An extensive literature has linked off-time pubertal maturation to adverse health outcomes among adults. Childhood adversities are also linked to both pubertal development and cardiometabolic disease. Despite the racial and ethnic disparities in pubertal timing and cardiometabolic health in midlife, few studies have investigated if off-time pubertal maturation is associated with Latino individuals' metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, there exists limited data assessing early life risk factors affecting the association between timing of pubertal maturation and metabolic syndrome by sex and in young adults. This dissertation used a life course perspective to test developmental hypotheses of stress on reproductive strategies and cardiometabolic health to address these limitations. The three primary aims of this dissertation research were to 1) estimate the association between family dysfunction and timing of pubertal maturation in Latino boys and girls, 2) systematically review the impact of the timing of pubertal maturation on metabolic syndrome in young adults age 18-40 years, and 3) estimate the association between timing of pubertal maturation and metabolic syndrome in young adult Latino men and women. The analytic aims were explored using data from two population-based cohorts that include different age groups: the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCSH/SOL) Youth Ancillary Study (cross-sectional design) (8-16 years), and the Boricua Youth Study Health Assessment Ancillary Study (prospective design) (5-10 years and 18-23 years). The first empirical study, using HCHS/SOL Youth data, found that the presence of family dysfunction may be associated with delayed pubertal maturation in Latino children and adolescents. The systematic review highlighted the lack of diversity by sex, measurements, and racial/ethnic representation in this area of research, but also suggested that childhood BMI may account for much of the association between pubertal timing and metabolic syndrome. The second empirical study, based on the BYS HA study, did not find meaningful associations between timing of pubertal maturation and metabolic syndrome and cardiometabolic traits in young adults. These results do not support the prevailing hypotheses nor quantitative evidence linking off-time pubertal maturation to poorer cardiometabolic health. Overall, this dissertation utilized a life course perspective to advance understanding and support of the origins of adulthood cardiovascular risk that may begin in childhood. Future investigations should be designed to be longitudinal and include measures characterizing childhood body size, health behaviors, and environmental exposures. Future studies should also explore the specific mechanisms explaining the observed associations, particularly the complex interaction between hormonal and metabolic factors that appear to affect adult health among individuals with off-time pubertal maturation adversely.

This dissertation examines Latino political engagement, why it occurs at lower rates comparedto other racial/ethnic groups, and factors that may prove influential in bridging such gaps in political engagement. Much of the existing literature on the turnout gap, a persistent double-digit average disparity in voter turnout between Latinos and other U.S racial/ethnic groups has not yet grappled with the empirical fact that such disparities appear before Americans are of voting age. Additionally, we know little about forces that shape Latino’s decision to engage in other forms of political participation such as running for political office. I argue that the relative (dis)engagement of Latinos can be better understood by analyzing differences in the development of norms regarding political engagement. In my first dissertation paper, I leverage decades of longitudinal survey data to assess differences in the early political development of racial/ethnic groups in the United States. I find substantial heterogeneity in the development of political interest, engagement, and attitudes among racial and ethnic groups. I also demonstrate that voting aspirations among Latino youth exist well before they reach voting age. In the second study, I employ two survey experiments to test causal arguments regarding the influence of potential socialization agents on Latino youth: group exemplars. I also conduct focus groups with Latino youth to further describe the mechanisms that drive their voting aspirations. The results show that exemplars, or in-group “role models,” influence the norms and intended voting behavior of young Latinos. Exposure to in-group exemplars coincide with greater levels of intent to vote and increased in-group norms placing emphasis on voting. I also find that the actions exemplars engage in or discuss matter greatly. Observed increases in modes of civic participation outside of voter turnout, such as enthusiasm for political volunteerism, were likely a function of the first intervention’s experimental stimuli. In my final study, I assemble an original dataset of Spanish-language television stations across the United States to study their influence on local-level candidate emergence and Latino turnout. The results show that Spanish-language television access has a negative effect on candidate emergence in areas with high Latino population density, while Latinos in areas that have a low density of co-ethnics are mobilized by access to stations. The results add further complexity to the debate on ethnic media and Latino political participation as the observed effects appear to depend on ethnoracial political context.