Latinx/Hispanic youths' experiences of cultural stressors, emotional reactions, and coping within the family context.

OBJECTIVES: This qualitative investigation examined how Latinx/Hispanic youth experience cultural stressors, emotionally react to, and cope with these stressors within the family context. METHOD: Forty-five youth participated in six focus groups (51% female; 49% male; 0% nonbinary; Mage = 15.26; SD = 0.79). RESULTS: Using reflexive thematic analysis, we constructed two themes with four accompanying subthemes centering on (a) observing family members experience cultural stressors and (b) experiencing cultural stressors together with family members. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the need for cultural stress theory to focus on the family context in Latinx/Hispanic youths' experiences of cultural stressors, their emotional reactions and coping responses to these stressors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Talking through the tough: Identifying facilitating factors to preparation for bias and racial-ethnic discrimination conversations among families from minoritized ethnic-racial groups.

Parent-child conversations about race-related issues serve a protective function for minoritized families and are needed to help children of color thrive in the United States (Hughes et al., Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 51, 2016 and 1). Despite the difficulties that parents experience in having such conversations to prepare youth to cope with discrimination (Priest et al., International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 43, 2014 and 139), parents are actively engaging in these courageous conversations with the aim of protecting their youth. In order to fully understand and support parents having these conversations, our study sought to identify conversation facilitators (i.e., strategies currently being implemented and viewed as successful and/or viewed as potentially helpful) to engage in preparation for bias and racial-ethnic discrimination conversations from the perspective of parents and youth. The current qualitative study draws upon focus group data collected from parents and youth from African American, Chinese American, Mexican American, and Indian American (South Asian) families (N = 138 individuals; 30 focus groups). Reflections were transcribed and coded by a racially and ethnically diverse research team using an inductive thematic analysis approach (Braun & Clarke, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 2006 and 77). Shared and unique facilitators to engaging in preparation for bias and racial-ethnic discrimination conversations were identified across the four racial-ethnic groups. Shared facilitators broadly centered on parent-youth relationship quality, conversation characteristics, and quality, and conversation content and relevance. Unique facilitators broadly centered on communication style and needs and conversation content. Shared and unique facilitators warrant more attention to best support minoritized families. The use of findings in developing interventions to support marginalized parents, youth, and families is addressed.

Invisible targets: Conceptualizing U.S. Latine youth's exposure to family-level vicarious racism.

Vicarious exposure to discrimination can result in multiple negative outcomes in youth. In this article, we offer a conceptual model that articulates the intersecting contextual factors and potential moderators for U.S. Latine youth's exposure to family-level vicarious racism, and explore how that affects youth and family responses. We define and describe youth's exposure to family-level vicarious racism, considering the ramifications of these experiences through family processes and cultural values. We conclude by arguing that research on discrimination and racism in Latine families needs to account for family-level processes.

Risk taking profiles among college students: An examination of health-risk taking, anti-racism action, and college functioning.

Objective: This study expands the literature on risk taking among college students by exploring anti-racism action as a form of positive risk taking. Participants: 346 Black (64%) and Latinx (36%) college students (85% female) ages 18-27 years (M = 18.75, SD = 1.31). Methods: Participants responded to questionnaires on anti-racism action, health-risk taking, and college functioning. Latent class analysis identified behavioral profiles of risk takers. Indicators of profile membership and associations with college functioning were examined. Results: Three profiles emerged: moderate overall risk taking, high health-risk taking, and high anti-racism action. Personal experience with discrimination was associated with a greater likelihood of health-risk taking. Students in the high anti-racism profile evinced greater educational functioning than those in the high-health risk taking profile. Conclusions: Risky behavior on college campuses is not homogeneous. Specific interventions and support networks are necessary to support students falling within specific risk profiles.

Nativity Status and Poly Tobacco Use among Young Adults in the United States.

