Survival Analysis and Socio-Cognitive Factors in the Timing of COVID-19 Vaccination Among Mexican-Origin Youth.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected ethnic minority populations and exacerbated preexisting health disparities. The current study aims to promote vaccine uptake among Mexican-origin youth from immigrant families by examining their time to COVID-19 vaccine uptake and assessing the influence of demographic, cognitive, and social factors on the incidence of COVID-19 vaccination. METHODS: The study conducted Survival Analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model based on a sample of 202 Mexican-origin youth (61.39% female; Mage = 20.41) with data collected from August 2021 to January 2023 in central Texas. RESULTS: The results show a critical time period for vaccine uptake (i.e., in the first six months after the vaccines were publicly available), evidenced by a surge decrease in COVID-19 unvaccination probability. In addition, more positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine (Hazard ratio/HR = 1.89, 95% Confidence Interval/CI = [1.64, 2.18]), greater motivation (HR = 2.29, 95% CI = [1.85, 2.85]), higher education levels (HR = 1.52, 95% CI = [1.24, 1.86]), and fewer general barriers to COVID-19 vaccine knowledge (HR = 0.75, 95% CI = [0.60, 0.94]) were associated with greater incidences of receiving COVID-19 vaccines at any given time point during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Mexican-origin youth occurred primarily within the initial months of vaccines being publicly distributed. To encourage vaccination among Mexican-origin youth, sustained COVID-19 vaccine promotion efforts are needed by targeting their motivation and positive attitudes and reducing barriers to vaccine information, particularly for youth with lower education levels.

Factors Associated with Depressive Symptoms among Mexican-Origin Adults in a Community Sample at the US Mexico Border Region.

Using baseline data from three partnering federally qualified health centers, we examined factors associated with depressive symptoms among Mexican-origin adults at risk of chronic disease living in three counties in Southern Arizona (i.e., Pima, Yuma, and Santa Cruz). Multivariable linear regression models identified correlates of depressive symptoms for this population controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Among 206 participants, 85.9% were female and 49% were between 45 and 64 years of age. The proportion of depressive symptoms was 26.8%. Low levels of physical pain and high levels of hope and social support were also reported. Physical pain was positively and significantly related to depressive symptoms (ß = 0.22; 95% CI = 0.13, 0.30). Conversely, hope was negatively and significantly associated with depressive symptoms (ß = -0.53; 95% CI = -0.78, -0.29). A better understanding of factors related to depressive symptoms among Mexican-origin adults is necessary to fulfill their mental health needs, as well as to achieve health equity and to eliminate health disparities in the US-Mexico border region.

The racialized landscape of COVID-19:Reverberations for minority adolescents and families in the U.S.

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions to American society, yet the ramifications have exhibited a pronounced impact for racial/ethnic minority adolescents and their families. Alongside upheavals to social and learning environments, minoritized youth have navigated disproportionate health and socioeconomic challenges within their families in addition to amplified racial tensions. As a result, the pandemic has disparately impacted racial/ethnic minorities. In this review, we synthesize studies of the pandemic to describe the hardships faced by racial/ethnic minority families and adolescents, their reverberation on dimensions of well-being, and the assets which buttress their welfare in the midst of COVID-19. It is imperative that future pandemic response efforts aid the most vulnerable, particularly communities of color, to ensure equitable welfare and post-pandemic recovery.

COVID-19 Anti-Chinese Discrimination, Current Pandemic Stress, And Adolescents' Mental Health.

The current study investigated adolescents' experiences of COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination (i.e., vicariously witnessed, directly experienced), the consequences for mental health, and the moderating role of general pandemic stress. During Summer 2020, 106 adolescents (43% Latino/a/x, 19% Asian American, 13% Black/African American, 26% biracial/multiracial/other; 58% female) participated in a 14-day daily diary study. Path analyses revealed that more experiences of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination were associated with greater anxious mood, depressed mood, and mental health stress, while direct COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination was unrelated to mental health outcomes. The interaction between vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination and general COVID-19 stress was significant for depressed mood; simple slope analyses showed that for adolescents reporting high levels of COVID-19 stress, more frequent experiences of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination were associated with greater severity in depressed mood, but this link was nonsignificant for those reporting low levels of general pandemic stress. Findings from the current study underscore the pernicious effects of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination on the mental health of minoritized youth beyond solely Asian Americans. Additionally, the results evince the need for future pandemic-response efforts to craft public health messaging that avoids the racialization of disease and subsequent stigmatization of ethnic-minority communities.

Latinx adolescents' academic self-efficacy: Explaining longitudinal links between ethnic-racial identity and educational adjustment.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study had three aims: (a) to examine whether ethnic-racial identity (ERI; i.e., public regard, private regard, and centrality) was associated with academic self-efficacy and changes in educational adjustment (i.e., educational values and academic performance) among Latinx adolescents over 3 years, (b) to investigate whether academic self-efficacy would operate as a promotive mechanism in links between domains of ERI and changes in educational adjustment, and (c) to explore within-group variability by gender on the relations between domains of ERI, academic self-efficacy, and educational adjustment. METHOD: Data came from 329 Latinx families (i.e., middle school students and their parents) living in the Southwest U.S. Parents' data were used from the first wave and adolescents' (M = 13.69, SD = .56; 53% girls) data were used from three study waves. A series of structural equation models were estimated. RESULTS: All three domains of ERI related to higher levels of academic self-efficacy. Further, public regard was associated with increased levels of educational values, whereas private regard and centrality did not associate with either indicator of educational adjustment. Results provided support for academic self-efficacy serving as a mediator of associations between private regard and centrality and educational adjustment. The results were consistent across gender. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that fostering ERI is promotive of Latinx adolescents' academic self-efficacy. Further, through academic self-efficacy, private regard and centrality support educational adjustment. ERI and academic self-efficacy may be potential targets for programming aimed to address educational disparities among Latinx adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).