Immigration stress and maternal sensitivity in a Mexican immigrant sample: The role of parasympathetic activity and familism value.

OBJECTIVES: The present study examined whether immigration stress was related to decreased capacities for psychophysiological stress regulation (as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and whether lower RSA, in turn, was related to decreased maternal sensitivity. The buffering effect of familism values was also evaluated, such that familism values were expected to minimize associations between immigration stress, RSA, and sensitivity. METHOD: Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of Mexican immigrant mothers (N = 277; Mage = 28 years). Mothers self-reported immigration stress and familism values, and mothers' resting RSA and sensitivity were assessed during laboratory visits. RESULTS: Higher immigration stress was associated with higher RSA (B = .15, SE = .07, p = .04) but was unrelated to maternal sensitivity. Moreover, links between more immigration stress and higher RSA were more pronounced among mothers who reported stronger familism values (B = .20, SE = .07, p = .003). CONCLUSIONS: The present study contributes to our understanding of the sequelae of immigration stress in Mexican immigrant mothers and the cultural resiliency factors that may alter its effects. In contrast to hypotheses, findings suggested that mothers who endorse more immigration stress may also exhibit higher RSA, and links may be more pronounced among those with strong familism values. Further research is needed to advance understanding of resiliency processes that promote family functioning in vulnerable populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Are Discrepancies Between Father and Adolescent Perceptions of Harsh Parenting and Conflict Associated with Adolescent Mental Health Symptoms?

Though differences in informant perceptions of family processes are associated with poorer health, few studies have examined discrepancies between father- and adolescent-report of family phenomena and their impact on adolescent mental health. This study examined how father and adolescent-reported parenting and the differences in their perceptions is related to adolescent mental health. Participants were 326 father-adolescent dyads (Fathers: Mage = 41.2; Adolescents: 7th grade students, Mage = 12.0, 48.5% female). Overall, analyses revealed significant main effects of father and/or adolescent report of father-adolescent conflict and harsh parenting on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Analyses revealed two instances in which discrepancies between father- and adolescent-report of family phenomena was related to adolescent mental health. Given the mixed nature of the findings based on the outcome reporter, the current study discusses implications for discrepancy research and future directions to better understand discrepant perceptions as useful information on their own. The parent clinical trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03125291, Registration date: 4/13/2017).

Intergenerational Consequences of Maternal Childhood Maltreatment on Infant Health Concerns.

INTRODUCTION: Childhood maltreatment is a well-established risk factor for health problems in adulthood and may also have intergenerational consequences for infant health. Childhood maltreatment may confer risk for infant health by undermining caregiver capacities for sensitive and responsive caregiving. However, associations among childhood maltreatment, maternal sensitivity, and infant health are not well understood. These processes may be of particular importance among low-income and ethnic minority populations for whom disparities in maltreatment exposure and poorer health outcomes are well-established. METHOD: The current study drew data from a sample of low-income, Mexican American families to examine whether maternal childhood maltreatment would be associated with more infant health concerns, and whether lower maternal sensitivity would explain their associations. Data were collected from 322 mother-infant dyads during home visits completed during pregnancy and when infants were 12, 18, and 24 weeks old. RESULTS: Maternal childhood maltreatment exposure and lower maternal sensitivity were both associated with more infant health concerns. Maternal childhood maltreatment was not associated with maternal sensitivity. DISCUSSION: These findings highlight potential intergenerational consequences of maternal childhood maltreatment for infant health and underscore a need for evaluating pre- and postnatal mechanisms through which these effects may be perpetuated. Furthermore, results indicate that maternal sensitivity may represent a promising target for interventions seeking to counteract intergenerational transmission processes. Clarification about underlying risk processes and potentiating resiliency characteristics may elucidate ways to better support mothers and infants across the lifespan.

Childhood maltreatment is associated with a variety of health outcomes across an individual's lifespan and may have intergenerational consequences as well. The present study is among the first to investigate maternal co-regulatory behaviors (i.e., sensitivity) as a potential mechanism through which maternal exposure to childhood maltreatment may influence infant health concerns. Results suggest that both maternal childhood maltreatment history and sensitivity may shape infant outcomes before 24 weeks of age. Increasing understanding of the mechanisms through which maternal childhood maltreatment may exert cascades of influence on infant health may help to inform the development of early intervention services.

