BACKGROUND: Chronic pain is prevalent among millions of Americans and can negatively impact cognitive processes, mental health, and overall quality of life. Even though pain affects all ethnic and racial groups equally, studies have shown a growing disparity in pain intensity and prevalence of pain conditions among underrepresented minority adult populations across the United States. Hispanics are among the fastest-growing populations in the U.S., yet chronic pain in Hispanic adults and adolescents remains severely understudied. PURPOSE: This study aims to compare pain and related psychosocial factors (pain catastrophizing, anxiety and depression) and Fear of Pain Questionnaire scores (FOPQ) in Hispanic vs. Non-Hispanic White (NHW) youth with chronic pain. Based on prior literature from studies in adults, it was hypothesized that Hispanic youth would report greater pain catastrophizing, anxiety, depression, and higher FOPQ scores when compared to NHW youth. Further, potential differences in relations between anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and physical functioning on depression among Hispanic and NHW youth will be explored. METHODS: Participant data were gathered from the Boston Children’s Hospital Chronic Pain Data Repository. The current study sample included 116 children and adolescents, ages 12-18 years (M = 15.49, SD = 1.71) from Hispanic and NHW backgrounds. Both groups had the same proportion of participants who identified as female (88%), and samples used for analysis were age-and-sex matched. Independent sample t-tests were performed to compare the mean differences in pain catastrophizing, PROMIS anxiety and depression scores, and FOPQ sum score between groups. Bivariate correlations for each group were also compared, and Hayes PROCESS Macro was used to compare the associations between pain catastrophizing, anxiety, and physical functioning on depression, based across patient ethnicities. RESULTS: The results of independent samples t-tests did not reveal any significant differences across groups. However, significant correlations were found. Notably, PROMIS anxiety and depression t-scores were significantly correlated among each independent cohort of Hispanic youth (r = .612, p <.001), non-Hispanic White youth (r = .817, p<.001), and across the full sample (r = .719, p <.001). Pain catastrophizing was also found to be significantly and positively correlated with anxiety (r = .660, p<.001), depression (r = .582, p <.001) and patient FOPQ score (r = .740, p <.001) across both cohorts. From the moderation analysis, the association between pain catastrophizing and depression was found to be statistically significant based on ethnicity of patient [B = .0272, p<.05]. Similarly, ethnicity was found to significantly moderate the association between PROMIS anxiety and depression [B = .0340, p<.05]. CONCLUSIONS: This study is one of the first to explore how pain and psychosocial-related factors compare in an age-and-sex-matched cohort of Hispanic vs. NHW youth with chronic pain. The study is also novel in identifying patient ethnicity as a moderator between anxiety and pain catastrophizing on depression. Obtaining a significant correlation between pain catastrophizing, anxiety, and depression scores for both groups parallels previous findings in adult populations with chronic pain. Contrary to our hypotheses, no mean differences were found in variables associated with pain or psychosocial factors between the two groups, however it is possible that the small sample size used may have obscured group differences. The results highlight the need to increase diversity in research for pediatric populations with chronic pain to help reduce pain disparities among underrepresented minority youth populations.

This case study examined coping strategies and support systems utilized by 33 children of Hispanic migrant farmworkers from Fabens, Texas. The youth participated in the summer 2011 Creative Kids Incorporated Migrant Program in El Paso, Texas. The study examined how socio-ecological factors, specifically within Creative Kids Inc., help youth to cope with risk factors and aid in the resilience process. This study applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative portion consisted of 12 in-depth program participant interviews, ages 9-15, and observations at Creative Kids Inc. The quantitative portion consisted of a survey that utilized the Brief Adolescent Life Event Scale, the Children Coping Strategies Checklist, and the Multi-Dimensional Support Scale. Thirty-four surveys were distributed, and 33 surveys were analyzed from program participants ages 10-15. The study found the youth were affected by various risk factors within their environment, such as poverty, separation from family, and school. When adapting to stress, most youth utilized behavioral-based distraction strategies (i.e., listening to music and playing outside) and cognitive-based avoidance strategies (i.e., not thinking about their problem) to cope. The youth did not use active coping strategies as often as avoidance strategies. However, some support seeking strategies were mentioned. Most often, youth sought support from parents and older siblings. While the youth sought support from their teachers, it was mainly in regard to school work. Similarly, youth sought support from Creative Kids Inc. staff concerning their art projects. Families were beneficial to youth in the coping process, because they provided youth with opportunities for distracting activities as well as some support. Although the youth strongly enjoyed participating in the Migrant Program, they rarely sought support for personal stressors or problems from the staff. Yet, the program provided youth with opportunities to participate in distracting activities, express their feelings, and seek out support. Despite the lack of literature on children of Hispanic migrant farmworkers and the factors that influence their resilience, this study provided an in-depth description of how they cope with daily life events, what support systems are available to assist in overcoming risks, and provided a basis for understanding the role of support systems in facilitating resiliency among this adolescent group.

