Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Wanda S. Pillow. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 244-257) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p>Older Latinos often resist discussing their end-of-life plans and are least likely to have completed any advance health care directive documentation with their family. The absence of these discussions or creating documented wishes can cause family members to become even more overwhelmed and confused when a loved one is terminally ill and immediate health care decisions need to be made. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand factors preventing older adult Latinos from participating in conversations regarding end-of-life planning with other family members. Results from 13 interviews revealed that older Latinos were willing to engage in end-of-life care planning conversations with family, but they often lack sufficient information and support to do so. Specific barriers to end-of-life planning for Latinos include a lack of information on advance directives, language and communication barriers, and spiritual beliefs regarding decision-making when one is terminally ill. Directions for future research and social work implications are discussed. </p>

This dissertation examines transformations in the political landscapes of 16th and 17th century colonial Peru, focusing in particular on the effects of the reducción forced resettlement movement on native communities in the Zaña and Chamán valleys of Peru's North Coast region. Based on archaeological settlement survey, excavations, geophysical survey, artifact analysis and archival research, I explore how reducción impacted indigenous political subjectivities, lifeways, and built environments within the Zaña/Chamán region. In my analysis, I describe reducción as both a movement (primarily initiated under the watch of Peru's fifth viceroy, Francisco de Toledo) that had immediate effects on social and material life in the Zaña and Chamán valleys and as a field of discourse that extended well beyond those practical moments. In turn, I demonstrate how reducción discourse grew out of diverse strands of Classical and Early Modern thought, but also critically responded to Spanish clerical and administrative perception of New World built environments and landscapes. Based on archaeological survey data, I argue that the Toledan reducción movement had profound effects on settlement systems in the lower Zaña and Chamán valleys, leading to a drastic increase in settlement nucleation and contributing to indigenous population decline. In tandem, reducción transformed native political affiliations from a series of nested political hierarchies into residentially based affiliations that proved incredibly resilient during nearly three centuries of colonial rule -- outlasting even the lives of individual reducción settlements themselves. Based on test excavations, geophysical survey, and three-dimensional mapping at colonial sites within the project area, I also note significant variations in the form of reducción settlements within the Zaña/Chamán region. I argue that these variations represent the modification of site plans by both Spanish and native actors and reflect the exigencies of Christian conversion, economic exploitation, and cultural survival. Moreover, I demonstrate how new burial traditions and forms of domestic offerings found in reducción settlements in the Zaña and Chamán valleys reflect novel forms of cultural production. Ultimately, I argue that that the story of reducción in the Zaña/Chamán region was neither one of straightforward colonial domination nor tidy negotiation between colonial officials and indigenous subjects. Rather, it was a fractious process that led to unanticipated rearticulations of discourse and practice, which were shaped by local conditions of possibility, improvisation, and contradiction. / Anthropology

<p> Research suggests that Latino adolescents, both native and foreign born, are at increased risk for the development of school, behavioral, and psychological problems. It also identifies a variety of factors associated with both risk and resilience in this population. There is, however, a scarcity of research that specifically examines risk and resiliency in recent Latino immigrant adolescents who have unique circumstances that may affect their functioning. This study was conducted to address this gap in the research literature by investigating the relationship between a sense of school belonging and internalizing, externalizing, and school problems in adolescent immigrants. Participants included 78 Latino adolescent immigrants between the ages of 11 and 18 who completed a number of instruments to assess their level of connectedness to their schools; internalizing, externalizing, and school problems; and overall psychological adjustment. One teacher for each student also completed a measure of academic effectiveness. Results showed that participants who reported a higher sense of school belonging indicated lower levels of depressive symptoms and higher overall psychological adjustment. Significant relationships between school belonging and anxiety symptoms, school/academic problems, and externalizing behaviors were not found. These findings have implications for school psychologists and other school mental health staff who are in a position to support youngsters in need and to foster a supportive and inclusive school environment for immigrant children.</p>

