Associations of Household and Neighborhood Contexts and Hair Cortisol Among Mexican-Origin Adolescents From Low-Income Immigrant Families

Although neighborhood contexts serve as upstream determinants of health, it remains unclear how these contexts "get under the skin" of Mexican-origin youth, who are disproportionately concentrated in highly disadvantaged yet co-ethnic neighborhoods. The current study examines the associations between household and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), neighborhood racial-ethnic and immigrant composition, and hair cortisol concentration (HCC)-a physiological index of chronic stress response-among Mexican-origin adolescents from low-income immigrant families in the United States. A total of 297 (54.20% female; mage = 17.61, SD = 0.93) Mexican-origin adolescents had their hair cortisol collected, and their residential addresses were geocoded and merged with the American Community Survey. Neighborhoods with higher Hispanic-origin and foreign-born residents were associated with higher neighborhood disadvantage, whereas neighborhoods with higher non-Hispanic White and domestic-born residents were associated with higher neighborhood affluence. Mexican-origin adolescents living in neighborhoods with a higher proportion of Hispanic-origin residents showed lower levels of HCC, consistent with the role of the ethnic enclave. In contrast, adolescents living in more affluent neighborhoods showed higher levels of HCC, possibly reflecting a physiological toll. No association was found between household SES and HCC. Our findings underscore the importance of taking sociocultural contexts and person-environment fit into consideration when understanding how neighborhoods influence adolescents' stress physiology.

Mexican-origin women's individual and collective strategies to access and share health-promoting resources in the context of exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies

BACKGROUND

A growing literature has documented the social, economic, and health impacts of exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies in the early 21st century for Latiné communities in the US, pointing to immigration and immigrant policies as forms of structural racism that affect individual, family, and community health and well-being. Furthermore, the past decade has seen an increase in bi-partisan exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies. Immigration enforcement has been a major topic during the 2024 Presidential election cycle, portending an augmentation of exclusionary policies towards immigrants. Within this context, scholars have called for research that highlights the ways in which Latiné communities navigate exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies, and implications for health. This study examines ways in which Mexican-origin women in a midwestern northern border community navigate restrictive immigration and immigrant policies to access health-promoting resources and care for their well-being.

METHODS

We conducted a grounded theory analysis drawing on interviews with 48 Mexican-origin women in Detroit, Michigan, who identified as being in the first, 1.5, or second immigrant generation. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish, depending on participants' preferences, and were conducted at community-based organizations or other locations convenient to participants in 2013-2014.

RESULTS

Women reported encountering an interconnected web of institutional processes that used racializing markers to infer legal status and eligibility to access health-promoting resources. Our findings highlight women's use of both individual and collective action to navigate exclusionary policies and processes, working to: (1) maintain access to health-promoting resources; (2) limit labeling and stigmatization; and (3) mitigate adverse impacts of immigrant policing on health and well-being. The strategies women engaged were shaped by both the immigration processes and structures they confronted, and the resources to which they had access to within their social network.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest a complex interplay of immigration-related policies and processes, social networks, and health-relevant resources. They highlight the importance of inclusive policies to promote health for immigrant communities. These findings illuminate women's agency in the context of structural violence facing immigrant women and are particularly salient in the face of anti-immigrant rhetoric and exclusionary immigration and immigrant policies.

Attachment insecurity, heart rate variability, and perceived social support in a diverse sample of young adults

Psychological and physical factors are robustly associated with perceived social support. Drawing from the literature on attachment style in adults and psychophysiology, we examined the possibility that the interaction of attachment insecurity and resting heart rate variability (HRV) was associated with perceived social support in a diverse sample of young adults living in the U.S (N = 145, Mage = 20.45) that was majority Latino (n = 77). Analyses revealed three key findings. First, in the overall sample, attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety were negatively associated with perceived social support, but in the Latino sample, only attachment avoidance was negatively associated with perceived social support. Second, HRV was not associated with perceived social support in the overall sample nor in the Latino sample. Third, attachment insecurity and HRV interacted to predict perceived social support only in the Latino sample such that, for those with lower levels of HRV, attachment anxiety was positively associated with perceived social support. This study underscores the importance of examining both psychological and physiological processes with careful consideration of ethnicity/culture in order to better understand perceived social support.

