Community-engaged Research with Rural Latino Adolescents: Design and Implementation Strategies to Study the Social Determinants of Health

The health of adolescents, perhaps more than in any other period of their life, is shaped by the social determinants of health (SDH). The constellation of SDH that disadvantages a specific group’s health may also make members of that population unable or unwilling to engage in health research. To build a comprehensive body of knowledge about how SDH operate within a specific social context, researchers must design studies that take into account how various vulnerabilities and oppressions may affect people’s experiences of being recruited, interviewed and retained in a study. In 2014, we initiated a prospective cohort study with Latino youth living in the agricultural area of Salinas, California. We began this study with the understanding that it was imperative to develop methodological strategies that actively addressed potential challenges in ways that were culturally responsive, community engaged and inclusive. In this article, we describe our approach to developing best practices in four key areas: 1) building community partnerships and engagement; 2) consideration of staffing and staff support; 3) engaging youth’s perspectives; and 4) developing culturally appropriate research protocols. In our sample of 599 participants, nearly all youth identify as Latinx (94 per cent), half (49 per cent) have at least one parent employed as a farmworker, 60 per cent reside in crowded housing conditions, and 42 per cent have mothers who did not complete high school. Given these multiple vulnerabilities, we view a robust number of youth expressing interest in study participation, the willingness of their parents to permit their children to be enrolled, and the achievement of an ambitious sample target as evidence that our efforts to undertake best practices in community-engaged and inclusive research were well received

More than competition: exploring stakeholder identities at a grassroots cause-related sporting event

The purpose of this paper is to (a) explore stakeholder identities of a grassroots cause-related sporting event; and (b) gain a better understanding of how identities are related to stakeholder development, support of the event, and future intentions. We used a mixed methods research design that consisted of two studies: qualitative followed by quantitative. Study 1 explored stakeholder identities and how they are related to stakeholder development and support of the event, and Study 2 examined how future intentions regarding attendance, donations, and sponsor support differ based on levels of stakeholder identity. Sports marketing and non-profit management literature streams as well as identity theory and social capital theory informed our studies. The National Kidney Foundation Surf Festival was selected because it is a grassroots cause-related sporting event with financial success over the last two decades. In addition, a surf contest, an action sport, is a unique sport setting in the nonprofit sector, which offers insight to marketers seeking to target subcultures. The findings of the qualitative study revealed three identities relevant to participants: sport subculture, community, and cause. A framework emerged from the data that illustrated how these identities unite together to generate social capital, which is linked to effective volunteer and sponsorship management. Quantitative analysis through survey data provided further evidence of the impact of identification with a cause-related sport activity on consumer outcomes. Results indicated attendees with high surf-related identity are more likely to attend future Surf Festivals, have higher intentions to donate to the cause, and have higher sponsor purchase intentions compared to those with low self-identity with the sport subculture. The conclusion discusses implications, framing the findings through the intersection of the sports marketing and non-profit sector industries, and provides suggestions for future research.Ye

Multi-Level Protective and Risk Factors Longitudinally Associated with Dating Violence Perpetration among Non-Urban Mexican-American Adolescents.

To assess the longitudinal relationship between individual and interpersonal risk and protective factors and dating violence perpetration among non-urban Mexican-American youth. With data from a 24-month prospective cohort study (2015-2019; baseline recruitment spanned from 2015-2017; four follow-up interviews every 6 months) of Mexican-American youth (8th grade at baseline) living in an agricultural region (Salinas, California), we utilized multivariable modified Poisson general estimating equations stratified by gender (n = 489) to assess the relationships of religiosity, non-violent problem-solving skills, school connectedness, family cohesion, and bullying victimization with dating violence perpetration. Among girls, but not boys, non-violent problem-solving skills [adjusted relative risk (ARR): 0.7; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56-0.99] and family cohesion (ARR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.48-0.97) were negatively associated with dating violence perpetration, and frequency of bullying victimization was positively associated (ARR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.37-2.59). Non-urban Mexican-American female youth may benefit from multi-level dating violence prevention that strengthens family cohesion by building upon the Mexican-American cultural value of familismo and addresses common risk factors for bullying and dating violence perpetration. Additionally, results affirm etiological differences between girls and boys dating violence perpetration and the need for improved measurement

Multi-Level Protective and Risk Factors Longitudinally Associated with Dating Violence Perpetration among Non-Urban Mexican-American Adolescents

