Fernando I. Rivera

Family Cohesion and Its Relationship to Psychological Distress among Latino Groups.

This article presents analyses of a representative sample of U.S. Latinos (N = 2,540) to investigate whether family cohesion moderates the effects of cultural conflict on psychological distress. The results for the aggregated Latino group suggest a significant association between family cohesion and lower psychological distress, and the combination of strong family cohesion with presence of family cultural conflict is associated with higher psychological distress. However, this association differs by Latino groups. In this study, no association for Puerto Ricans is seen; Cuban results are similar to the aggregate group, family cultural conflict in Mexicans is associated with higher psychological distress whereas family cohesion in other Latinos is associated with higher psychological distress. Implications of these findings are discussed to unravel the differences in family dynamics across Latino subethnic groups.

Contextualizing the Experience of Young Latino Adults: Acculturation, Social Support and Depression

Using a sample of 850 South Florida Latinos from the Miami-Dade county area, this study analyzes the effects of acculturation on the mental health of Latinos by testing whether family support mediates or moderates this relationship. For Latinos social support, particularly family support, is of special interest since it serves an important buffering function in mental health because of the importance of family values in this group. All of these research inquiries are investigated in a context where Latinos represented the majority of the population. Findings suggest a significant relationship between acculturation and depression that was mediated by family social support. Moderating effects were not discovered. The study discusses the importance of social context in analyzing the acculturation–mental health relationship and finds a strong association between gender, education and mental health.

Ataques de Nervios and their psychiatric correlates in Puerto Rican children from two different contexts.

Among Latino adults and children, ataques de nervios has been associated with an array of psychiatric disorders. Using data from a probability sample of Puerto Rican children, aged 5 to 13 years (N = 2491), we assessed the lifetime prevalence and psychiatric correlates of ataques in youth residing in the South Bronx, New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Baseline site comparisons indicated that between 4% and 5% of children had a lifetime prevalence of ataques (either by child or parent report) and that ataques were associated with greater global impairment and a host of childhood disorders within the previous twelve months. Ataques were also correlated with greater exposure to violence, as well as more stressful life events for the South Bronx sample. After controlling for several covariates, ataques continued to be significantly associated with psychopathology. Ataques are, therefore, a significant correlate of global impairment and childhood psychopathology among Puerto Rican youth.

The (In)Significance of Race and Discrimination among Latino Youth: The Case of Depressive Symptoms

Abstract Despite the growing population of Latinos in the United States, there is little research that explores how discrimination affects the mental health of Latino youth along racial lines. In this paper we ask two closely related questions. First, do black Latino youth have higher or lower symptoms of depression than nonblack Latinos? Second, is the relationship between race and depression among Latino youth buffered by discrimination stress? Results from the Transitions Study show that black Latino youth have significantly higher symptoms of depression than nonblack Latinos. The relationship between race and depression depends on daily—but not on lifetime—experiences of discrimination. The combined effect of race and discrimination holds in the face of a wide range of measures of stress, including major lifetime events, recent life events, and chronic stressors. These findings encourage future research that considers the mental health effects of racial variation among Latinos.

Using a Social Marketing Framework to Transform an Education Program: Lessons from the Hispanic Obesity Prevention and Education (PESO) Program:

Programa de Educación Sobre la Obesidad (PESO) was a targeted intervention which intended to raise awareness about the obesity epidemic, reduce the proportion of overweight and obese adults, and promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables within the Hispanic community of Seminole County, Florida. It was funded through the Florida Department of Health statewide Hispanic Obesity and Prevention Program. The PESO program utilized a multidisciplinary design to implement and evaluate a nutrition education and obesity reduction program. The 4-month program was a collaborative effort of the Seminole County Health Department, University of Central Florida, and Iglesia Vida Nueva church in Seminole County. We used a social marketing framework to deliver the curriculum and structure some of the lessons. In addition, we utilized this framework to critique, redesign, and make recommendations for future programs.

Life Expectancies With Depression by Age of Migration and Gender Among Older Mexican Americans

Background and Objectives Prior studies examining depression among older Mexican Americans suggest both women and immigrants are at higher risk of depressive symptomatology than males and U.S.-born Mexican Americans. We use data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to examine whether life expectancy with depression and without depression varies by nativity, age of migration, and gender. Research Design and Methods Sullivan-based life tables were used to estimate depression life expectancies among Mexican Americans aged 65 years and older residing in the Southwestern United States. Depression is based on the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D). The CES-D is a continuous scale (0-60) with higher values indicating worse mental health. We dichotomize depression as a score of 16 or greater. Results Immigrant women, particularly those who migrated in late-life (after age 50) are at a significant disadvantage in the number of years after age 65 lived with depression and the ratio of years spent without depression relative to U.S.-born women. Among men, only late-life immigrants were disadvantaged in the number of years spent with depression. Early- and mid-life immigrant males did not differ from U.S.-born males. Discussion and Implications Our results highlight the heterogeneity among older Mexican Americans in life expectancies with depression. These findings illustrate the importance of considering age of migration as a high-risk factor for depression among Mexican-origin immigrants. Including this risk factor as a part of depression screening is a key step for timely interventions in preventing disability and comorbidities associated with untreated depression.

Appendices A, B and C

This chapter includes the survey instrument and focus group interview script utilized to collect some of the data discussed in the book. In addition, there is a content analysis of news articles from the 2014 hurricane season with regards to hurricane preparedness, resilience, vulnerability, and hazards.

The Path to Resilience

In this chapter, we discuss some of the challenges to resilience utilizing a conceptual framework (Adaptive Resilience & Community Capital Framework) that includes several elements essential to disaster resilience. We build on the Adaptive Resilience & Community Capital framework by providing a detailed analysis of the emergency managers and other non-profit and community group responses with regards to what they perceived to be obstacles to resilience, particularly issues relating to apathy and complacency, communication issues, and funding, among others. In all, increasing a community’s resilience capability consists of a variety of aspects such as socioeconomic, complacency, shifting demographics and resources in terms of shelters and facilities. To overcome these barriers, attention must be given to the nuances of a community, including communication issues, seasonal residents, mistrust of the government, and its collective capital. Furthermore, communication and coordination among agencies is a critical aspect to disaster resilience.

Tourism and Resilience

In this chapter with provide an overview of the tourism and disaster literature, follow by a discussion of the emergency management with regards to tourism in Florida. We conclude the chapter with an examination of focus group data in relation to tourism and disaster resilience.

Disaster Vulnerability, Hazards and Resilience

In this chapter we discuss the goals and organization of the book and provide our perspectives and defi nitions of vulnerability, hazards, and resilience. We also describe, in detail, the data and methods utilized and conclude with a brief description of each chapter and the research gap the book is fi lling, particularly the analysis of the perception for the personnel responsible for disaster response and emergency management in Florida.