Hispanic Caregivers of the Money Follows the Person Program in Connecticut: Satisfaction, Familism, and Burden

Hispanic caregivers provide more assistance than the U.S. average, but underutilize support services and report low levels of program satisfaction. A possible exception is the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program. Using an ordered logit statistical approach, we studied program satisfaction of all Hispanic caregivers assisting Connecticut MFP participants from 2014 to 2019, examining the effects of caregiver familism, burden, and personal characteristics including self-reported health and perceived financial situation. Healthier caregivers with positive perceptions of MFP’s usefulness and lower subjective burden reported higher program satisfaction. In ordered logits for separate blocks, familism elements (finding caregiving worthwhile, feeling well-supported as a caregiver, and having a good relationship with the care recipient) were statistically significant and associated with higher satisfaction. Our exclusive focus on Hispanic caregivers highlights the role of familism in satisfaction, and demonstrates that programs with a supportive caregiver component can supplement familism ties and overcome barriers to service usage.

Providing Support Differentially Affects Asian American and Latinx Psychosocial and Physiological Well-Being: A Pilot Study

Although substantial evidence suggests receiving social support has positive implications for well-being, less is known about how providing support can confer benefits, particularly for Asian American and Latinx individuals who are more likely to come from interdependent cultures that emphasize family obligation. Asian American and Latinx college students (N = 48; M_age = 21.44, SD = 2.61; 68.75% female) reported on anxiety before taking part in a modified laboratory task that elicited a physiological stress response as measured by total cortisol output. They were randomly assigned to write (a) a supportive note to a family member, (b) a supportive note to a close friend, or (c) about their day in a control condition after the mild lab stressor and reported on psychosocial well-being (i.e., post-task anxiety and self-esteem). Those who provided support to a family member experienced higher self-esteem compared to those in the control condition. However, there was variation in Asian American and Latinx participants’ physiological stress response (i.e., total cortisol output). The findings suggest that providing support to close others, particularly family members, can be differentially meaningful for individuals from diverse backgrounds.

[Mexican pregnant women's environment, knowledge and attitudes on prenatal care]

OBJECTIVES

To explore the barriers and facilitators to prenatal care, as well as the knowledge about healthy pregnancy and the attitude towards pregnancy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Mixed-methods study in pregnant women with social and economic vulnerability. Barriers and facilitators for prenatal care were examined using ethnographic methods, while structured and semi-structured interviews were used to assess knowledge and attitudes. Data were categorized during the qualitative analysis, and frequencies, ratios, average and standard deviation were calculated in the quantitative analysis.

RESULTS

Ten women aged between 18 and 33 years were interviewed; 50% sought prenatal care during their first trimester. Facilitators included partner role and family support, and barriers were unsafe neighborhood and home, and lack of funds to cover transportation to the clinic. Most women did not receive information related to weight gain. Almost none knew about depression or abuse. Half of them did not know about risks of addictive substances, nor did they know about prevention of infectious diseases. Finally, attitudes towards pregnancy were: environmental stressors; chaotic homes; fears about pregnancy; and interest in knowing more about pregnancy.

CONCLUSION

The interviewed women were open to learn about their pregnancy and they have family and spouse support. Prenatal care should be strengthened with topics related to mental health, domestic abuse, healthy weight gain, risk of addictive substances, and prevention of infectious diseases. They can be enhanced by including safety in unsafe areas, as well as techniques for better time and family economy management.

