Latinx adolescents' daily family assistance and emotional well-being before and amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A pilot measurement burst study.

This study examined Latinx adolescents' daily family assistance (assistance day, assistance time, language brokering) in relation to their daily affect and investigated whether the associations changed following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two waves of 14-day daily diary data collected from 13 18-year-old Latinx adolescents (ndays = 284; 77% Mexican American, 77% female) before and amid the pandemic were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Three main findings emerged: (1) assisting the family on a given day was associated with higher levels of same-day positive affect both before and during COVID-19, and with lower levels of negative affect during COVID-19; (2) longer than usual family assistance time was associated with higher levels of same-day positive affect and lower levels of negative affect only during COVID-19; (3) language brokering on a given day was associated with higher levels of same-day positive affect both before and during COVID-19. These findings suggest a positive link between daily family assistance and Latinx youth's daily emotional well-being, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A mixed methods comparison of adolescents' and researchers' observations of neighborhood characteristics in Latinx neighborhoods.

We used a convergent mixed methods research design to compare and contrast researchers' neighborhood environmental assessments collected using systematic social observations with adolescents' neighborhood environmental assessments collected by semi-structured interviews with US Mexican adolescents. Using qualitative methods, we found that adolescents sometimes observed the same neighborhood environmental features as researchers. They also sometimes observed different environmental features altogether; in both cases they sometimes layered on additional meaning making. Using mixed methods, we found that there was a high degree of overlap between researchers and adolescents in terms of agreement on the presence of neighborhood environmental features, including physical disorder, physical decay, street safety, and sociocultural symbols. Adolescents expanded upon these neighborhood environmental features with references to positive and negative affect and neighborhood environmental resources. This work highlights the shared and unique aspects of researcher versus adolescent observations and how both data sources are critical to understanding Latinx neighborhood environments.

Mental Health During Early Adolescence and Later Cardiometabolic Risk: A Prospective Study of US Latinx Youth.

PURPOSE: Rising rates of cardiometabolic risk and mental health problems are serious public health concerns for US adolescents, particularly those of Latinx origin. This research examines how Latinx youth's internalizing symptoms during early adolescence are related to sleep problems, overweight/obesity, sedentary behavior, physical activity, healthy diet, and hypertension or diabetes risk during middle and late adolescence. METHODS: Participants included 547 adolescents listed as "Hispanic" on 2017-18 middle school enrollment lists in a suburban Atlanta, GA school district. Survey data collected at baseline (2018) and four years later (2022) were analyzed using Structural Equation Model. Path estimates from baseline internalizing symptoms to later health behaviors and physical health outcomes adjusted for demographics, the follow-up measure of internalizing symptoms, and correlations among outcome variables. Missing data were handled using Full Information Maximum Likelihood. RESULTS: At baseline, the 244 (44.6%) male and 303 (55.4%) female participants had a mean (standard deviation) age in years of 13.31 (0.97). Early adolescent internalizing symptoms were associated positively with later sleep problems (ß = 0.36 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.24-0.48]), overweight/obesity (adjusted odds ratio, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.29-5.15), sedentary behavior (ß = 0.19 [95% CI, 0.09-0.30]), and internalizing symptoms (ß = 0.48 [95% CI, 0.39-0.56]) and inversely with later physical activity (ß = -0.16 [95% CI, -0.27 to -0.05]) and a healthy diet (ß = -0.21 [95% CI, -0.32 to -0.09]). DISCUSSION: Latinx youth's internalizing symptoms during early adolescence not only track into later adolescence, but they also relate to health behaviors and outcomes underlying cardiometabolic risk during middle and late adolescence.

Sexual Orientation-Based Victimization and Internalized Homonegativity Among Latinx Sexual Minority Youth: The Moderating Effects of Social Support and School Level.

Latinx sexual minority adolescents and young adults experience sexual orientation-based victimization at school and may internalize these heterosexist experiences. However, social support may buffer the deleterious contributions of sexual orientation-based victimization. The current study explored associations between sexual orientation-based victimization and internalized homonegativity in different social contexts (family, peer, school adult) and across development (high school versus college) among 238 Latinx sexual minority adolescents and young adults (M = 19.03, SD = 2.28). Results indicated that sexual orientation-based victimization was positively associated with internalized homonegativity among Latinx sexual minority adolescents and young adults. Such associations were moderated by family support and the school level in the family context, such that in high school, family support exacerbated the association between sexual orientation-based victimization and internalized homonegativity. Yet, in college, family support mitigated that association. Findings also indicated that peer support exacerbated the association between sexual orientation-based victimization and internalized homonegativity in high school and college. No moderation of school adult support emerged in the context of school adults. Findings support the application of the minority stress model in Latinx sexual minority adolescents and young adults and highlight the complex moderating effect of social support across social contexts and development.

