican” church, in 1912 and subsequent missions and parishes for ethnic Mexicans in response to increasing migration from Mexico that began in the 1910s and migration from rural Texas by Tejanos (Texans of Mexican descent), “so as not to offend Anglos accustomed to separation of the races.” Although Jim Crow legislation in Texas segregated whites and “Negroes,” and regarded blacks and Creoles of color as Negro, as historian Tyina L. Steptoe has argued in a study of Houston between the two world wars, Jim Crow did not mark “a single color line but several color lines that were constantly in flux.”2 Jim Crow laws regarded ethnic Mexicans as white, but they nevertheless faced segregation and discrimination to varying degrees, sometimes based on the hue of their skin, which varied considerably because most Mexicans had a mixture of white and Indian ancestry and some had African or Afro-Mexican forebears. “Local racial hierarchies,” Steptoe observes, “emerged that could both conform to the color line and ignore legal categories.” Although segregation laws did not apply to Catholic churches and schools because they were private institutions, in practice the Diocese of Galveston’s institutions accommodated and contributed to racial segregation and discrimination in forms that extended beyond a black-white binary and included ethnic Mexicans and Creoles of color. The diocese complied with the segregationist preferences of most of its Anglo laity, but it also accommodated the segregationist inclinations of ethnic Mexicans and Creoles of color towards those they considered black and allowed them to segregate others on their own initiative. Segregation in the Diocese of Galveston was thus shaped in some ways by ethnic Mexicans and Creoles of color, who were themselves subject to segregation inside and outside the church, as well as by the dominant Anglo group.3 [End Page 18] This study of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston and desegregation addresses a significant gap in the literature on Catholics and desegregation by examining a diocese that by the mid-1960s had a greater black Catholic population (61,961) than even the Archdiocese of New Orleans (55,000) in neighboring Louisiana, the South’s most Catholic state. It also contributes to the civil rights history of Southeast Texas. Studies of the African American civil rights movement, desegregation, and African Americans in post-World War...

Sociocultural stressors across the perinatal period and risk for postpartum depressive symptoms in women of Mexican descent.

In the United States, women of Mexican descent are affected by postpartum depression at disproportionate rates, often two to three times higher than the general population. Sociocultural stressors may contribute to this disparity. Traditionally, these stressors are measured at a single time point, and it is unknown if sociocultural stressors change from pregnancy to the postnatal period and if they are related to postpartum depressive symptoms. Pregnant women of Mexican descent (N = 159) were assessed for acculturation (Mexican and Anglo orientation), perceived discrimination, acculturative stress, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms during the first trimester and postpartum period. Women reported increases in Mexican orientation, t(126) = -3.503, p = .01, and decreases in acculturative stress, t(159) = -3.503, p < .001, and perceived stress, t(159) = 6.332, p < .001, from pregnancy to postpartum. Only increases in Mexican orientation were associated with less postpartum depressive symptoms (R² = 0.050, B = -2.210, SE = 0.996, t = -2.120, p = .028), even when controlling for covariates. In addition, postnatal measurements of elevated acculturative stress and less Mexican orientation (R² = 0.127, B = 0.133, SE = 0.036, t = 3.721, p < .001; B = -2.194, SE = 0.769, t = -2.853, p < .001, respectively) were associated with more postpartum depressive symptoms; however, only Mexican orientation remained significant after covariates. Sociocultural stressors change across the perinatal period and contribute to postpartum depressive symptoms. Findings implicate a need for consideration of sociocultural stressors in postpartum depression prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Political vs. linguistic borders

Abstract This paper analyses and studies the melodic behavior of five female informants of Mexican origin or descent, three of them residents in the city of Los Angeles in the United States, and two in Mexico, one in Mexico City and the other in Puebla. There are two main objectives: firstly, to contribute to the prosodic description of Mexican Spanish on both sides of the political border between both countries (declarative statements and neutral absolute interrogatives), and secondly, to verify the continuity between the Mexican-American intonation of LA and that of MX Mexican. We followed the methodology developed by the research groups that make up Amper-Mexico and Amper-California Los Angeles, within the framework of the international AMPER project.

