In response to community violence: coping strategies and involuntary stress responses among Latino adolescents.

Among poor, urban adolescents, high rates of community violence are a pressing public health concern. This study relies on a contextual framework of stress and coping to investigate how coping strategies and involuntary stress responses may both mediate and moderate the relation between exposure to community violence and psychological well-being. Our sample consists of 223 ninth grade Latino adolescents from poor, urban families. In response to community violence, these adolescents reported using an array of coping strategies as well as experiencing a number of involuntary stress responses; the most frequent coping responses were turning to religion and seeking social support. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that involuntary stress responses mediated the relations between both witnessing or being victimized by violence and poorer psychological functioning, while coping strategies moderated these relations. These findings suggest that the negative psychological effects of exposure to community violence may, in part, be explained by involuntary stress responses, while religious-based coping may serve as a protective factor.

Always aware (Siempre pendiente): Latina mothers' parenting in high-risk neighborhoods.

Poor mothers contend with numerous economic and environmental stressors that may severely tax their resources for parenting. This study relied on qualitative interviews with 49 low-income Latina mothers to examine how parenting practices are used when facing neighborhood poverty and the threat of community violence. Several themes emerged in the interviews regarding mothers' approaches to parenting. First, Latina mothers in our sample relied on three strategies previously identified in the literature: (a) strict monitoring, (b) physical and/or social withdrawal from the neighborhood, and (c) engagement in positive, enriching activities for children. In concert with these strategies, these mothers also emphasized the importance of (d) establishing strong parent-child communication as essential to effective parenting in challenging environments. Furthermore, two overarching, culturally salient parental goals were identified: (a) fostering principles of educación in their children and (b) maintaining astute parental awareness (estar pendiente) of children's physical as well as emotional states. Our findings illuminated culturally specific meanings that accompany parenting practices for low-income Latina mothers and underscored the importance of adapting culturally sensitive interventions for parents.