Mental Health Among Puerto Rican Adolescents Living in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The present study examined how different family level (family financial stress, family violence) and individual (food insecurity, gender, race) determinants of health were associated with mental health among Puerto Rican adolescents living in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: A sample consisting of 119 Puerto Rican adolescents, aged 13 to 17, was collected via Qualtrics Panels between November 2020 and January 2021. We examined the association between family financial stress experienced during the pandemic and psychological distress. We also evaluated whether the association between family financial stress and psychological distress was moderated by family violence, food insecurity, and the participant's gender and race. RESULTS: Findings showed that food insecurity positively predicted psychological distress. Results also showed that participants' race moderated the association between family financial stress and psychological distress. Specifically, we found that while there was a significant positive association between family financial stress and psychological distress among Puerto Rican adolescents who identified as a racial minority, this association was nonsignificant among White Puerto Rican adolescents. CONCLUSION: Our research highlights the significant role of COVID-19 related family financial stress and food insecurity on Puerto Rican adolescents' poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Racial Differences in Discrimination, Coping Strategies, and Mental Health Among US Latinx Adolescents During COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: We explored racial differences in discrimination, perceived inequality, coping strategies, and mental health among 869 Latinx adolescents (Mage = 15.08) in the US. We then examined the moderating effects of race and perceived inequality in the associations between discrimination and coping strategies, and between discrimination and mental health. METHOD: ANOVAs assessed group differences in the study variables based on race. Moderated regression analyses examined whether there was a 2 or 3-way interaction between race, perceived inequality, and discrimination on coping strategies and mental health as separate outcomes. RESULTS: Black Latinx adolescents reported significantly higher rates of discrimination and perceived inequality than White and Other Race Latinx adolescents. Biracial Latinx adolescents reported higher rates of discrimination and poorer mental health than White Latinx adolescents. There was a significant 2-way interaction between discrimination and perceived inequality for engaged and disengaged coping. Discrimination was positively associated with engaged coping for low levels but not medium and high levels of perceived inequality. Discrimination was positively related to disengaged coping at medium and high levels of perceived inequality but not at low levels of perceived inequality. There was a significant 2-way interaction between discrimination and race for engaged and disengaged coping. Discrimination was negatively related to engaged coping for Black Latinx but not White Latinx adolescents. Discrimination was positively correlated to disengaged coping for Black Latinx but not Other Race Latinx adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: This research provides preliminary evidence of racial group differences among Latinx adolescents regarding various indicators of mental health, which may help inform mental health interventions and federal policy.

COVID-19 Economic and Academic Stress on Mexican American Adolescents' Psychological Distress: Parents as Essential Workers.

OBJECTIVES: In a sample of Mexican American adolescents (N = 398; 51% females; aged 13-17), we examined the associations between psychological distress, COVID-19 household economic stress, COVID-19 academic stress, and whether these associations varied by adolescents' gender and by parents/caregivers' essential worker status. METHOD: First, linear regression models assessed the main effects of household economic and academic stress on psychological distress. Second, the moderating effects of gender and parents/caregivers' essential worker status on the association between household economic and academic stress, and psychological distress were examined. Third, the three-way interaction effect of household economic stress, gender, and parents/caregivers' essential worker status on psychological distress as well as the three-way interaction effect of academic stress, gender, and parents/caregivers' essential worker status on psychological distress were calculated. RESULTS: Household economic and academic stress were associated with psychological distress. However, these associations did not vary based on adolescents' gender or parents/caregivers' essential worker status. The three-way interaction for household economic stress, parents/caregivers' essential worker status, and gender for psychological distress was significant. Specifically, the effects of household economic stress on psychological distress was worse for boys than girls whose parents/caregivers were essential workers. Furthermore, the three-way interaction among academic stress, parents/caregivers' essential worker status, and gender was significant. Particularly, the effects of academic stress when grades were worse on adolescents' psychological distress was worse for boys than girls whose parents/caregivers were essential workers. CONCLUSION: Parents/caregivers' essential worker status was salient among Mexican American adolescents' mental health outcomes during COVID-19, particularly for adolescent boys.

O te peinas, o te haces rolos: Intersectional discrimination, identity conflict, and mental health among Latinx sexual minoritized adults.