Novel measures of family orientation and childhood self-regulation: A genetically informed twin study.

There is a dearth of research examining the relation between culture and childhood self-regulation in family psychology. Family orientation refers to the emphasis on providing support, respect, and obligation to the family system, and it is important for children's functioning, yet existing literature on related constructs often relies on parent-reported measures. Additionally, twin research has neglected the role of culture in the genetic and environmental contributions to children's self-regulation. Using observational and self-reported data from children, parents, and teachers, this study (a) proposed novel coding schemes and factor analytic approaches to capture family orientation, (b) examined associations between family orientation and self-regulation, and (c) tested whether family orientation moderated the heritability of self-regulation in middle childhood. Twin children (N = 710; Mage = 8.38 years, SD = 0.66; 49.1% female; 28.3% Hispanic/Latino/x, 58.5% White) were drawn from the Arizona Twin Project, which recruited children from birth records at 12 months of age. Family orientation values were indexed by parent-reported familism, and family orientation behaviors comprised coded measures of children's family orientation and experimenter ratings of caregiver and child behavior. Self-regulation was assessed using multiple task-based assessments of executive function and parent- and teacher-reported effortful control. Net of covariates, higher family orientation behaviors positively predicted nearly all measures of children's self-regulation, and associations were consistent across sex, family socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. There was no evidence that family orientation values nor behaviors moderated the heritability of children's self-regulation. This study highlights the complex nature of cultural variation within the family and its importance for children's self-regulatory abilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Dampened autonomic nervous system responses to stress and substance use in adolescence.

We investigated whether parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) responses to social-evaluative threat at age 14 were related to the number of substances used between ages 14 and 16 among Mexican-origin adolescents (N = 243; 70.4% had never used substances by 14). Participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test, while cardiac measures of parasympathetic and SNS activity were measured continuously using respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and pre-ejection period (PEP), respectively. Participants reported whether they had ever used alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes, and had ever vaped nicotine in their lifetime at ages 14 and 16. Multilevel models were used to test associations between RSA and PEP responses at age 14 and substance use at 16. Among youth who had not used substances by 14, dampened RSA and PEP responses, and profiles of greater coinhibition and lower reciprocal SNS activation between RSA and PEP, at age 14 were associated with using substances by 16. Among youth who used by 14, exaggerated PEP responses were associated with using more substances by age 16. Taken together, dampened autonomic responses to social-evaluative threat predicted initiation of substance use over two years, and difficulties with coordination of physiological responses may confer risk for substance use in adolescence.

Dampened psychobiological responses to stress and substance use in adolescence.

Substance use increases throughout adolescence, and earlier substance use may increase risk for poorer health. However, limited research has examined whether stress responses relate to adolescent substance use, especially among adolescents from ethnic minority and high-adversity backgrounds. The present study assessed whether blunted emotional and cortisol responses to stress at age 14 related to substance use by ages 14 and 16, and whether associations varied by poverty status and sex. A sample of 277 Mexican-origin youth (53.19% female; 68.35% below the poverty line) completed a social-evaluative stress task, which was culturally adapted for this population, and provided saliva samples and rated their anger, sadness, and happiness throughout the task. They also reported whether they had ever used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, and vaping of nicotine at age 14 and again at age 16. Multilevel models suggested that blunted cortisol reactivity to stress was associated with alcohol use by age 14 and vaping nicotine by age 16 among youth above the poverty line. Also, blunted sadness and happiness reactivity to stress was associated with use of marijuana and alcohol among female adolescents. Blunted stress responses may be a risk factor for substance use among youth above the poverty line and female adolescents.