<p> Forty percent of United States Latino children are overweight/obese and at risk of developing chronic diseases. Latino children are the fastest growing segment in the United States and there is great need to develop effective interventions to help Latino families develop life-long dietary habits to slow current obesity trends. Ample research indicates that Latinos' health deteriorates with acculturation, but there is insufficient research whether acculturation of Latino parents leads to childhood obesity. In fall 2011, 40 Latina mothers answered demographic questionnaires from three focus groups of a non-experimental intervention study entitled Sanos y Fuertes by the National Council of La Raza/California State University, Long Beach Center for Latino Community Health. Means, standard deviations and frequencies provided information on basic demographics. Preliminary correlations and <i>t</i> tests with demographic factors identified covariates to include as the control variables for partial correlations. Current research questions sought to answer whether fruit and vegetable, energy dense food, and fast food intake were related to participant acculturation.</p>

<p> Each fall, approximately one million children enter the ninth grade with little prospect of completing high school. Of the 1.1 million students projected to leave school without a diploma for the 2012 school year, a staggering 27 percent (approximately 310,000) will be of Latino descent (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2012). The purpose of this study&mdash;"Dreams Deferred: A Qualitative Study of Latino Youth Who Left High School Prior to Obtaining a Diploma"&mdash;was to examine the perceptions and beliefs of Latino youth as they attempted to make meaning of the factors that led to their leaving school before graduation. Utilizing phenomenological research methods, the researcher conducted in-depth interviews with ten individuals who had the shared experience of leaving high school prematurely. The phenomenological in-depth interview research design was chosen because the occurrence of Latino students leaving school without a diploma cannot be examined without consideration of how the experience was defined and felt by the students. In addition, multiple factors must be considered including the subjective impact of the students' social, cultural and educational histories on their school experience. The individuals were participants in a community-based GED program and were selected through purposeful sampling based on pre-identified selection criteria. The study focused on the participants' perceptions of their school experience and the events and influences that precipitated their premature departure from school. Data were collected through the in-depth interviews and detailed field notes of observations made during the interviews and program activities. Data analysis consisted of coding responses and clustering relevant statements into themes and patterns, which were then synthesized into descriptions of the participants' school experience and the factors associated with their leaving school prior to graduation. Data from the study revealed that the participants began to feel disengaged in middle school, and they perceived that their interaction with school personnel had a significant impact on their school experience. In addition, the participants cited multiple factors outside of school that diverted their focus from learning and ultimately contributed to their leaving school without a diploma. Recommendations for practice and additional research are included following a discussion of data.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to develop an acculturation stress support group program for newly immigrated Latino families. This program was developed to mediate the negative effects of the acculturation process on Latino families. A search for potential funders via the Internet identified The Annenberg Foundation as the potential funding source for this project. A grant was written to support an acculturation stress support group program through the agency Clinicas Del Camino Real, Inc., in Ventura County. Actual Submission and/or funding of the grant was not required for the successful completion of this project. </p>

<p> This qualitative study examined how 14 Latino men attending a large, public institution in California questioned and explored their sexual identities. There is a paucity of literature on the experiences of Latino male students who identify as gay and bisexual. Understanding how these students navigate this aspect of their identity development is important. The findings of this study suggested that the questioning process is a transition that alters relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles. Three themes were identified: how the participants (a) questioned and explored their sexuality, (b) balanced cultural expectations, (c) and came out. Some of the students in this study managed their identities within the Latino community and the gay community while others disengaged from their cultural values and upbringing. </p>

<p> This study, guided by a Chicana feminist epistemology and Latina/o Critical Theory narrates and contemplates the experiences of people who have decided to take part in collective struggle. It explores the ways 10 Mexican-origin activists and organizers (5 women and 5 men, ages 19 to 60) from Santa Ana, California conceptualize identity, community, space, and grassroots. Within the findings, "alternative educational spaces" is introduced as a concept based in the participants' experiences in spaces that contributed to self-worth and built a sense of collective responsibility that countered institutionalized racism and classism in schools and within city policies. This study highlights the heterogeneity of Mexican-origin peoples and investigates the ways in which the participants' lived experiences as Santa Ana-based activists and organizers contribute to developing histories and community building. </p>

<p> Latino students face many challenges on higher education campuses. These challenges require faculty and staff to respond in direct and meaningful ways. Often families have different backgrounds, backgrounds that warrant serious research. Understanding the student as a whole person means understating their families and where they came from. Sometimes this means looking for and listening to their voice. College administrators need to understand the motivational components of incoming Latino students to serve them well. In this transformative autoethonographic study, I focused on understanding stories told by one first-generation, immigrant Latino family's journey through higher education, and their challenges and successes attaining a degree in predominantly White institutions.</p>