No description available.

Hispanic youth living in the U.S. share a disproportionate burden of risk for HIV, other STIs, and teen pregnancies. They also tend to report lower rates of condom use and higher rates of inconsistent condom use than other racial/ethnic groups. Furthermore, immigrant Hispanic adolescents experience a unique burden of sexual risk compared to their non-immigrant counterparts. These negative sexual health outcomes can severely derail the overall health, social mobility, and life opportunities of these adolescents. Social researchers have tried to explain these sexual risk disparities using the concept of immigrant acculturation, which is broadly defined as the process of adopting the cultural values and beliefs of a host society. Immigrant acculturation has been shown to play a key role in shaping youth attitudes and behaviors, including sexual risk behaviors (see Lee & Hahm, 2010). Yet, studies have largely overlooked the contextual components of acculturation that have been proposed in theoretical literature, specifically characteristics of the immigrant's receiving community. Furthermore, studies have not adequately explored the influence of acculturation on two crucial measures of sexual risk: teen pregnancy norms and condom use. Therefore, the current dissertation consists of two unique studies that examine the influence of acculturation, at both the individual and neighborhood level, on Hispanic adolescent teen pregnancy norms and condom use over time. The aim is to fill these important gaps in the literature and expand on earlier explanations of the relationship between cultural, place, and long-term sexual health. Both studies use nationally-representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Overall, findings suggest an immigrant advantage for both teen pregnancy norms and condom use, although this advantage functions differently for males and females. Furthermore, the studies demonstrate the importance of including contextual measures of acculturation into studies related to Hispanic adolescent sexual health.

The population of Hispanic children is quickly growing in the United States. Unfortunately, this group has a significant risk of developing internalizing symptoms. The present study examined the complex relationships of cultural and cognitive factors with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Literature suggests that acculturative stress, or the difficulty experienced when adjusting to a new culture, is related to depression and anxiety in Hispanic youth. However, the mechanisms by which acculturative stress relates to anxiety and depression in this population are unknown. Thus, this study attempted to fill these gaps in the current literature by examining potential mediators and/or moderators. Specifically, negative automatic thoughts, which refer to biases and errors in information processing, were considered as a potential mediator of the relationship between acculturative stress and internalizing symptoms. Further, mindfulness, defined as present moment awareness and nonjudgmentalness, was considered as a potential mediator and moderator of the relationship between acculturative stress and internalizing symptoms. These relationships were tested in a sample of 274 middle school-aged Hispanic participants using self-report measures of internalizing symptoms, mindfulness, automatic thoughts, and acculturative stress. Results revealed that both mindfulness and automatic thoughts mediated the relationship of acculturative stress to anxiety and depression. In addition, mindfulness moderated the pathways from acculturative stress to automatic thoughts and from acculturative stress to anxiety. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

No description available.

Youth obesity prevalence rates in the United States are trending down; however, for Hispanic youth, rates are increasing despite efforts toward a reduction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a culturally focused intervention program on weight reduction of Hispanic youth age 2 to 19 through examination of body mass index (BMI) percentile outcomes comparing age, gender, distance to program, time in program, and season of enrollment. Review of literature supports ecological and cultural approaches requiring behavior modification tailored to family and community as successful in decreasing youth obesity. However, researchers have yet to establish how various variables impact intervention outcomes making it difficult to determine what aspects of the cultural approach is effective. The epidemiology triangle and the social cognitive theory approach were used to relate to findings. Use of retrospective clinical archival participant data dating from November 7, 2008 to February 23, 2015 was analyzed through the use of various statistical applications. The analyses of this study indicated that only one age variable had significant results. The category for age 8 to12 had a significantly higher change in BMI than the other groups (p <.05) . This research has the potential to contribute to social change since it reveals that interventions tailored for the 8-12 age group may significantly improve the effectiveness of the program in reducing BMI percentile, thus decreasing obesity rates and associated disease along with morbidity and mortality. This knowledge can benefit educators, community collaborative efforts, practitioners, and other researchers.