A gender invariant model of disgust propensity in blood-injection-injury phobia in Latina/o individuals.

ABSTRACT

Latinas/os have been underrepresented in research investigating the role of disgust propensity in phobias. The current study was the first to examine associations between disgust propensity and Blood-Injection-Injury (BII) phobia, when acculturation was controlled for, in Latina/o Americans (n = 376). A structural model was developed with a BII fear latent variable consisting of fears of injection, blood, and sharp objects (causing injuries). The disgust propensity latent variable was formed with three domains of core, animal reminder, and contamination disgust elicitors. In the model, disgust propensity predicted BII fear when controlling for acculturation. A series of measurement and structural invariance tests demonstrated that the model was invariant between males and females. The current findings supported the hypothesis that disgust plays a role in BII fear symptoms similarly in Latinas and Latinos. The findings are expected to improve our understanding of mechanisms and treatment approaches for BII phobia symptoms in this underserved cultural group.