Dispositional Active Coping Predicts Patterns of Adolescents' Cortisol Responsivity in the Context of School-related Stressors.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to examine the direct and conditional effects of active coping and prior exposure to school-related stressors on cortisol reactivity and recovery in response to an academically salient, social stress task. METHOD: Participants included N= 758 adolescents (50% male; M age = 12.03 years, SD = .49) enrolled in the 7th grade in Title 1 middle schools. Adolescents were predominantly ethnic minorities (62% Hispanic, 12% non-Hispanic White, 11% non-Hispanic Black, 7% Native American, and 8% "other"). Youth completed self-reported assessments of their dispositional use of active coping strategies, prior exposure to school hassles, pubertal status, medication use, and relevant demographic information. In addition, youth engaged in an academically salient group public speaking task adapted for adolescents and provided salivary cortisol sample pre-task, immediately post-task, 15-, and 30-minutes post-task. RESULTS: Results from piecewise latent growth curve modeling revealed that active coping independently predicted lower cortisol reactivity to the stress task. Furthermore, active coping was associated with slower cortisol recovery when adolescents reported not having experienced any school hassles in the past three months and faster recovery when having experienced several school hassles in the past three months. Results from multinomial logistic regressions revealed that greater use of active coping strategies was less likely to predict a hyper-reactive pattern of cortisol responding compared to other patterns. CONCLUSION: Findings provide support for active coping as a way to promote adaptive physiological responding to school-related stressors among ethnically diverse youth residing in low-income communities.

Streamlined pediatric anxiety program for school mental health services.

There needs to be serious transformation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) into real-world solutions; otherwise, EBIs will never achieve the intended public health impact. In a randomized trial, we reported effects of a redesigned anxiety program. Herein, we described the redesign process that led to the program. Survey data revealed provider preferences for school mental health anxiety services. Focus groups and prototype feedback sessions revealed service barriers to uptake, implementation, and sustainability along with corresponding enabling strategies. Prototype feedback sessions also focused on refinement and fine-tuning of the redesign. In the end, traditional EBI strategies were transformed and packaged into six lessons, lasting 20-30 minutes each, and amenable to delivery in small-group format. The redesign achieved the intended purpose of retaining elements from cognitive and behavior therapy and social skills training for the target population of the intervention (e.g., 3rd to 5th graders with heterogeneous anxiety problems - identified and referred). The streamlined EBI is accessible from PBS LearningMedia™ - a service that hosts public, research-based, and school-ready materials.

Measurement and Functional Equivalence of a Reduced Version of the UPPS Impulsivity Scale Among Hispanic, Non-Hispanic Black, and Non-Hispanic White Adolescents.

The current study aimed to assess the measurement equivalence and functional equivalence of the UPPS (Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking) Impulsivity Scale among three ethnoracial adolescent samples in the U.S. seventh-grade students who self-identified as Hispanic (n = 472), non-Hispanic Black (n = 89), or non-Hispanic White (n = 90), and completed an English-language version of the Child version of the UPPS, which was shortened and modified to include positive urgency items. Through a series of confirmatory factor analyses, the UPPS demonstrated configural, metric, and partial threshold invariance. Fisher's r-to-z transformations were used to assess the functional equivalence of the UPPS against well-validated measures of self-regulation and mental health commonly associated with impulsivity. We found some group differences in the magnitude of associations. Yet, overall, this study provides evidence that the UPPS can be used to measure distinct factors of impulsivity among Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic White adolescents.

A 28-day, 2-year study reveals that adolescents are more fatigued and distressed on days with greater NO2 and CO air pollution.

This 2-year, 28-day study examined whether adolescents felt greater fatigue and emotional distress the same day and the day after air quality was worse. We linked objective daily air quality measurements to daily self-reports from 422 Mexican-American adolescents in Los Angeles County, California from 2009 to 2011 (50% girls, MAge = 15 years). A robust, within-subject analysis of 9696 observations revealed that adolescents with ongoing physical complaints reported greater fatigue and emotional distress on days that the air contained higher levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). Regardless of physical complaints, adolescents on average also reported greater fatigue the day after NO2 levels were higher. The same-day and next-day associations between air pollution and distress were mediated via daily increases in fatigue. Results were robust when controlling for day of the week, and daily temperature and humidity. Sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), PM2.5 and PM10 were not related to daily fatigue or distress.

U.S. Mexican-origin young adults' mental health relative to interpersonal stressor transitions from childhood to adolescence.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to describe latent transitions in developmentally and culturally salient interpersonal stressors from late childhood to late adolescence and examine whether different transition patterns predicted early adult mental health problems. METHOD: Data from four waves (Grades 5, 7, 10, 12) of a study of 749 U.S. Mexican-origin youth were used for a latent transition analysis (LTA) of family, peer, and community stressors; distal outcomes of externalizing and internalizing problems were measured 5 years after Grade 12. Latent class analysis (LCA) and LTA were conducted for investigating underlying subgroups of interpersonal stress at each wave and transitions between subtypes over waves. RESULTS: For the LCA, two latent classes emerged at all four waves, representing low and high interpersonal stress. The LTA model with two classes at all waves was conducted with good fit. Six prominent transition classes emerged and related to young adult internalizing and externalizing problems. Transition class related to young adult internalizing and externalizing problems, such that youth who consistently had exposure to interpersonal stress or who had transitions from low to high exposure had more internalizing and externalizing problems. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are discussed relative to the developmental salience of these transitions and opportunities to intervene during adolescence to mitigate later mental health problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Discrimination and depressive symptoms in sexual minority Latinx youth: Moderation by religious importance and attendance.