The Burden of Not Belonging: A Qualitative Study of the Applicability of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide Constructs of Belongingness and Burdensomeness to Ethnocultural Minoritized Youth.

Guided by the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS), this study aims to understand the applicability of the constructs of belongingness and burdensomeness and their relevance to suicide risk and mental health among ethnocultural minoritized youth. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted using five focus groups with 29 self-identified Latinx and Black adolescents aged 13-17 years to explore the meaning they ascribed to belongingness and burdensomeness. Views of social media related to these constructs were also explored. Template analysis was used to analyze the data. Themes highlighted dimensions such as caring, self-worth, and liability, congruent with the IPTS dimensions of belongingness and burdensomeness. Notably, new themes emerged reflecting the distinctive experiences of these populations, such as the importance of being true to themselves, the burden of not belonging to families, and cultural aspects of liability, highlighting dimensions not found in the existing IPTS theoretical constructs. Consideration of the diverse experiences of ethnocultural minoritized youth can strengthen theoretical constructs, clinical practice, and aid in developing intervention strategies to increase protective factors and decrease risk factors for suicide behaviors relevant to such youth.

A social interaction learning model approach to understand adverse childhood experiences and drug use among Latinx youth.

Latinx youth, members of an ethnic minority group growing faster than the national growth rate, are at increased risk of experiencing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) but it remains unclear how ACEs relate to externalizing behaviors, such as substance use and behaviors leading to injury and violence, in this population. In a sample of 100 Latinx youth, the current study examined how ACEs related to drug use and behaviors leading to injury and violence. Exposure to ACEs was associated with increased drug use, and that association was significantly moderated by behaviors leading to injury and violence for Latina adolescents. Given these findings, more attention needs to be diverted to screening for ACEs and externalizing behaviors in Latina girls.

Division of Type 1 Diabetes Responsibility in Latinx and Non-Latinx White Mother-Adolescent Dyads.

Incidence rates of type 1 diabetes are increasing faster in Latinx youth than other ethnic groups, yet this population remains understudied. The current study (1) tested differences in division of diabetes-related responsibility (adolescent alone, mother alone, and shared) across Latinx and non-Latinx White families (N = 118 mother-adolescent dyads, 56 = Latinx dyads, Mage=13.24 years), and (2) examined associations between diabetes responsibility and adolescent health (HbA1c, diabetes self-management behaviors, and depressive symptoms). Latina mothers reported more shared and less adolescent responsibility than non-Latinx White mothers, but there were no ethnic differences in adolescent reports of responsibility. Independent of demographic and illness-related characteristics, mother- and adolescent-reports of shared responsibility were associated with higher self-management behaviors, while individual responsibility (adolescent or mother alone) was generally associated with lower self-management behaviors. Shared responsibility associations with higher mother-reported self-management behaviors occurred among Latinx families, but not non-Latinx White families. Shared and individual responsibility were not associated with HbA1c or depressive symptoms. The findings suggest the importance of shared responsibility for diabetes management in adolescence, particularly in Latinx families.

Examination of Ecological Systems Contexts Within a Latino-Based Community Sport Youth Development Initiative.

Youth Development Programs (YDPs) can serve as effective mechanisms to alleviate social and psychological adversities while enhancing and developing resilience among youth. Recently, more YDPs have incorporated sport within Sport for Development (SFD) models to achieve these goals. Due to the growing Latino population in the US and the wide achievement gap between Latinos and other demographic populations, there is a need to explore programs that may support individual development as well as long-term change with regard to social inequality. There is also a need to better understand the ecological contexts within SFD programs and how these contexts may support underserved youth. Specifically, using an ecological systems perspective, this study seeks to explore the implementation of a sport program by a YDP in order to examine the ecological processes that may support or inhibit the efficacy of sport programs working with underserved youth. Juntos is a YDP that primarily serves Latinx youth and families by assisting youth with graduating high school and pursuing higher education opportunities. Juntos incorporates two annual soccer tournaments (i.e., Kicking it with Juntos and Copa Unidos). A qualitative case study approach was implemented in two counties in North Carolina. Interviews were conducted with tournament participants, county coordinators and planning committee members. Findings found three key themes related to three ecological levels 1. At the Microsystem level, sport was implemented to engage youth and connect to non-sport program outcomes, but divergent perceptions of goals among stakeholders potentially inhibited intentional implementation. At the Mesosystem level, sport provided a mechanism to engage in collaborative relationships and encouraged parental participation. At the Macrosystem level, sport celebrated Latino culture and attempted to address social barriers facing Latinx youth, but some aspects of culture may have created barriers to access for girls. Findings suggested that while the programs emphasized mesosystem engagement, more integration across exosystem and macrosystem levels may be needed for sustainable outcomes.