OBJECTIVES: People of color with minoritized sexual identities (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) experience identity-based challenges from outside and within their communities. Through the integrative lens of minority stress theory and intersectionality, the present study examined identity conflict, also known as conflicts in allegiances-the perceived incongruence between one's sexual and ethnic identities-as a statistical mediator of the association between intersectional discrimination (heterosexist discrimination experienced within the Latinx community and ethnic discrimination experienced within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ +] community) and mental health outcomes (depression and anxiety). METHOD: A cross-sectional sample of 452 Latinx sexual minoritized adults living in the United States participated in the study. The PROCESS macro (Model 4; Hayes, 2018) was used to test the hypothesis that heterosexist discrimination experienced within the Latinx community and ethnic discrimination experienced within the LGBTQ + community are associated with depression and anxiety indirectly through identity conflict. In each mediation model, outness to family was included as a covariate, along with participant age, education, generation status, and language preference. RESULTS: Approximately 37% of participants had clinically significant depression scores and 54% had clinically significant anxiety scores. As expected, experiences of intersectional discrimination (i.e., Latinx heterosexist discrimination and LGBTQ + ethnic discrimination) were indirectly associated with depression and anxiety through higher levels of identity conflict. CONCLUSIONS: Findings increase awareness of unique psychosocial factors that may underlie mental health inequities affecting Latinx adults with minoritized sexual identities. Such knowledge can facilitate the development of culturally responsive interventions that best support this diverse population by addressing intersectional minority stressors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Conceptualizing Puerto Rican migration to the United States.

Migration to the United States is an intricate part of Puerto Rican life ever since Puerto Rico became a colony of the United States in 1898. Our review of literature on Puerto Rican migration to the United States reveals that this migration is primarily associated with cycles of economic turmoil that result from over a century of U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico. We also discuss how the pre- and post-migration context Puerto Ricans face influence their mental health. Emerging theory suggests that Puerto Rican migration to the United States should be conceptualized as colonial migration. Within this framework, researchers argue that U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico not only creates the conditions that help explain why Puerto Ricans migrate to the United States but also the circumstances they encounter upon migration.

LGBTQ Caregiver Acceptance Scale (LCAS): Development and validation with a Latinx sample.

Caregiver acceptance and rejection is crucial to the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Research shows that caregivers are affected by having an LGBTQ child/family member, yet studies have neglected to capture the experiences of Latinx caregivers. We present the development and initial validation of the LGBTQ Caregiver Acceptance Scale (LCAS) with a Latinx sample. We developed items based on a review of the literature, expert feedback (N = 9), and community member feedback (N = 9; Study 1). We then assessed the factor structure through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in a sample of 215 Latinx caregivers of LGBTQ people (Study 2). The final LCAS consists of 40 items and six dimensions of Latinx caregivers' acceptance and rejection of their LGBTQ child/family member: Outness, Caregiver Acceptance, Concealment, Respeto, Attitudes Toward Queer Parenting, and Supportive Actions. Convergent and divergent validity was performed to compare the LCAS to other constructs of caregiver acceptance and rejection, family conflict and cohesion, and attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. As hypothesized, all subscale scores and total score were found to be significantly correlated with the constructs used for comparison. This validated measure of LGBTQ-specific acceptance and rejection among caregivers provides a rich opportunity to understand family processes and help inform evidence-based interventions. We provide implications for clinicians working with Latinx caregivers of LGBTQ youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The citizenship shield: Mediated and moderated links between immigration status, discrimination, food insecurity, and negative health outcomes for latinx immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A framework termed "the citizenship shield" is introduced to conceptualize how legal protections buffer against negative health outcomes among Latinx immigrants in the United States. In this study, we tested the citizenship shield framework in the context of the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latinx immigrants. We investigated the connection between immigration status, discrimination, food insecurity, and negative health outcomes. Analyses involved testing mediation and moderation models among a community-based sample of 536 Latinx immigrants holding five statuses (i.e., U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, undocumented, and temporary status). Results suggested that food insecurity mediated the link between discrimination and negative impacts from the pandemic for Latinx immigrants across all statuses. Follow up analyses suggested that two of the three paths were moderated by immigration status. This research provides novel, important data to inform health interventions and federal policy targeted for the most vulnerable immigrants in the United States.

"What American dream is this?": The effect of Trump's presidency on immigrant Latinx transgender people.

Little research has explored how transgender people are impacted by the behaviors, statements, and policies of the Trump administration. To date no scholarship has explored the experiences of immigrant Latinx transgender people during the current political climate. Using a critical intersectional qualitative framework, the present study aimed to investigate how immigrant Latinx transgender people are impacted by Trump's administration. A community sample of 15 immigrant Latinx transgender people from a large metropolitan city in Florida participated in semistructured interviews to explore their experiences since the election of Donald Trump. Thematic analysis revealed seven themes related to experiences of oppression, including: (a) perceived increase in societal discrimination and violence, (b) perception of law enforcement surveillance, discrimination, and violence, (c) mental health toll, (d) decreased access to resources and opportunities, (e) perception of Trump's uninformed, hostile, and aggressive behavior, (f) rollback of discrimination protection, and (g) passing and conforming to norms. In addition, five themes emerged about participants' sources of coping and strength in response to the current political climate, including: (a) pride and resilience, (b) hope for a better future, (c) religion and spirituality, (d) family and community support, and (d) short-term avoidance as a form of resistance. Psychological practices and advocacy efforts such as using evidence-based practices to effectively work with immigrant Latinx transgender people are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

"We are our own community": Immigrant Latinx transgender people community experiences.

