Cynthia M. Navarro Flores

Caregiver strain or stress resulting from caring for a child with emotional/behavioral problems—can negatively impact the psychological health of caregivers and may underly decisions to seek mental health services for their youth. The Caregiver Strain Questionnaire‐Short Form 11 (CGSQ‐SF11) was developed to assess caregiver strain, but a Spanish language form has yet to be evaluated, limiting its utility with Latinx families. This study evaluated the CGSQ‐SF11 as a tool for assessing caregiver strain among Latinx caregivers. The sample included 511 Latinx caregivers of youths aged 6–18 who self‐selected into English ( n = 275) or Spanish ( n = 236) questionnaires. In general, caregivers reported moderate levels of caregiver strain, and caregivers who completed the Spanish survey reported significantly lower youth mental health problem severity and caregiver strain relative to those in the English survey. Confirmatory factor analyses suggest that a three‐factor structure fit the data better (i.e., objective, subjective internalized, and subjective externalized strain) than a global factor. However, a bifactor model suggested that the variance in the total score was best represented by a unidimensional structure. The CGSQ‐SF11 achieved metric invariance, which suggests that the latent variable and strength of factor loadings for the global scale were similar across language forms. Finally, we provide evidence of convergent validity through associations between the CGSQ‐SF11 global scale and measures of youth internalizing and externalizing problems. Our findings support the use of CGSQ‐SF11 English and Spanish language forms with Latinx caregivers.

Internalizing problems are prevalent in childhood and are associated with exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); however, their co-development across childhood remains understudied. Prior research documents sociodemographic disparities (i.e., race/ethnicity, sex, income) in ACE exposure and internalizing problems. The current study examined individual and co-developing trajectories of ACEs and internalizing problems and sociodemographic disparities among 4,655 diverse at-risk youth at ages 3, 5, and 9. Participants were 52.2% boys and racially and ethnically diverse, with 44.7% Black, 22.5% Hispanic, 16.7% Other, and 16.2% White youth. Results showed various trajectories with stable levels of cumulative ACE exposure over time and internalizing problems trajectories that decreased or increased over time. Findings provide some evidence for a dose–response relationship between ACEs and internalizing problems. Youth of Color (φ = 0.26, 0.11, 0.19) and from low-income backgrounds ( ϵ ² = 0.07–0.09, 0.02, 0.06–0.08) were more likely to be in worse trajectories of ACEs, internalizing problems, and joint trajectories across ages 3, 5, and 9, respectively. Findings underscore the need for culturally responsive trauma-informed interventions and policy-level efforts that target the root cause of inequities.

This study evaluated the structure, internal consistency, language-based measurement invariance, and construct validity of the Psychological Acculturation Scale (PAS), which assesses psychological acculturation via emotional attachment and belonging-based indicators. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 511 Latinx caregivers of youth with emotional/behavioral problems living in the United States (U.S.). Caregivers provided survey data either in English or Spanish on key sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, binary-gender, generational status in the U.S., language preference) and on psychological acculturation. Findings suggest that the PAS unidimensional factor structure had excellent internal consistency (α = .96, English α = .96, Spanish α = .90) and strong factor loadings (.75−.88) but fit indices for a confirmatory factor analysis were mixed. Post-hoc exploratory factor analyses were conducted to determine whether the model fit could be improved through the identification of a multidimensional structure, which uncovered two factors: (a) cultural identity and social belonging, and (b) cultural competence and familiarity. However, the two-factor solution fit better but had a high degree of overlap/redundancy (covariance = .923). A bifactor analysis suggest that the cultural identity and social belonging scale was unstable after accounting for the global scale and associated fit indices supported a unidimensional structure. The PAS unidimensional structure did not achieve configural invariance across English/Spanish versions, which suggest that differences in scores between language forms should be interpreted with caution. Our findings support the cautious use of the PAS as a brief unidimensional proxy measure of psychological acculturation to facilitate research with English/Spanish speaking Latinx caregivers.

Previous research has shown there are racial/ethnic disparities in exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that can affect youths’ physical and mental well‐being. Structural opportunity factors—including a lack of economic, community, educational, and health resources—may increase exposure to ACEs among youth of color relative to non‐Hispanic White youth. This study explored connections between state‐level opportunity and ACE exposures and examined differences by race/ethnicity within the United States ( N = 46,395). Average cumulative ACEs were generally significantly higher among Hispanic and non‐Hispanic Black youth relative to non‐Hispanic White youth, p < .001. Non‐Hispanic Black youth had higher average cumulative ACEs scores within 28 U.S. states relative to non‐Hispanic White youth. Hispanic youth had higher ACE exposures in 18 states relative to non‐Hispanic White youth. States with higher opportunity scores were in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest. Multilevel model analyses showed that as state‐level opportunity increased (i.e., education, healthcare, economic, community), youth's exposure to ACEs decreased significantly for non‐Hispanic White youth but not non‐Hispanic Black, p = .031, or Hispanic youth, p = .002, r ² _conditional = .059, who, on average, experienced more ACEs. The findings suggest a structural exclusion of minoritized youth from potential macro‐level protective factors (e.g., high state‐level opportunity), highlighting a need for systemic interventions to decrease racial/ethnic disparities in ACE exposures. The results align with previous research demonstrating that the historical and institutional effects of discrimination may shape disparities in accessing and benefiting from quality education, health care, economic, and community resources.

Emerging adulthood is a period associated with increases in mental health problems, with those who have faced adverse life experiences (ALEs; adversity experienced during childhood and adulthood) being at greater risk for poor mental health outcomes. Experiencing multiple ALEs is associated with worse outcomes; however, limited research exists that looks at how patterns of ALEs relate to various mental health outcomes among emerging adults. The present study sought to understand patterns of co-occurring ALEs and their relationship to symptom severity of various mental health outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use) by utilizing a person-centered approach (i.e., Latent Class Analysis; LCA). Data from 442 emerging adults from a university in Southern California were analyzed using Latent Class Analysis to identify various classes of ALEs. Analysis of variance with Bonferroni-adjusted post-hoc test was utilized to assess whether classes related to an array of mental health outcomes. The use of LCA suggested that a five-class mode fit the data best: (1) Low Adversity , (2) Witnessing Adversity , (3) Experiencing Death , (4) Child Maltreatment and Adult Victimization , and (5) High Adversity. Individuals in the High Adversity and Child Maltreatment and Adult Victimization classes had the highest average severity levels on most mental health outcomes relative to those in the other classes. These findings point to the importance of examining the specificity of adverse experiences rather than using the standard cumulative risk approach. Research implications include further assessment of specific co-morbidities of ALEs and their impact on mental health to establish consistency, as well as examining the weight of individual ALEs in predicting mental health problems.

Diversity among college students has increased and, yet experiences of discrimination persist and predict mental health symptoms. The role of various overlapping demographics in predicting discrimination and mental health is understudied. In this study, we examined how gender,race, Latinx ethnicity, and citizenship status relate to experiences of discrimination and mental health outcomes in N = 1665 college students in Texas. Our results indicated that discrimination was endorsed at higher rates by People of Color, Latinxs, women, and non-citizens. Women and non-citizens endorsed the highest mental health symptoms. Multivariate analyses demonstrated greatest vulnerability for discrimination among Latinx women. Regarding mental health, experiences of discrimination associated with stigmatization were associated with deleterious mental health outcomes, particularly for Women of Color. Reflecting the growing scholarship on intersectionality, race and Latinx ethnicity acted with gender to compound risk for discrimination and the effect of discrimination on mental health.