To assess the longitudinal relationship between individual and interpersonal risk and protective factors and dating violence perpetration among non-urban Mexican-American youth. With data from a 24-month prospective cohort study (2015–2019; baseline recruitment spanned from 2015–2017; four follow-up interviews every 6 months) of Mexican-American youth (8th grade at baseline) living in an agricultural region (Salinas, California), we utilized multivariable modified Poisson general estimating equations stratified by gender (n = 489) to assess the relationships of religiosity, non-violent problem-solving skills, school connectedness, family cohesion, and bullying victimization with dating violence perpetration. Among girls, but not boys, non-violent problem-solving skills [adjusted relative risk (ARR): 0.7; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56–0.99] and family cohesion (ARR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.48–0.97) were negatively associated with dating violence perpetration, and frequency of bullying victimization was positively associated (ARR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.37–2.59). Non-urban Mexican-American female youth may benefit from multi-level dating violence prevention that strengthens family cohesion by building upon the Mexican-American cultural value of familismo and addresses common risk factors for bullying and dating violence perpetration. Additionally, results affirm etiological differences between girls’ and boys’ dating violence perpetration and the need for improved measurement

Building social capital to promote adolescent wellbeing: a qualitative study with teens in a Latino agricultural community.

BackgroundLatino youth, particularly in rural settings, experience significant disparities in rates of teen pregnancy and violence. Few data are available regarding social and structural influences on Latino youth's developmental trajectories, specifically on factors that promote wellbeing and protect them from engagement in high-risk sexual and violence-related behaviors.MethodsForty-two youth aged 13 to 19 years old were recruited from middle schools and youth leadership programs to participate in one of eight community-based focus groups in Salinas, a predominantly Latino, urban center in California's rural central coast. Focus groups covered youths' experiences with the risk and protective factors associated with exposure to violence and romantic relationships. Four researchers completed coding with a Grounded Theory approach, informed by the theoretical frameworks of the social ecological model and social capital. The study's design and participant recruitment were informed by a community advisory board of local youth-serving organizations and health care providers.ResultsParticipants described family lives rich in bonding social capital, with strong ties to parents and near-peer family members. They reported that while parents had a strong desire to promote healthful behaviors and social mobility, they often lacked the bridging or linking social capital required to help youth navigate structural systems, such as college applications and access to confidential health care. Youth also reported that some families link their children to negative social capital, such as exposure to gang affiliation.ConclusionAdolescents in this agricultural community identified robust sources of bonding social capital within their families. However, they identified limitations in their families' capacities to link them to structural resources in education, employment, and health care that could support healthful behaviors and upward social mobility

Community-engaged Research with Rural Latino Adolescents: Design and Implementation Strategies to Study the Social Determinants of Health.

The health of adolescents, perhaps more than in any other period of their life, is shaped by the social determinants of health (SDH). The constellation of SDH that disadvantages a specific group's health may also make members of that population unable or unwilling to engage in health research. To build a comprehensive body of knowledge about how SDH operate within a specific social context, researchers must design studies that take into account how various vulnerabilities and oppressions may affect people's experiences of being recruited, interviewed and retained in a study. In 2014, we initiated a prospective cohort study with Latino youth living in the agricultural area of Salinas, California. We began this study with the understanding that it was imperative to develop methodological strategies that actively addressed potential challenges in ways that were culturally responsive, community engaged and inclusive. In this article, we describe our approach to developing best practices in four key areas: 1) building community partnerships and engagement; 2) consideration of staffing and staff support; 3) engaging youth's perspectives; and 4) developing culturally appropriate research protocols. In our sample of 599 participants, nearly all youth identify as Latinx (94 per cent), half (49 per cent) have at least one parent employed as a farmworker, 60 per cent reside in crowded housing conditions, and 42 per cent have mothers who did not complete high school. Given these multiple vulnerabilities, we view a robust number of youth expressing interest in study participation, the willingness of their parents to permit their children to be enrolled, and the achievement of an ambitious sample target as evidence that our efforts to undertake best practices in community-engaged and inclusive research were well received