COVID-19 Stressors and Latinx Adolescents' Mental Health Symptomology and School Performance: A Prospective Study.

This study addressed the need for research examining impacts of the Coronavirus-19 (COVID) pandemic on Latinx adolescents' adjustment. Survey data for a probability sample of 547 Latinx adolescents (Mage = 13.71, SD = 0.86; 55.2% female) were collected from 2018 to 2021, including two times both prior to, and during, COVID. Independent variables assessed COVID-related household hospitalization, job/income loss, and adolescents' increased childcare responsibility. Structural Equation Model results indicated that COVID-related increases in adolescent childcare responsibility were associated with increased internalizing and externalizing symptoms and declines in school performance. COVID hospitalization and job/income loss were associated indirectly, through childcare responsibilities, to worse adolescent outcomes. Family adversities may harm adolescents' adjustment by burdening adolescents with responsibilities such caring for children.

Examining school ethnic-racial socialization in the link between race-related stress and academic well-being among African American and Latinx adolescents.

Experiences with race-related stressors at school are linked to negative academic consequences, such as lowered belonging and engagement. One factor known to buffer racial stressors is ethnic-racial socialization (ERS). Although students receive ERS messages in school, less is known about how school ERS may reduce the negative consequences of school race-related stress (SRS) on youth's academic outcomes. To date no studies have examined the moderating effects of school ERS on SRS and whether the associations vary for African American and Latinx youth. Thus, the current study examined the direct effects of SRS and school ERS on youth's academic well-being, the moderating role of school ERS against SRS, and whether these associations varied for African American and Latinx youth. Multiple group regression analysis with 221 African American and 219 Latinx adolescents demonstrated that SRS was negatively associated with the academic outcomes. Cultural socialization was associated with more positive outcomes. Furthermore, there were significant interactions between SRS and color-evasive socialization, such that SRS was associated with lower belonging at higher compared to lower levels of color-evasive messages. Additionally, SRS was associated with less school engagement for those who reported high color-evasive socialization messages, but there was no association for those who reported low color-evasive messages. The results indicate that color-evasive school ERS messages can exacerbate the negative associations between SRS and academic well-being for both African American and Latinx youth and highlight how school racialized experiences may have unique or similar effects across groups. Implications for culturally relevant school practices and interventions are discussed.

Latinx adolescent migrant challenges in reuniting with family members.

Family reunification occurs when migrants relocate without intact family units, and later reunite in new countries. Family serial migration and reunification is a global issue, relating to both voluntary and involuntary migrants who seek physical safety, psychological well-being, and economic self-sufficiency in new countries. Early studies alluded to a joyful family reconsolidation, while recent studies have found stressful reunions. This study provides an overview of the family reunification process of Latinx adolescents who have migrated to join their families in the United States (U.S.). The study conducted detailed interviews of 20 Latinx adolescents, aged 12-18 years old, in order to provide an in-depth examination of their pre and postmigration experiences. The results reveal three phases of family reunification: Latinx adolescents' experiences after their parent(s) left to migrate to the U.S.; their own migration journey to the U.S.; and their family reunification, adaptation, and adjustment to the U.S. The findings suggest that it is essential for mental health professionals to understand and acknowledge the multiple psychosocial challenges of Latinx adolescents' reuniting with their families in a new country. This includes feelings of abandonment and grief after their parent(s) departure to the U.S., their own migration journey to the U.S. which may have been experienced as traumatic, and psychosocial challenges in adjustment and adaptation in the U.S. after family reunification.

Familism Values, Family Assistance, and Prosocial Behaviors Among U.S. Latinx Adolescents.

Among U.S. Mexican adolescents living in established immigrant communities, high familism values are positively associated with compliant, emotional, and dire prosocial behaviors via sociocognitive and cultural psychological mechanisms. Less is known about the behavioral mechanisms that may explain these associations, or about prosocial behaviors among U.S. Latinxs residing in emerging immigrant destinations. We examined the cross-sectional, intervening variable associations among familism values, family assistance behaviors, and culturally salient prosocial behaviors among 547 U.S. Latinx adolescents residing in an emerging immigrant destination (M age = 12.8 years; 55.4% girls). Familism values and family assistance behaviors promoted emotional and dire prosocial behaviors for boys and girls, and promoted compliant prosocial behaviors for boys only. Familism also had direct associations with all three prosocial behaviors for boys and girls. Family assistance behaviors may be a mechanism via which adolescents develop compliant, emotional, and dire prosocial behaviors.

