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Valdez CR, Brabeck KM, Barajas-Gonzalez RG, Ayón C, Rojas-Flores L. Sociopolitically and Trauma-Informed Public Health Practice With Latinx Families: Conceptual Framework and Best Practices. Am J Public Health 2024; 114:S485-S494. [PMID: 39083735 PMCID: PMC11292288 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2024.307589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
Public health practitioners working with Latinx families in the United States must consider the historical contexts of colonization and slavery that have created conditions of violence, displacement, and social and economic marginalization throughout Latin America. Although shared experiences of colonization, dispossession, and migration affect all Latinxs, diverse national histories and sociopolitical contexts, migration patterns, and intersecting identities (e.g., gender, social class, race) complicate efforts to develop a uniform approach to this heterogeneous population. We provide a critical analysis of (1) how past experiences contribute to collective trauma and motivate migration, and (2) how these experiences are replicated in the United States through immigration-related adversities that deprive and threaten children and families through marginalization, fear of detention and deportation, and family separation brought on by a parent's deportation. This knowledge is imperative to advance research, practice, and policymaking with US Latinx populations. We provide best practice recommendations for a sociopolitically and trauma- informed public health workforce interfacing with Latinxs in the United States. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S6):S485-S494. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307589) [Formula: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen R Valdez
- Carmen R. Valdez is with the Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas, Austin. Kalina M. Brabeck is with the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership and School Psychology, Rhode Island College, Providence. R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is with the Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY. Cecilia Ayón is with the School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside. Lisseth Rojas-Flores is with the School of Psychology and Marriage & Family Therapy, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
| | - Kalina M Brabeck
- Carmen R. Valdez is with the Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas, Austin. Kalina M. Brabeck is with the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership and School Psychology, Rhode Island College, Providence. R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is with the Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY. Cecilia Ayón is with the School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside. Lisseth Rojas-Flores is with the School of Psychology and Marriage & Family Therapy, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
| | - R Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez
- Carmen R. Valdez is with the Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas, Austin. Kalina M. Brabeck is with the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership and School Psychology, Rhode Island College, Providence. R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is with the Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY. Cecilia Ayón is with the School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside. Lisseth Rojas-Flores is with the School of Psychology and Marriage & Family Therapy, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
| | - Cecilia Ayón
- Carmen R. Valdez is with the Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas, Austin. Kalina M. Brabeck is with the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership and School Psychology, Rhode Island College, Providence. R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is with the Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY. Cecilia Ayón is with the School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside. Lisseth Rojas-Flores is with the School of Psychology and Marriage & Family Therapy, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
| | - Lisseth Rojas-Flores
- Carmen R. Valdez is with the Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas, Austin. Kalina M. Brabeck is with the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership and School Psychology, Rhode Island College, Providence. R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is with the Department of Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY. Cecilia Ayón is with the School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside. Lisseth Rojas-Flores is with the School of Psychology and Marriage & Family Therapy, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
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Zvolensky MJ, Shepherd JM, Garey L, Woody M, Otto MW, Clausen B, Smit T, Mayorga NA, Bakhshaie J, Buitron V. Negative emotional reactivity to minority stress: measure development and testing. Cogn Behav Ther 2024; 53:1-28. [PMID: 37766610 PMCID: PMC10840979 DOI: 10.1080/16506073.2023.2260560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of the present investigation was to develop and test a measure of negative emotional reactivity to racial/ethnic minoritized stress. In Study 1, we developed item content for a measure of negative emotional reactivity to racial/ethnic minoritized stress. We then evaluated item performance and produced a refined 15-item scale among a large sample of racial/ethnic minority adults (N = 1,343). Results supported a unidimensional construct and high levels of internal consistency. The factor structure and internal consistency were replicated and extended to a sample of Latinx persons who smoke (N = 338) in Study 2. There was evidence of convergent validity of the Emotional Reactivity to Minoritized Stress (ERMS) total score in terms of theoretically consistent and statistically significant relations with indices of mental health problems, social determinants of health, and substance use processes. There was also evidence that the ERMS demonstrated divergent validity in that it was negatively associated with psychological well-being, health literacy, subjective social status in Study 1, and positive abstinence expectancies in Study 2. Overall, the present study establishes the reliability and validity of measuring individual differences in negative emotional reactivity to racial/ethnic minority stress with the ERMS and that such responsivity is associated with behavioral health problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Zvolensky
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- HEALTH Institute, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Lorra Garey
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
- HEALTH Institute, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mary Woody
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Michael W. Otto
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bryce Clausen
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Tanya Smit
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nubia A. Mayorga
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jafar Bakhshaie
- Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, 1 Bowdoin Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Victor Buitron
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
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Barbieri M, Mercado E, Gubrium AC, Valdez LA. Social connectedness and surviving at the margins: Findings from interviews with low-income Latino men in the U.S. Northeast. CULTURAL DIVERSITY & ETHNIC MINORITY PSYCHOLOGY 2023:2023-89462-001. [PMID: 37428756 PMCID: PMC10776818 DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Structural and interpersonal discrimination can lead to social exclusion and limited social integration, inhibiting the use of support networks to gain access to health-protective material and social resources. Social support theories suggest that connectedness may moderate the link between discrimination and health risk. This study examined how risk factors (i.e., structural and interpersonal discrimination) further marginalize Puerto Rican men by limiting access to social support. We also aimed to identify resiliency factors, such as cultural values related to social interactions and community support, which may be protective for these men's well-being. METHOD We conducted 40 semistructured interviews with a stratified purposeful sample of Puerto Rican (92.5%) men aged 25-70 (Mage = 50.7) in the U.S. Northeast. A hybrid deductive and inductive thematic qualitative analysis was used to analyze data. RESULTS Participants discussed how structural and interpersonal discrimination result in inequities and barriers to resources and services (e.g., lack of adequate shelter, insecurity, employment) which impacted their well-being through the inability to access fundamental support for survival. The men identified cultural values (e.g., familismo, simpatía) and emphasized the importance of community support as protective factors that may provide a respite from the difficulties of navigating discrimination experiences. CONCLUSION Findings suggest discrimination limits Puerto Rican men's ability to access resources, which has a detrimental impact on their well-being. Identifying social support beyond the family, and considering cultural values related to support, can enhance community interventions by focusing on incorporating multiple forms of support that may improve Puerto Rican men's health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marielena Barbieri
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
| | - Evelyn Mercado
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
| | - Aline C. Gubrium
- Department of Health Promotion and Policy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
| | - Luis A. Valdez
- Department of Health Promotion and Policy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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