Relative to heterosexual peers, sexual minority youth experience significant mental health disparities. This is partly due to prejudicial encounters (e.g., discrimination, victimization) because of their sexual minority status, and potential intersecting and compounding prejudicial experiences related to their ethnic minority status. However, even though religiosity has been identified as a protective factor in the general literature and may be especially relevant for youth in Latinx families, few studies have examined whether religiosity serves as a buffer of the relations between discrimination-related stress and mental health in sexual minority Latinx youth. Thus, the aims were to examine (a) whether ethnic and sexuality discrimination have additive or multiplicative effects on depressive symptoms, and (b) whether own or family religiosity (defined by religious importance and attendance) moderates the relations between discrimination and depressive symptoms. Sample included 377 youth (Mage = 20.29, SD = 2.61, age range 14-24). Results did not support an interaction between ethnic and sexuality discrimination, nor between own religiosity and ethnic discrimination, in predicting depressive symptoms. There were significant interactions between family religiosity and discrimination (ethnic and sexuality), in which family religiosity was negatively associated with depressive symptoms only at average and low levels of discrimination. There was a significant interaction between own religiosity and sexuality discrimination, in which own religiosity was negatively associated with depressive symptoms only at the low level of sexuality discrimination. Findings highlight the importance of examining the intersection of religion, sexuality, and Latinx minority status in relation to mental health outcome. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The integrative model of family stress underlying Spanish and English vocabulary development in Mexican American children: Unique effects of financial and sociocultural hardships.

Early oral language development lays an essential foundation for academic and socioemotional competencies but is vulnerable to the impact of family stress. Despite robust evidence that family stress affects early oral language development in monolingual samples, little is known about whether the family stress processes affecting language acquisition are similar among dual language learners. Furthermore, although Mexican American families often face stressors related to their ethnic minority and immigrant status, no studies to date have tested whether exposure to sociocultural stressors may likewise have negative consequences for early language acquisition. The present study examined whether financial and sociocultural stressors were associated with maternal stress perception, parenting sensitivity, and child Spanish and English receptive vocabulary at child age 3 and 4.5 years. Participants included 322 low-income Mexican American mothers and their children followed from pregnancy through 4.5 years postnatal; most mothers preferred to speak Spanish (82%). Results of a path model indicated that links between family stress and child receptive vocabulary varied by language (Spanish or English) and stress type (financial or cultural). Specifically, Spanish acquisition was more closely related to the quality of mother-child interactions, whereas English acquisition was more susceptible to the direct impact of family stress. The consequences of family stress on children's vocabulary acquisition were evident earlier in development for Spanish than English, and appeared more pronounced for financial versus sociocultural stressors. Findings underscore a need to attend to the impact of poverty on children's Spanish and English language development in low-income, Mexican American children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Infant Temperament Profiles, Cultural Orientation, and Toddler Behavioral and Physiological Regulation in Mexican-American Families.

This study sought to (a) replicate infant temperament profiles from predominantly White samples in a sample of low-income, predominantly first-generation Mexican-American families, (b) investigate associations between infant temperament profiles and toddler behavioral and physiological regulation, and (c) explore whether mothers' cultural orientation would moderate those associations. Mothers and infants (n = 322; 46% male) were assessed during pregnancy and at infant ages 9, 12, and 24 months. Latent profile analysis yielded three temperament profiles that were consistent with those from extant research. Compared to the high positive affect, well-regulated profile, the negative reactive, low regulated profile was associated with poorer behavioral and parasympathetic (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia) regulation, but associations depended on mothers' Mexican and Anglo cultural orientation.

Who's Influencing Who? Adolescent Symptomatology and Caregiver Mindful Parenting.