Reducing cultural mismatch: Latino students' neuroendocrine and affective stress responses following cultural diversity and inclusion reminder

Cultural mismatch theory suggests that a poor fit between the cultural values endorsed by individuals and the institutions to which they belong results in emotional distress and activation of physiological stress processes, particularly for underrepresented groups. To test a novel paradigm for reducing perceptions of this cultural mismatch, the current experiment evaluated whether reminding first-year Latino university students (N = 84; M_age = 18.56; SD = 0.35; 63.1% female; 85.7% Mexican descent; 65.5% first-generation college students) about institutional support for cultural diversity and inclusion would reduce neuroendocrine and affective responses to psychosocial stress. Prior to completing a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test, participants were randomly assigned to view either a video conveying university commitment to cultural diversity and inclusion (n = 45) or a control video (n = 39) depicting a campus tour. Five saliva samples assayed for cortisol and corresponding negative affect measures were collected to assess stress reactivity and recovery patterns (pre-task baseline, post-task +30 min, +45 min, +60 min, +75 min). Repeated measures data were analyzed using bilinear spline growth models. Viewing the culture video (compared to control) significantly reduced cortisol reactivity to the TSST and post-task negative affect levels, specifically for students endorsing higher Latino cultural values (e.g., familism, respect). Post-task cortisol levels were also reduced for students endorsing higher U.S. mainstream cultural values (e.g., self-reliance, competition). Results provide novel evidence for cultural diversity in stress responsivity and individual variation in approaches to reduce perceived cultural mismatch.

Latino adolescents' cultural values associated with diurnal cortisol activity

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity has been identified as a mechanism through which daily life stress contributes to health problems and racial/ethnic health disparities. Stress-related changes in neuroendocrine function are evident as early as adolescence, but the ways in which promotive cultural factors may also contribute to variation in diurnal HPA activity have received little empirical attention. Grounded in cultural models of resilience, dual dimensions of Latino adolescents' cultural values (ethnic heritage and U.S. mainstream) were examined as promotive and protective factors in relation to their diurnal salivary cortisol patterns using ecological momentary assessment (N = 209; M_age = 18.10; 64.4% female). Participants provided 5 daily saliva samples for 3 days while completing corresponding electronic diary reports and using time-sensitive compliance devices (track caps, actigraphs). Results from 3-level growth curve models indicated that higher U.S. mainstream cultural values (e.g., self-reliance, competition, material success) were associated with higher average waking cortisol levels and a more rapid rate of diurnal cortisol decline (i.e., "steeper" slope). Regarding situational deviations from the diurnal rhythm (within-person differences), cortisol levels were higher in relation to diary-reported ongoing stress (vs. completed). Accounting for these situational differences in stress timing, a cross-level interaction (i.e., between-person difference in within-person process) indicated that higher perceived stress than usual was associated with lower cortisol levels for adolescents with stronger alignment to Latino ethnic heritage values (e.g., familism, respect, religiosity), compared to relatively higher cortisol levels for those with less alignment to these values. Results were consistent adjusting for participants' sex, immigrant generation, parents' education level, depressive symptoms, medication use, sleep duration, and other self-reported health behaviors. These findings join the growing science of cultural neurobiology by demonstrating the promotive and potentially regulating influence of cultural values in the daily HPA functioning of Latino adolescents.

No laughing matter: Latinas' high quality of conversations relate to behavioral laughter

Latinx in the United States have greater life expectancy than other groups, in spite of their socioeconomic and psychosocial disadvantage. This phenomenon has been described as the Latinx health paradox. This investigation observed the interplay of cultural processes and social networks to shed light on this paradox. Latina (N = 26) and White-European (N = 24) mothers wore a digital recorder as they went about their daily lives. Four conversation styles were characterized from the recordings to measure the mothers' quality of their conversations (small talk and substantive conversations) within different social networks (with the father vs. other adults). As a positive indicator of well-being, laughter was assessed during the conversations. Results demonstrated that Latina mothers tend to laugh more than White-European mothers; and that this relation is mediated by substantive conversations with others. This suggests that Latinas' cultural processes afford meaningful conversations, which relates to more behavioral laughter, a process that may have positive implications on well-being.