Disconcerting levels of alcohol use among Venezuelan immigrant adolescents in the United States

Brief Parent-Child Substance Use Education Intervention for Black Families in Urban Cities in New Jersey: Protocol for a Formative Study Design

BACKGROUND

Substance use continues to remain a public health issue for youths in the United States. Black youths living in urban communities are at a heightened risk of poor outcomes associated with substance use and misuse due to exposure to stressors in their neighborhoods, racial discrimination, and lack of prevention education programs specifically targeting Black youths. Many Black youths, especially those who live in urban communities, do not have access to culturally tailored interventions, leaving a critical gap in prevention. Since family is a well-known protective factor against substance misuse for Black youths, it is essential to create sustainable and accessible programming that incorporates Black youths' and their families' voices to develop a suitable prevention program for them.

OBJECTIVE

We aim to understand the cultural and environmental level factors that influence substance use among Black youths and develop a prevention program to increase parent-child substance use education among Black families.

METHODS

This study will take place within urban cities in New Jersey such as Paterson and East Orange, New Jersey, which will be the main study sites. Both cities have a large population of Black youths and this study's team has strong ties with youths-serving organizations there. A formative, qualitative study will be conducted first. Using the first 3 steps of the ADAPT-ITT (Assessment, Decision, Adaptation, Production, Topical Experts, Integration, Training, and Testing) framework we begin the development of an intervention for Black families. Three aims will be described: aim 1, collect qualitative data from Black parents and youths aged 11-17 years from parent-child dyads (N=20) on the challenges, barriers, and facilitators to communicating about substance use; aim 2, adapt a selected evidence-based intervention for Black families and develop a family advisory board to guide the adaptation; and aim 3 assess the feasibility of the intervention through theater testing, involving the family and community advisory board.

RESULTS

This study is part of a 2-year research pilot study award from the National Institutes of Drug Abuse. Data collection began in May 2023, and for aim 1, it is 95% complete. All aim 1 data collection is expected to be complete by December 30, 2023. Data analysis will immediately follow. Aim 2 activity will occur in spring 2024. Aim 3 activity may begin in fall 2024 and conclude in 2025.

CONCLUSIONS

This study will be one of the few interventions that address substance use among youths and uses parents and families in urban communities as a protective factor within the program. We anticipate that the intervention will benefit Black youths not only in New Jersey but across the nation, working on building culturally appropriate, community-specific prevention education and building on strong families' relationships, resulting in a reduction of or delayed substance use.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/55470.

The Venezuelan diaspora: Migration-related experiences and mental health

Since 2015, the Venezuelan diaspora has poured forth from the Venezuelan sending context into an array of (mostly) middle-income receiving countries and into the United States (US) as well. For many Venezuelan migrants, post-migration reception has been mixed, and multiple studies suggest that mental health is an important challenge with discrimination and negative context reception contributing to mental health burden in terms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Cross-national research points to important sociodemographic differences between Venezuelan migrants resettled in South American contexts and in the US, and suggests that-on average-migration-related cultural stress is lower and mental health outcomes are better among those resettling in South Florida and elsewhere in the US.

Toward a Typology of Transnational Communication among Venezuelan Immigrant Youth: Implications for Behavioral Health

We identify subtypes of Venezuelan youth based on patterns of technology-based communication with friends in their receiving (US) and sending (Venezuela) countries and, in turn, examine the behavioral health characteristics among different "subtypes" of youth. Using data from 402 recently-arrived Venezuelan immigrant youth (ages 10-17), latent profile analysis and multinomial regression are employed to examine the relationships between technology-based communication and key outcomes. We identified a four-class solution: [#1] "Daily Contact in US, In Touch with Venezuela" (32%), [#2] "Daily Communication in Both Countries" (19%), [#3] "Weekly Contact: More Voice/Text Than Social Media" (35%), and [#4] "Infrequent Communication with US and Venezuela" (14%). Compared to Class #1, youth in Classes #2 and #3 report elevated depressive symptomatology and more permissive substance use views. Findings suggest that how youth navigate and maintain transnational connections varies substantially, and that technology-based communication is related to key post-migration outcomes.

Health risk behavior and cultural stress among Venezuelan youth: a person centered approach

BACKGROUND

In recent years, more than 5 million Venezuelans have left their once prosperous country, with several hundred thousand settling in the United States (US). At present, our understanding of the health risk behavior profiles of Venezuelan émigré youth, and their links with cultural stress, remains limited.

OBJECTIVES

Drawing from a sample of recently-immigrated Venezuelan youth in the US, we aim to identify subtypes of youth according to their involvement in health risk behaviors (i.e., substance use, sexual risk behavior, violence) and assess the associations between class membership and key constructs related to cultural stress theory (i.e., negative context of reception, family communication/support).

METHOD

Latent profile analysis and multinomial regression were performed using data from a community-based convenience sample of 402 recently-arrived Venezuelan immigrant youth (ages 10-17; 56% male).

RESULTS

We identified five subtype classes: (1) "Abstainer" (36%), (2) "Alcohol Only" (24%), (3) "Alcohol/Tobacco" (24%), (4) "Aggression" (8%), and (5) "Multidimensional Risk" (8%). Compared to Class #1, youth in Classes #3 and #5 reported significantly higher levels of negative context of reception and lower levels of family functioning while controlling for demographic factors. Youth in Class #5 reported the lowest levels of family economic hardship and the longest duration in the US.

CONCLUSION

It is vital that we support both Venezuelan youth who abstain from risk behavior and, at the same time, develop and implement programs that target the needs of those who are at elevated risk for serious consequences related to substance use, sexual risk behavior, and violence.

Cultural Stress and Substance Use Risk among Venezuelan Migrant Youth in the United States

BACKGROUND

Since 2015, more than four million Venezuelans have fled their once prosperous nation, prompting an ever-intensifying refugee crisis. Recent research with Venezuelan parents suggests that many are exposed to elevated migration-related stress, experience behavioral health problems, and express profound concern for their children's post-migration wellbeing. We examine the relationships between stress, family functioning, and substance use risk with a cultural stress theoretical lens. Methods: Survey data were collected between November 2018 and June 2019 from 402 recently-arrived Venezuelan immigrant youth ages 10-17. Outcomes include perceived discrimination, negative context of reception, family support/communication, and substance use intentions and normative beliefs. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between variables. Results: Structural equation modeling results indicated that negative context of reception was associated with permissive substance use norms (via family communication; B = 0.070, p < .01) and intentions to use (via family support; B = 0.051, p < .01). Discrimination was not mediated by family functioning, rather it exerted a direct effect on substance use norms (β = 0.20, p < .01) and intentions (β = 0.33, p < .001). Discussion: We see clear evidence that negative context of reception and discrimination are related to substance use risk, both directly (in the case of discrimination) and indirectly (in the case of negative context of reception). Given the manifold stressors faced by Venezuelan immigrants both prior to migration and in the process of resettling in the US, it is critical that practitioners and policymakers support this rapidly-growing population.