Introduction: Young adults are the second largest segment of the immigrant population in the United States (US). Given recent trends in later age of initiation of tobacco use, we examined variation in use of tobacco products by nativity status for this population group. Methods: Our study included young adults 18-30 years of age sampled in the National Health Interview Survey (2015-2019), a nationally representative sample of the US population. We calculated prevalence of use of any and two or more tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco) for foreign-born (n = 3096) and US-born (n = 6811) young adults. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, sex, race-ethnicity, education, and poverty, while accounting for the complex survey design. Results: Foreign-born young adults were significantly less likely to use any tobacco product (Cigarette = 7.3% vs. 10.7%; Cigar = 1.8% vs. 4.8%; E-cigarette = 2.3% vs. 4.5%, respectively; p < 0.01) or poly tobacco use (1.9% vs. 4.2%; p < 0.01) than US-born young adults. Adjusted regression models showed lower odds of poly tobacco use among the foreign-born than their US-born counterparts (Odds Ratio = 0.41, (95% Confidence Interval: 0.26-0.63)). Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of targeted interventions by nativity status and further tobacco prevention efforts needed for the US-born.

Examining the promotive versus the protective impact of culturally informed shift-&-persist coping in the context of discrimination, anxiety, and health behaviors.

This study aims to better understand how racially/ethnically minoritized youth exhibit adaptive psychological functioning (less anxiety) and health behaviors (better sleep and less binge drinking) in the context of discrimination, ethnic-racial identity and coping. Among 364 minoritized emerging adults (Mage = 18.79, 85.2% female), we utilized higher-order factor analysis to examine how culturally informed shift-&-persist (S&P), a higher-order construct explaining associations between coping factors (shift, persist, spiritually based coping, civic engagement), and ethnic-racial identity were related to anxiety, binge drinking, and sleep in the context of discrimination. Culturally informed S&P promoted better sleep and less anxiety controlling for discrimination. No significant effects were observed for binge drinking and no moderated effects were observed across outcomes. The harmful effect of discrimination on sleep was intensified for those with stronger ethnic-racial identities. The promotive and potentially protective effects of culturally informed S&P coping differs across mental health and health behavior outcomes.

Coping (together) with hate: Strategies used by Mexican-origin families in response to racial-ethnic discrimination.

Coping in the context of racial-ethnic discrimination is often framed as an individualistic process, where the focus is on how the individual deals with the racialized stressor to mitigate its negative effects. However, individuals exist within social contexts including the family and coping processes may operate interdependently as well. Further, racialized stressors have the potential to disrupt the entire family system, regardless of whether the experience in that moment is shared among all its members. Despite these realities, few studies have considered how Latinx youth and their parents may cope together in the face of racial-ethnic discrimination. To address this gap, we analyzed focus group data from Mexican-origin adolescents (n = 17; Mage = 12.8; 71% girls) and their parents (n = 17; Mage = 42.8; 82% mothers) to explore the coping strategies used in response to racial-ethnic discrimination. An inductive thematic analysis identified a broad range of coping strategies representing both individualistic and interdependent approaches to deal with racial-ethnic discrimination. Strategies included (a) reframing (with pride) and ignoring an encounter, (b) standing up for oneself, (c) talking issues out, (d) problem-solving together, and (e) protection tactics. These findings provide evidence for the ways in which Mexican-origin families help adolescents cope with racial-ethnic discrimination and offer a glimpse as to how adolescents may help their families cope as well. Future research is needed to further explore the interdependent nature of coping as Latinx family members protect and support one another in the face of pervasive racialized stressors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Critical civic engagement in Black college students: Interplay between discrimination, centrality, and preparation for bias.