Social environment risk factors for violence, family context, and trajectories of social-emotional functioning among Latinx adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: High social-emotional functioning, including emotion regulation and nonviolent conflict resolution, constitute developmental competencies of adolescence that promote health and well-being. We used prospective longitudinal data from a predominantly Latinx population to understand how family context and social environment risk factors for violence related to patterns of social-emotional functioning during the transition between middle school and high school. METHODS: We prospectively interviewed 599 8th graders every 6 months for 2 years. We used trajectory models to explore longitudinal patterns of emotion regulation and nonviolent problem solving and multinomial regression to distinguish how these groups were associated with family context, partner and peer gang involvement, and neighborhood social disorder. RESULTS: Youth reporting lower neighborhood disorder in 8th grade were more likely to be in the high emotion regulation trajectory group. Youth without exposure to gangs through peers and partners in 8th grade were more likely to be in the high nonviolent problem-solving skills trajectory group. Family cohesion was associated with being in the high trajectory groups for both emotional regulation and problem-solving skills. CONCLUSION: Emotion regulation and nonviolent problem-solving skills had different associations with the social environment risk factors for violence examined, indicating that mechanisms of influence and strategies for intervention may vary. The association between problem-solving skills and exposure to gangs through peers and partners shows that social norms may be important targets of change. Additionally, interventions with parents that build family cohesion during adolescence may buffer environmental exposures that shape adolescents ability to practice protective social-emotional behaviors

Early Sexual Debut and Neighborhood Social Environment in Latinx Youth

ObjectivesTo examine whether social aspects of the neighborhood environment are associated with early sexual initiation in a California agricultural community of predominantly Latinx adolescents.MethodsIn a prospective cohort study of 599 eighth graders recruited from middle schools in Salinas, California (2015-2019), participants completed five interviews over 2 years. Social environment measures included neighborhood social dynamics (neighborhood disorder, social cohesion, and social network gang exposure); experiences of discrimination; and school connectedness. We estimated associations between baseline social environment and early sexual initiation (<15 years) using Poisson regression with robust standard errors. We compared contraceptive self-efficacy and attitudes by sexual initiation status using ANOVA.ResultsMost youth were Latinx (94%) and age 13 (70%) at enrollment; 53% were female and 49% had a parent employed in agriculture. Additionally, 14% reported first vaginal sex before age 15. Neighborhood disorder (relative risk [RR], 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.21), social network gang exposure (RR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.49-3.33), and experiences of discrimination (RR, 1.67 [1-2 events versus none], 95% CI, 1.09-2.55; RR, 2.33 [3+ events versus none], 95% CI, 1.07-4.64) were associated with early sexual initiation. School connectedness was protective (RR, 0.44, 95% CI, 0.29-0.69). Youth who initiated sex before age 15 had more negative birth control attitudes and expressed lower motivation to use contraceptives.ConclusionsFindings underscore opportunities to promote early adolescent sexual health through strengthening supportive and safe neighborhood environments with the promise of addressing disparities in unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates in later adolescence

Topography and relationship-specific social touching in individuals displaying body image disturbances

Abstract Interpersonal touch is intimately related to the emotional bond between the touch giver and the touch receiver. Which bodily regions we touch in those individuals in our social network is relationship specific. Perception of interpersonal touch is altered in psychiatric disorders characterised by body image disturbances (BIDs). Here, we examined whether the ‘imagined’ experience of social touch in individuals with BIDs is body topography- and relationship-specific. By using an interactive media mobile App, the Virtual Touch Toolkit, high versus low levels of BIDs participants completed heatmaps of full-body virtual avatars, to indicate the body regions they find soothing/unpleasant to be touched by a loved one versus an acquaintance. Self-reports of interoceptive awareness and dysmorphic concerns were also measured. Overall, imagined touch was rated as the most soothing when received from a loved one, and also when this was delivered to ‘social’ body regions. The importance of the social relationship for the imagined tactile interactions was particularly evident for the high levels of BIDs group, with greater problems with interoceptive awareness predicting higher soothing touch ratings when this was received by a loved one. Despite the evidence that imagined bodily contacts between meaningful people is the most pleasant for socially acceptable bodily regions, our findings may suggest a greater sensitivity to relation-specific bodily patterns of social touch particularly in the high level of BIDs group. Heightened interoceptive awareness may also play a key role in this experience of bodily affective contacts. Future research for body-oriented therapy for BIDs is encouraged to systematically probe the efficacy of imagined social touch interaction protocols which use more plausible, ecological, scenarios where touch is delivered by loved ones and to socially acceptable bodily regions