Assessing the Role of Ethnic Enclaves and Neighborhood Conditions in Volunteering Among Latinos in Chicago

Neighborhoods may be important for formal volunteering because they vary in the extent to which they have institutions that support participation and problems that motivate participation. According to social heterogeneity and ethnic community theories, we should expect that living in ethnic enclaves, neighborhoods where residents are predominantly of the same ethnic group, would promote formal volunteering. Latino ethnic enclaves may also have more institutions and problems. However, no studies have examined neighborhood effects on formal volunteering among U.S.- and foreign-born Latinos. We investigated neighborhood-level predictors of formal volunteering among Latinos, and Mexican descent residents more specifically, using secondary data from Chicago, a Latino immigrant destination. We tested the effects of ethnic enclaves, neighborhood organizational resources, and neighborhood needs on formal volunteering. We found that Latinos in Chicago were less likely to participate in formal volunteering in ethnic enclaves when controlling for enclaves’ greater neighborhood needs, which positively influenced formal volunteering.

Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema in Hispanic Women: A Phenomenological Study.

Introduction: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL), a long-term side effect of treatment, can occur at any point in time. With the extensive physical and psychological effects of BCRL, few studies have focused on the lived experience. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of Hispanic women dealing with BCRL, particularly women of Mexican descent or origin. Method: Using interpretive phenomenology, 13 Hispanic women with BCRL, 42 to 80 years, were individually interviewed. Data analysis was conducted using interpretive reading of field notes, journal entries, and transcribed interviews. Results: Three central themes emerged from the findings, "sense of loss," "resignation to the new self," and "not knowing." Further subthemes highlight the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of living with BCRL. Discussion: Cultural awareness of the impact BCRL has on activities of daily living of Hispanic women should be part of a holistic plan of nursing care when caring for this population.

Navigating Politics as a Medical Student of Mexican Descent.

Navigating Politics as a Medical Student of Mexican Descent.

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.

Collateral Subjects: The Normalization of Surveillance for Mexican Americans on the Border

The U.S.-Mexico border has been of particular interest to the Trump administration in its ongoing efforts to restrict immigration. Though unauthorized immigrants are the purported targets of measures to increase border enforcement, U.S.-born individuals of Mexican descent also bear the consequences of nativist policies. Based on 42 in-depth interviews, I focus on late-generation (third-plus) Mexican Americans to analyze individuals’ experiences with surveillance by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Nogales and Tucson, Arizona. In this study, I explore the effects of anti-immigrant policies on Mexican Americans by examining how surveillance operates in people’s everyday lives as well as how people respond to the presence of surveillance. I find that the pervasiveness of surveillance elicits a mixture of fear and desensitization from residents, as they simultaneously grow accustomed to surveillance while navigating an ever-changing political terrain. Finally, I explore responses to the authority of immigration officers, which vary from strategies of compliance to strategies of resistance. These varied approaches are complicated by the liminal status of Mexican Americans in the United States as both a racialized group and a community that benefits from some of the privileges of holding U.S. citizenship.

Spanish and English bilinguals: Between L1 and L2?

The present study explores the vowel and intonation systems of heritage Spanish speakers in California based on a corpus of semi-directed interviews, to establish whether one language influences the other, or whether their English and for Spanish are closer to the monolingual speakers’ system of either language. There is some limited evidence that the vowel systems of Spanish in Spanish heritage speakers of Mexican descent in California is indeed very similar to the system of monolingual Mexican Spanish speakers (in pitch, duration, F1 and F2 values)—their English vowel system, however, and especially the front vowels, is not completely comparable to the published values for monolingual American English speakers’ vowels (Miglio, 2011). Intonation in bilingual Spanish has been shown to be influenced by English pitch movement, as well as signalling information structure (Gries and Miglio, 2015). This study widens the scope of the previous ones using data from natural speech as opposed to carrier sentences read out loud, and uses unpublished data from the same regional varieties of both English and Spanish, as spoken in California (monolingual English, bilingual English-Spanish), and in Mexico (monolingual Spanish) by individuals in the same age group and of comparable socio-cultural background.The present study explores the vowel and intonation systems of heritage Spanish speakers in California based on a corpus of semi-directed interviews, to establish whether one language influences the other, or whether their English and for Spanish are closer to the monolingual speakers’ system of either language. There is some limited evidence that the vowel systems of Spanish in Spanish heritage speakers of Mexican descent in California is indeed very similar to the system of monolingual Mexican Spanish speakers (in pitch, duration, F1 and F2 values)—their English vowel system, however, and especially the front vowels, is not completely comparable to the published values for monolingual American English speakers’ vowels (Miglio, 2011). Intonation in bilingual Spanish has been shown to be influenced by English pitch movement, as well as signalling information structure (Gries and Miglio, 2015). This study widens the scope of the previous ones using data from natural speech as opposed to carrier sentences r...

