Psychometric evaluation of an abbreviated version of the intragroup marginalization inventory

Mental health among Latinx emerging adults: Examining the role of familial accusations of assimilation and ethnic identity

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study are to investigate (1) how family response to acculturation (e.g., accusations of assimilation) is related to anxiety and depressive symptomatology for Latinx emerging adults. This study's goal is also to analyze (2) the extent to which ethnic identity components and gender moderate the respective associations.

METHOD

Cross-sectional survey was completed by 200 Latinx emerging adults. Inclusion criteria involved reading English, ages 18-25, currently reside in Maricopa or Miami-Dade Counties and self-identify as Latinx. Analysis used hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses.

RESULTS

Findings indicate that higher familial accusations of assimilation were associated with higher symptoms of depression and anxiety. Moderation analyses indicate that gender had a statistically significant interaction with accusations of assimilation in relation to symptoms of both depression and anxiety. A significant three-way interaction between ethnic identity exploration, gender, and intracultural accusations of assimilation in relation to symptoms of depression interaction among men was found.

CONCLUSION

Findings from the study add to literature on the effect of intragroup marginalization on Latinx mental health and highlight gender differences. The ethnic identity component of exploration is found to be a protective factor for men which wanes over increasing levels of accusation of assimilation.

Local variation in cannabis use patterns among young adults in the San Francisco Bay Area

This study evaluated whether neighborhood-level disorder, social cohesion, and perceived safety, were associated with days of cannabis use in the prior month in a representative sample of young adults in Alameda and San Francisco Counties in California (N = 1272). We used multiscale geographically weighted regression, modeled by county, to measure associations between cannabis use days and neighborhood attributes, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and self-rated health. Positive associations were found between number of cannabis use days and neighborhood disorder, and greater perceived safety. Higher levels of social cohesion predicted fewer cannabis use days. Racial/ethnic, sex and, socioeconomic compositions of participants residing in areas with significant neighborhood-level associations varied substantially, suggesting that risk factors for young adult cannabis use may be highly localized. Public health efforts in cannabis education and intervention should be tailored to fit the culture and composition of local neighborhoods.

Tobacco use in the sexual borderlands: The smoking contexts and practices of bisexual young adults

Little is known about why bisexual people use tobacco at higher rates than any other sexual identity group. Non-binary sexualities, such as bisexuality, exist within the socially constructed borderland between homosexuality and heterosexuality. Exploration of the everyday smoking contexts and practices of bisexual individuals may reveal unique mechanisms driving tobacco use. We employed a novel mixed method, integrating real-time, smartphone-administered surveys of (non)smoking situations, location tracking, spatial visualization of participant data, and subsequent map-led interviews. Participants (n = 17; ages 18-26, California) identified as bisexual, pansexual, and/or queer. Most were cisgender women. Survey smoking patterns and situational predictors were similar to other young adults'. However, interviews revealed unique roles of tobacco use in participants' navigation of differently sexualized spaces in everyday life: 1) stepping away from uncomfortable situations related to bisexual identity; 2) facilitating belonging to LGBTQ+ community; and 3) recovering from bisexual identity perception management. Similar studies can examine the place-embedded practices and spatio-temporal patterns of other substance use and other stigmatized identity experiences.