Latinx adolescents' trust in adults: A precursor to psychological well-being via mentoring relational quality and self-esteem.

This study aimed to test a longitudinal model of trust in adults and psychological well-being among Latinx adolescents, a population that has received little attention in the trust literature. The participants were urban, low-income Latinx (N = 294) students at two urban, Midwestern high schools who indicated they had at least one natural mentor in 9th grade. Participants completed surveys at two-time points, in 9th and 10th grade, and responded to measures of their feelings toward adults, quality of their natural mentoring relationships, self-esteem, intrinsic academic motivation, and coping self-efficacy. More trust in adults was indirectly, but not directly, associated with higher coping self-efficacy via higher mentoring relational quality and self-esteem. Positive expectations of adults may open Latinx youth to closeness in natural mentoring relationships and positive self-perceptions, which may, in turn, bolster coping ability.

The brief sense of community scale: Testing dimensionality and measurement invariance by gender among Hispanic/Latinx youth.

Psychological sense of community is defined as feelings of belongingness and a shared belief that community members will meet one another's needs. Psychological sense of community has four dimensions: membership, influence, needs fulfillment, and emotional connection. In this study, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the first and second-order factor structure of the brief sense of community scale (BSCS) between male and female Hispanic/Latinx adolescents from an urban community (N = 947). To help validate the BSCS model, the second-order factor model was tested with regression to predict the measures of intrapersonal psychological empowerment and ethnic identity, as constructs conceptually related to psychological sense of community. Findings support that: (1) psychological sense of community can be measured through the BSCS and as a four-factor model among Hispanic/Latinx youth, supporting McMillan and Chavis's (1986) original theoretical discussions; (2) while no differences between genders were present at the model-level, there was path-specific variation; and (3) intrapersonal psychological empowerment and ethnic identity were associated with psychological sense of community.

Examining Profiles of Latinx Sexual Minority Adolescents Associated with Suicide Risk.

Few studies have focused on within-group heterogeneity about specific factors that make lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) Latinx adolescents at greater odds than other LGB adolescents for suicide We take a unique mixture-modeling approach by creating profiles of Latinx LGB adolescents based on suicide risk factors used in previous investigations (bullying, alcohol, sleep, social media, and poor grades). We use these profiles in a logistic regression to investigate suicidality A sample of 686 LGB, Latinx adolescents were used in a latent profile analysis yielding four distinct profiles. Class 4 represented the highest risk, with high rates of bullying, alcohol, poor grades, and use of electronics, while class 3 represented the lowest risk with low rates of bullying and alcohol Results speak to the need to address suicidal ideation through multiple factors, noting the strong association that both bullying and alcohol have with suicidal ideation.

Facilitating Change in Drinking Cognitions and Behaviors Among Three Immigrant Generations of Latinx Youth Through a School-Based Intervention: Findings From a Multi-Site Clinical Trial.

Latinx youth experience disparities in the availability of and participation in evidence-based interventions to reduce hazardous alcohol use. The aim of this secondary data analysis was to examine whether Project Options, a brief, evidence-based alcohol use intervention was beneficial for Latinx participants. A total of 331 first-, second-, and third-generation immigrant Latina and Latino youth who participated in a multi-site, hybrid effectiveness/efficacy clinical trial of the intervention were selected for analyses. Mixed-effects growth models tested changes in drinking cognitions (i.e., perception of peer drinking, intention to drink next month, alcohol use and cessation expectancies) and behaviors (i.e., number of past-month drinking days, average number of drinks per occasion, and maximum number of drinks per occasion) across three time points (i.e., baseline, 4-weeks, and 12-weeks). Consistent with prior Project Options studies, participants with more drinking experience reported greater decreases in perception of peer drinking, intentions to drink next month, and all drinking behaviors than those with less experience. While no changes were observed in expectancies, first-generation participants endorsed lower positive use expectancies than second- and third-generation youth as well as more favorable cessation expectancies than third-generation teens. In concert with prior studies demonstrating the intervention's success in recruitment and retention of Latinx participants, results suggest that Project Options might be a promising school-based intervention for Latinx youth. This intervention has the potential to reach adolescents who might otherwise not participate in traditional programming and help decrease disparities in availability of evidence-based practices for Latinx youth.