Mexican descent college student risky sexual behaviors and alcohol use: The role of general and cultural based coping with discrimination

Objective This study investigates cultural and general coping strategies as potential protective or risk factors to risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) and alcohol use in the face of discrimination for Mexican descent college students. Participants: Data collection was conducted from September 2016 to May 2017 and included 796 Mexican descent emerging adults. Methods: Linear regressions were conducted to test main and interaction effects of discrimination, and general and cultural coping strategies on RSBs and alcohol use issues. Results: Higher discrimination experiences were not associated with RSBs or alcohol use issues. Only ethnicity-based coping was found to be a significant moderator to the relationships between discrimination and the outcome variables of RSBs and alcohol use issues. Conclusions: This study has implications for the way mental health clinicians explore the intersection of ethnic identity and coping as a means of understanding the relationship among discrimination, RSBs, and alcohol use issues.

Soroxchi after Traveling to South America: Cognitive and Neurobehavioral Changes in a Patient with Bilateral Globus Pallidus Lesions

Abstract Objective Soroxchi/Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is a condition that can result in cerebral and pulmonary hypoxia. Neuropsychological research on AMS is minimal and the long-term effects on cognition and behavior are unclear. AMS is associated with cognitive impairments in processing speed, attention, and executive functions as well as neurobehavioral symptoms. This case study delineates the neuropsychological and neurobehavioral changes secondary to bilateral globus pallidus (GP) lesions associated with AMS. Case Description Patient is a 51-year old, primarily Spanish-speaking, male of Mexican descent with 9 years of education, and who had traveled to La Paz, Bolivia (4,070 MASL) for work. Upon arrival, fatigue and dizziness led to hospitalization to treat acute pulmonary edema and hypoxia. Brain MRI revealed hyperintense bilateral GP lesions. Medical history was notable for hyperlipidemia. Psychiatric history was unremarkable. Neuropsychological assessment 4 months post-AMS revealed impairments in visuo-conceptual and speeded complex visuospatial abilities, executive functions, and confrontation naming. Cognitive improvements were noted in delayed recall of non-contextual verbal information and confrontation naming ten months post-AMS. Significant mood and personality changes were reported; patient endorsed anhedonia, fatigue, alexithymia, avolition, and sleep difficulties. Family described patient as depressed, apathetic, and socially withdrawn. Pharmacological and psychotherapy treatments were recommended and initiated. Diagnostic Impressions and Outcomes Findings were consistent with a diagnosis of Mild Neurocognitive Disorder. His family denied neurobehavioral improvements post interventions. Discussion This case study is the first to characterize the long-term neuropsychological and neurobehavioral changes following bilateral GP lesions secondary to AMS. Declines in visual-conceptual abilities reveal a new finding for this type of cerebral incident.

Latina/o Family Caregivers' Reactions to Limited Help From Relatives: From Frustration to Resilience.

Using a qualitative approach, the current study aimed to understand how Latina/o primary caregivers react to and cope with a lack of (or limited) help from their relatives when an elder is in need of care. In-person semistructured interviews were conducted with 32 caregivers of Mexican descent; most were female and 84% cared for an older parent or parent-in-law. Inductive thematic analyses resulted in a multifaceted process model that reveals (a) reactions to a lack of help often include anger, frustration, hurt, or resentment; (b) negative reactions can be exacerbated or mitigated by caregivers' explanations for the lack of help and by the quality of caregiver-relative interactions; and (c) coping with and acceptance of the lack of help can evolve over time, aided by caregiver cognitive reframing, realization that negative feelings are ineffectual and/or lead to conflict, and/or other self-protective strategies. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Later-Life Trajectories of Cognitive Functioning among Married and Widowed Older Men and Women of Mexican Origin.