Mindful parenting is linked to positive youth emotion regulation, mental health, and parent-child relationship quality. We examined bidirectional relations between adolescent mental health and mindful parenting among a diverse sample of 249 7th grade students and their female (N = 232) and male caregivers (N = 120). We conducted multiple-group cross-lagged models (grouped by adolescent sex). Female adolescents' externalizing symptoms predicted decreased female caregiver mindful parenting six months later, but male and female adolescent externalizing behaviors were negatively associated with male caregivers' mindful parenting one year later. Findings suggest mindful parenting capacities are vulnerable to disruption via adolescent problem behavior. Mindful parenting's potential benefits, caveats, and need to support parent efforts to sustain mindful parenting amidst adolescents' externalizing behaviors are discussed.

Predictors of Caregiver Participation in an Engagement Strategy to Increase Initiation into a Family-Based Preventive Intervention.

Previous studies have shown that engagement strategies can help increase enrollment and initiation of families in evidence-based preventive programs under natural service delivery settings. However, little is known about factors that predict completion of these engagement strategies. This study aimed to examine predictors (i.e., perceived need, perceived barriers, and sociocultural context) of caregiver participation in an evidence-based engagement call strategy. This call was expected to increase initiation into a school-based, family-focused prevention program. In addition, this study examined engagement call completion as a predictor of program initiation among already enrolled families. Participants included ethnically diverse families recruited from three Title I schools (n = 413) who were randomized to receive the prevention program. Results showed that interparental conflict-an indicator of perceived need-was associated with an increased likelihood of completing the engagement call. Furthermore, caregivers from low-socioeconomic status (SES), foreign-born, Spanish-speaking, Hispanic families were more likely to complete the call relative to those from low- and mid-SES, US born, English-speaking, ethnically diverse families. Importantly, engagement call completion was associated with an increased likelihood of program initiation. These findings provide limited support that families with higher perceived needs are more likely to participate in an evidence-based engagement call strategy. Results suggested that the call strategy provides a promising way to reduce attrition from family prevention programs, which is commonly observed between enrollment and initiation. Project Number: R01 DA035855; Date of Registration: 06/15/2014.

A daily diary study of sleep chronotype among Mexican-origin adolescents and parents: Implications for adolescent behavioral health.

The current study used daily assessments of sleep to examine stability and change in sleep chronotype in adolescents and their parents. The study assessed adolescent sleep chronotype according to age, gender, and parent chronotype, and evaluated its associations with emotional and behavioral problems in youth. Participants included of 417 Mexican American adolescents (Mage = 16.0 years, Range = 13.9-20.0) and 403 caregivers, who reported bed and wake times daily for 2 consecutive weeks at two time points spaced 1 year apart. In addition, adolescents completed established self-report questionnaires of emotional and behavioral problems. Chronotype was computed as the midsleep point from bed to wake time on free days, correcting for sleep debt accumulated across scheduled days. Multilevel modeling showed a curvilinear association between adolescent age and chronotype, with a peak eveningness observed between ages 16 to 17. Adolescent and parent chronotypes were contemporaneously correlated, but each was only moderately stable over the 1-year period. Later adolescent chronotype was contemporaneously associated with more substance use in all adolescents. Individual development and the family context shape sleep chronotype in adolescents and parents. Sleep chronotype is implicated in adolescent behavioral health.

What got in the way? Caregiver-reported challenges to home practice of assigned intervention skills.