Familism, Self-Esteem, and Weight-Specific Quality of Life Among Latinx Adolescents With Obesity.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is a critical public health condition affecting Latinx adolescents and contributes to health disparities across the lifespan. Childhood and adolescent obesity is associated with reduced quality of life (QoL) and decreased self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of cultural (e.g., familism) and psychosocial (e.g., self-esteem) factors as predictors of weight-specific QoL among Latinx adolescents with obesity. METHODS: Baseline data from 160 Latinx adolescents (ages 14-16 years) with obesity (BMI > 95th percentile for age and sex) who were recruited for a diabetes prevention intervention were used. Structural equation modeling tested the relationships between four latent constructs (familism, positive self-esteem, self-deprecation, and weight-specific QoL). RESULTS: The model tested paths from familism to positive self-esteem, self-deprecation, and weight-specific QoL, and paths from positive self-esteem and self-deprecation to weight-specific QoL. Higher familism was positively associated with positive self-esteem but not self-deprecation. In turn, positive self-esteem was positively associated with higher weight-specific QoL, whereas self-deprecation was negatively associated. Furthermore, there was an indirect effect of familism on QoL via positive self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: These data shed light into specific cultural and psychosocial constructs that influence QoL among Latinx adolescents with obesity. This study suggests that familism and positive self-esteem can operate as protective factors associated with higher weight-specific QoL in Latinx adolescents with obesity; whereas self-deprecation may operate as a risk factor for lower weight-specific QoL.

Inherently Political? Associations of Parent Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Sociopolitical Discussions with Latinx Youths' Emergent Civic Engagement.

The current study expands on ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) among Latinx families to include sociopolitical discussions as a way to better understand how these practices relate to adolescents' developmental outcomes, including their ethnic-racial identity (ERI) and their sociopolitical development. More specifically, we examined whether there were direct links between parental ERS practices and sociopolitical discussions at home and adolescents' emergent participatory citizenship via their ERI processes (i.e., exploration and resolution). These questions were examined using path analyses with 267 self-identified Latinx early adolescents (Mage  = 11.88, SD = 1.22; girls = 54.3%). Results revealed direct associations between sociopolitical discussions and cultural socialization at home with civic accountability. Thus, youth whose parents had engaged in more discussions with them about current political issues and who taught them about their ethnic heritage and history endorsed a greater sense of collective responsibility for helping community members in need. Additionally, preparation for bias and sociopolitical discussions at home were each uniquely associated with more ERI exploration, and each was also indirectly associated with expectations for future community involvement via youths' ERI exploration. Our findings come at a critical juncture in time, providing insight into ways we can support the positive ERI development and build the civic capacity of Latinx adolescents.

Discrimination, Skin Color Satisfaction, and Adjustment among Latinx American Youth.

Race-related biases and discrimination and easily observable race-related characteristics, such as skin color, appear to go hand and hand, but it remains unclear how these factors work together to shape youth development. The current study addresses this gap by investigating skin color satisfaction as a mediator between perceptions of discrimination and adjustment. Data are from a cross-sectional sample of Latinx youth (N = 175; Mage = 12.86; 51.4% female; 86.9% US-born) who completed measures of foreigner-based objectification, peer discrimination, adult discrimination, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and the importance or value attributed to academic success. Evidence of significant indirect effects of skin color satisfaction in the links between foreigner-based objectification and self-esteem as well as academic importance was found. Skin color satisfaction did not mediate links between either peer or adult discrimination and self-esteem, depression, and academic importance. The results provide support that being perceived as a foreigner has negative implications for Latinx youth adjustment through skin color satisfaction. The present study expands understanding of how different forms of differential treatment may affect minoritized youth. Implications and future research ideas are discussed.

Predictors of Latinx Youth Health and Emotional Well-being: Social Determinants of Health Perspective.

Latinx youth disproportionately experience numerous negative social determinants of health (SDOH) that can have deleterious impacts on health outcomes. Yet, limited research is available on the role of SDOH on the well-being of Latinx adolescents. Utilizing data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study examined the association between variables representing five discrete domains of SDOH and health and emotional well-being outcomes among youth of Latinx mothers (N = 745). The study included 15-year-old youth of Latina mothers who were retained in the most recent wave of data collection (wave 6). Using Mplus8, we performed structural equation modeling to determine whether exogenous indicators of five domains of SDOH (economic stability, education, neighborhood and built environment, social and community context, and health care access) predicted adolescent health status and emotional well-being. SDOH specific to social, educational, and neighborhood factors emerged as significant predictors of health and well-being. Yet, variation existed in regard to which SDOH were most important for each outcome variable. Findings suggest that several SDOH, including economic stability, education, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context, are particularly important for Latinx adolescent well-being. Implications for social work practice and policy are presented. Future studies should examine the longitudinal impact of SDOH and should examine Latinx youth by nativity.