Little is known about how immigrant Latinx transgender people experience support from their communities in the U.S. and back in their country of origin. The present study aimed to understand how immigrant Latinx transgender people reported support within their communities. A community sample of 18 immigrant Latinx transgender people in a large metropolitan city in Florida participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis revealed four themes depicting the varying levels of support that participants received within their communities in the U.S., including: (a) neighborhood belonging, (b) organizations as a source of well-being, (c) friends as a source of protection and safety, and (d) supporting undocumented individuals. In addition, three themes emerged about participants' experiences of discrimination and oppression within their communities, including: (a) discrimination and violence, (b) police profiling and restriction of public space, and (c) lack of safety for undocumented individuals. Participants also shared narratives about the perceived level of community support they received in the U.S. versus in their countries of origin. Drawing on gender minority stress and intersectionality, the community experiences of immigrant Latinx transgender people are examined and interpreted to provide important research, advocacy, and practice implications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Ni de aquí, ni de allá: Puerto Rican acculturation-acculturative stress profiles and depression.

OBJECTIVE: Acculturation-acculturative stress profiles and their association with depression symptoms were examined in a sample of mainland Puerto Ricans (N = 367) using latent profile analysis. METHODS: Bidimensional behavioral acculturation, bidimensional ethnic identity, and acculturative stress were used as indicators to derive profiles. Differences in depressive symptoms across latent profile members were determined using an automatic mixture modeling with continuous outcomes approach. RESULTS: Three profiles were identified, each demonstrating a distinctive configuration of adherence to bidimensional behavioral acculturation, bidimensional ethnic identity, and level of acculturative stress. The largest profile resembled individuals following a partial marginalization strategy. Participants in this profile were also reported more depression symptoms than all other participants. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of a large partial marginalization profile offers important information about sociocultural indicators of depression among Puerto Ricans living in the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A caballo regalao no se le mira el colmillo: Colonial mentality and Puerto Rican depression.

Dignifying the colonizer and depreciating the colonized is a reflection of internalized colonial oppression (i.e., colonial mentality). The current study examined the effect of colonial mentality on depression symptoms in a sample of mainland Puerto Ricans (N = 352). A structural equation model was examined, in which colonial mentality was hypothesized to be directly and positively associated with depression symptoms. The proposed model also tested the indirect effect of colonial mentality on depression symptoms via acculturative stress. Results indicated that a full mediation structural equation model (SEM) had a better fit to the data than our hypothesized partial mediation model. Bias-corrected bootstrapping indicated that the effect of colonial mentality on depressive symptoms was mediated by acculturative stress. That is, colonial mentality increased the risk of experiencing depression symptoms in Puerto Ricans when they felt pressured to maintaining a connection with Puerto Rican culture and society and when they experienced rejection by the society they want to emulate (acculturative stress). The current results underscore the need for researchers and clinicians to consider and assess colonial mentality when conceptualizing depression symptoms among mainland Puerto Ricans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Acculturated and acultura'os: Testing bidimensional acculturation across central Florida and island Puerto Ricans.

OBJECTIVES: Two studies and data sources were used to empirically compare and cross-validate three bidimensional acculturation measurement models. METHOD: Following a cross-sectional design and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Study 1 examined the models in a sample of Central Florida Puerto Ricans (n = 484). In Study 2, the measurement model was retested on a separate sample of island Puerto Ricans (n = 399). To ensure adequate comparisons across the two samples, measurement invariance tests were performed. RESULTS: A bidimensional six-factor model (B6F) resulted in the best model fit for both samples. Results indicated full configural, metric, uniqueness, factor variance, covariance, and partial scalar invariance between the 2 groups. An examination of mean differences between the samples revealed that Central Florida Puerto Ricans had a significantly stronger endorsement of Puerto Rican and European American values than those living in the island. CONCLUSIONS: This examination revealed that both groups share the same acculturation structure. That is, acculturation among Central Florida and island Puerto Ricans can be conceptualized as a bidimensional construct of simultaneous adherence to Puerto Rican and European American cultural aspects across behavioral, values, and ethnic identity domains. The B6F model of island Puerto Rican acculturation suggests that even in the absence of a migration experience, island Puerto Ricans may experience bidimensional and multifaceted acculturation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).