Background: Evidence-based intervention (EBI) effectiveness is hindered by low rates of caregiver home practice, or caregiver rehearsal of intervention skills at home. Although home practice is essential to intervention success, we know little about what makes home practice difficult to complete. We sought to identify the challenges caregivers face when attempting home practice assignments within the context of community implementation of a family-based preventative EBI. We also aimed to identify barriers, perceived need, and implementation-related factors that may contribute to frequency of home practice challenges. Methods: The family-based preventative intervention Bridges was delivered to caregivers and adolescents in three public middle schools in North America within a randomized efficacy-effectiveness hybrid trial. Caregivers (N = 233) completed worksheets in which they reported challenges to home practice of intervention skills. Caregiver-endorsed challenges were coded for emergent themes and categorized into higher-order home practice challenge domains. Additional data was gathered through multiple methods. In addition to descriptive analyses, multilevel linear regressions were conducted to identify factors associated with frequency of home practice challenge domains. Results: Over 85% of caregivers reported one or more home practice challenges. Challenges fell into six domains: daily stresses, cognitions/beliefs about the intervention/practice, caregiver wellness/regulation, adolescent responsiveness, relevance/acceptability of intervention or assignment, and external barriers to practice. Adolescent externalizing symptoms, academic performance, and caregiver participation in the English-language intervention group (compared to Spanish-language delivery) were associated with greater frequency of reported challenges. Conclusions: Among caregivers already attending intervention sessions, specific support to overcome challenges in daily stresses and beliefs about the intervention/practice can support greater home practice compliance, which in turn may impact overall intervention effectiveness. Findings suggest that providing services in caregivers' preferred language may avert potential challenges. Further research into home practice challenges is necessary to identify appropriate home practice implementation supports. Plain Language Summary: Low rates and poor quality of caregiver home practice of intervention skills hampers intervention effectiveness, but no prior studies have identified the difficulties caregivers face when attempting home practice of intervention skills and their rates of occurrence. Within a community implementation of a family-based preventative intervention, we found that difficulties were common and largely fell in the domains theorized to impact engagement, such as daily stresses and beliefs about the intervention/practice. Findings also suggest that providing services and materials in caregivers' preferred language may avert potential home practice challenges. By identifying common home practice challenges and correlates of different challenges, our findings point to a need to develop appropriate and effective home practice implementation support.

Earlier age of sex and substance use initiation is associated with unique hormone profiles during social evaluative threat in Mexican American adolescents.

Latinx adolescents are at a disproportional risk for poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes (STIs, adolescent pregnancy) compared to other ethnic groups. They also report high rates of alcohol and drug use that are similar to non-Hispanic White youth. The hormonal underpinnings of the emergence of sex and substance use behaviors among Latinx adolescents remain understudied however. Pubertal shifts in motivation and reward-seeking in social situations are closely tied to the emergence of risky sexual and substance use behaviors. The experience of developing earlier or later than same age peers may increase stress (cortisol) reactivity during social evaluative situations leading to more risky behavior. Further, testosterone can be responsive to social evaluative threat (SET) and is linked to status-seeking behavior, including risk-taking. The current study sought to unravel the complex relationship between cortisol and testosterone responsivity to social evaluative threat, pubertal status, and the emergence of sex and drug use among US-born Mexican-origin youth growing up in an agricultural community. Mexican American 14-year olds (N = 234, 54% female) from the Center for Health Assessment of Mothers and Children (CHAMACOS) participated in the Trier Social Stress Test. Cortisol and testosterone were assayed from saliva. At 16, youth reported on age at vaginal and oral sex initiation, and alcohol and marijuana use initiation. Hierarchical regressions examined cortisol and testosterone reactivity, and pubertal status within each sex to predict the onset of these risky behaviors. Results indicated that boys who were less developed than their same-aged peers or with lower testosterone reactivity and elevated cortisol reactivity to the TSST reported the earliest sex and substance use initiation. For girls, higher cortisol reactivity predicted earlier alcohol use initiation, and higher testosterone reactivity predicted earlier oral sex. Our results suggests it is important for health care providers to not overlook Latinx boys who may look younger in discussions about mitigating risk. Latinx girls under increased stress may be more likely to try to self-medicate with alcohol, and potentially other drugs.

Patterns of family negativity in the perinatal period: Implications for mental health among Mexican-origin women.

Negativity in the family environment during the perinatal period is likely to have detrimental effects on maternal well-being, especially among low-income ethnic minority mothers who are at increased risk for experiencing postpartum depressive symptoms. With a sample of 322 Mexican and Mexican American families, this study used latent class growth analysis to identify meaningful subgroups of women based on their perceived family negativity reported prenatally and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 weeks postpartum. A 4-trajectory model of family negativity fit the data well: low-stable (58%), moderate-increasing (26%), high-decreasing (8%), and high-increasing (8%). Higher prenatal depressive symptomatology predicted membership in the moderate-increasing, high-decreasing, and high-increasing trajectories, relative to the low-stable trajectory. Findings suggest substantial heterogeneity in family negativity, identifying three significant growth patterns during the perinatal period with differential implications for maternal depressive symptomatology at 24 weeks and 12 months after delivery. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).