Research on marital status-gender differences in later-life trajectories of cognitive functioning is scarce. Drawing on seven waves of data from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly, this research uses growth curve models to examine later-life dynamics of cognitive functioning among married and widowed older men and women of Mexican descent (aged 65+; N = 3329). The findings demonstrate that the widowed, regardless of gender, had lower initial levels of cognition but a less steep cognitive decline across waves, compared to married men. Age and socioeconomic resources accounted for these marital status differences in levels and rates of change in cognitive functioning completely among widowed men and partially among widowed women. Moreover, net of all the factors, married women had a slower cognitive decline than married men. This study also shows that health and social integration might shape cognitive functioning among older adults of Mexican descent.

Effects of Culturally Tailored Nutrition Education on Dietary Quality of Hispanic Mothers: A Randomized Control Trial

ObjectiveTo assess whether participation in a culturally tailored nutrition education program increases diet quality of Hispanic mothers. DesignA randomized controlled trial. SettingCommunity centers and universities. ParticipantsSixty-five mothers (35 in experimental group, 30 in control group) completed pre- and postworkshop surveys. Eligibility criteria included being of Mexican or Puerto Rican descent and having a child between the ages of 6 and 18 years who could participate in the workshops with the parent. InterventionFamilies in the experimental group participated in a 6-week workshop series that included weekly nutrition education classes. Main Outcome MeasureDiet quality was assessed by the Rate Your Plate questionnaire. AnalysisRepeated measures ANOVA was used to compare differences between the experimental and control groups. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was conducted to test for significant shifts in categorization pre- and postprogram. ResultsThere was a significant change in diet quality categorization after participating in the workshops (P < .001, effect size 0.39). No changes were found in the control group. Conclusions and ImplicationsAbriendo Caminos was effective at increasing the diet quality of Hispanic mothers who participated the most in the program. More research is needed in this at-risk population to determine the relationships among nutrition knowledge, diet quality, and achievement of healthy weight.

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to Healthy Eating in Middle-Aged Hispanic Men (P04-125-19)

ObjectivesDietary behaviors contribute to an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease in Hispanic men. Few studies have assessed Hispanic men’s perspectives on healthy eating. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify perceived barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in middle-aged, Hispanic men of Mexican descent. MethodsSix focus groups (FGs) with Hispanic men were primarily conducted in Spanish (n = 5 FGs), audio-recorded, transcribed, then translated verbatim to English. A grounded theory approach was used to identify common themes. ResultsParticipants (n = 34; mean age: 54.4 ± 7.0 years) primarily self-identified as Mexican (71%) or Mexican-American (10%). In preliminary findings, the main barriers to healthy eating were competing responsibilities (n = 6 FGs), lack of nutrition knowledge (n = 6 FGs), cultural factors (n = 5 FGs), habits (n = 5 FGs), and available food choices (n = 5 FGs). A demanding work schedule was considered a barrier because it contributes to “eating on the run” and the selection of fast or convenient foods. Cultural factors perceived as barriers to healthy eating included the need to have food at social gatherings and the “Mexican diet.” Food at gatherings was perceived as leading to an increased availability of unhealthy food items and the consumption of large portions. “Mexican foods”, including tortillas, tacos, pozole, meat and cooking fats were considered unhealthy but central to the diet. Family (n = 5 FGs), health reasons (n = 6 FGs), portion control (n = 5 FGs), and nutrition education (n = 5 FGs), were reported as facilitators to healthy eating. Men reported the importance of longevity to support their family as an essential motivator to engage in healthy eating. Participants (n = 3 FGs) also indicated their spouse/partner enabled healthy eating by providing healthy food choices and encouragement or support. Health reasons (e.g., a diagnosis of diabetes or cardiovascular disease, improving health) were an important catalyst to improving eating habits. ConclusionsFindings suggest that MA men have an active interest in behavior change affecting healthy eating habits. Our research provides invaluable insight to construct tailored strategies to improve dietary behavior in this vulnerable population. Funding SourcesNational Institute of Aging.