Critical civic engagement (CCE) refers to interpersonal, community, and political actions to combat and cope with racial inequity. While discrimination and identity are well-known drivers of civic engagement, it is less well-known how parental preparation for bias socialization, which teaches Black youth how to cope with unequal social systems, works in concert with discrimination and identity to predict CCE. Furthermore, there are several ways individuals may be civically engaged, and these factors may be differentially associated with the various types of CCE. This study uses a sample of 186 Black college students (Mage = 18.72, age range = 18-29; 86% female) to examine how discrimination, ethnic-racial centrality, and preparation for bias socialization interact to differentially predict interpersonal, communal, and political CCE. Discrimination was associated with political CCE, whereas both discrimination and racial centrality were associated with greater communal CCE. A three-way interaction between discrimination, centrality, and preparation for bias socialization predicted greater interpersonal CCE. Findings highlight the importance of attending to sociocultural factors when supporting Black college student activists in public minority-serving institutions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Culturally informed shift-&-persist: A higher-order factor model and prospective associations with discrimination and depressive symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: Based on the conceptual overlap between shift-&-persist (S&P) and culturally based strategies (critical civic engagement [CCE] and spiritually based coping), this study tests whether associations between these three previously disparate strategies are attributable to the existence of a higher-order coping construct: culturally informed S&P. METHODS: Among 364 diverse minoritized youth (Mage = 18.79, 85.2% female), we tested for the existence of this higher-order factor through confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: We found theoretical and empirical support for the existence of a higher-order factor structure and for our higher-order factor-culturally informed S&P. Culturally informed S&P promotes fewer depressive symptoms as a main effect in addition to completely protecting against the negative impact of discrimination on depressive symptoms when culturally informed S&P is high. CONCLUSIONS: The current study illustrates relations between three previously distinct coping strategies through their association with culturally informed S&P. Results highlight culturally informed S&P's promotive and protective effects in the face of ethnic-racial discrimination. Implications for subsequent study of culturally based coping are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Youth involvement in food preparation practices at home: A multi-method exploration of Latinx youth experiences and perspectives.

Youth are frequently involved in preparing meals for themselves and family members. Latinx youth may be more likely to be involved in food preparation compared to youth from other ethnic backgrounds. Involvement in food preparation has been linked to various positive health outcomes, such as better diet quality and higher self-esteem. However, little is known about how youth come to be involved in food preparation at home. In addition, previous research has failed to explore the perspectives of youth regarding their role in food preparation. The objective of the present study was to qualitatively explore the food preparation practices of youth from im/migrant Latinx families. A multi-method study consisting of participatory focus groups embedded within an ethnographic fieldwork period was conducted. Participatory focus groups with Latinx youth featured inclusive discussions and participatory techniques, such as draw-write-tell activities, photo-elicitation activities, a decision-making chart activity, and listing activities. Twenty-three youths ages 9-17 years participated in this study. A thematic analysis uncovered themes related to gender norm expectations, specific cooking skills bound by age and food type, and food preparation as an important household contribution. Findings illustrate the diverse experiences of Latinx youth in food preparation. The investigation of youth involvement in food preparation in the home environment may identify potential targets for obesity prevention and dietary health promotion.

Coping and Culture: The Protective Effects of Shift-&-Persist and Ethnic-Racial Identity on Depressive Symptoms in Latinx Youth.

Shift-&-persist is a coping strategy that has been shown to lead to positive health outcomes in low-SES youth but has not yet been examined with respect to psychological health. This study tests whether the shift-&-persist coping strategy works in tandem with ethnic-racial identity to protect against depressive symptoms in the face of two uncontrollable stressors: economic hardship and peer discrimination. In a sample of 175 Latinx youth (51.4% female; Mage = 12.9), shift-&-persist buffered the positive relation between economic hardship and depressive symptoms. In terms of peer discrimination, among youth who reported little use of shift and persist, discrimination was related to higher depressive symptoms, whereas youth who reported higher amounts of shift and persist (at and above the mean) were protected and did not evidence this association. However, among youth with high ethnic-racial identity, shift-&-persist failed to protect against the deleterious association between peer discrimination and depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that shift-&-persist is protective for Latinx youth, although the context in which it is protective changes based on the racialized/non-racialized nature of the stressor.

Visualizing Perceived Enablers of and Barriers to Healthy Eating by Youth in Rural El Salvador.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the perceived environmental enablers for and barriers to healthy eating among rural Salvadoran youth. METHODS: A photovoice activity was implemented at a grade school located in a rural region of northeastern El Salvador. RESULTS: Nine female and 8 male youth aged 8-12 years participated. A total of 116 photos were generated for thematic analysis. Photos and descriptions from youth revealed an overall theme of ambiguity in healthy eating across multiple environments. This theme of ambiguity was interwoven throughout 2 subthemes: (1) links between food and health, and (2) the juxtaposition of globalized foodscapes and natural resources. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Photos and descriptions from youth illustrated the murky distinctions between healthful and less healthful foods embedded within daily encounters across multiple environments. To further an understanding of factors that promote or hinder healthy eating in youth, future research might incorporate methods that capture the ways in which youth conceptualize healthy eating, as well as their contributions to healthy eating.