This project focused on immigrants' perceptions of social services and social workers. The study employed the post positivist paradigm. The project was conducted with legal and illegal immigrants who received services at Bilingual Family Counseling Service in the city of Ontario, CA. The study found that the immigrants' perceptions about social service agencies and social workers were multi-determined by at least three elements: knowledge, experiences, and attitudes. The dynamic interaction between experiences and attitudes shaped the immigrants' perceptions. Most of the respondents had a positive attitude toward social workers and social services agencies.

Persons with serious mental illness (SMI) are in worse physical health compared to persons in the general population and are more likely to develop medical conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, which place them at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). There is some evidence that Hispanics with serious mental illness are at greater risk for developing CVD risk factors compared to non-Hispanic Whites with SMI mainly due to health disparities. This study asks the questions: 1) What self-management behaviors do Hispanics with SMI and at risk of CVD engage in or attempt to engage in?, 2) How do measures of self-efficacy and patient activation correspond to self-management behaviors and barriers?, and 3) How do patients’ and stakeholders’ reports of barriers converge or diverge? Self-efficacy theory and social ecology theory were used as theoretical frameworks. Twenty four consumers were recruited from an outpatient mental health clinic. Seventeen stakeholders were recruited through various sites. A convergent mixed methods approach was used. Quantitative measures of self-efficacy and patient activation were compared to qualitative data on self-management behaviors and barriers to healthy living. Additionally, two sets of qualitative data on consumers’ and stakeholders’ perceptions of barriers to healthy living were compared to determine if they converged. Self-management behaviors identified included: healthy eating, seeking medical care, engaging in physical activity, involving others, self-motivation, use of faith, and engaging in structured and unstructured activities. Consumers with high levels of self-efficacy and patient activation tended to engage in more self-management behaviors regularly and perceived fewer barriers. Consumers with the lowest levels of self- efficacy and patient activation engaged in fewer self-management behaviors regularly and encountered more barriers. Consumer and stakeholder perceptions of barriers to healthy living experienced by consumers did converge, with the exception of the following additional barriers which were only identified by stakeholders: lack of health education, lack of formal education, consumer beliefs and fears, and body image. Using an ecological approach, barriers were identified at different environmental levels, often interacting. Overall, self-efficacy and patient activation may have an important influence on self-management behaviors among Hispanics with SMI and at risk for CVD. There is the possibility that barriers may moderate this relationship. Additionally, an ecological approach to understanding barriers to healthy living can be used to locate barriers and develop interventions which address them.

The purpose of this study was to examine health literacy and treatment adherence among Latinos with end stage renal disease. Health literacy has been overlooked as one of the factors that affects one's ability to comply with the physician's prescribed medical treatment.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-151).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Thomas G. Schatz. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

No description available.

The focus of this study is the effectiveness in increasing self-efficacy and self-esteem level, parenting skills, awareness about domestic violence issues, and the overall effects of these on the quality of life of at-risk Hispanic female immigrants attending a support group at a community agency.

The purpose of this project is to help at-risk Latino youth through environmental education programs. An integral aspect of this project included hands-on and interactive experiences at several education sites throughout the State of California. These site visits included the following institutions: Yosemite Institute, Chapman Ranch, Orange County Outdoor Science School, University of Southern California, Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, Catalina Island Camps, Camp Oaks, Wildlands Conservancy (Oak Glen), St. James Reserve, and Alvarado-Jensen Ranch.

The present study was based on a state-wide survey of ethnic minorities attitudes toward AIDS in the state of Arizona. The purpose of the study was to test a model for the relationship between level of acculturation and perception of risk for AIDS among Mexican Americans. The data was derived from a questionnaire on knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about AIDS completed by 600 Mexican Americans in rural and urban counties in the state of Arizona. Results indicate that education rather than acculturation is a stronger predictor of perception of risk. However, the strongest predictors of Fatalistic Views about AIDS and perceived Severity of AIDS were Negative Attitudes Toward Risk Groups and Knowledge about AIDS respectively. Respondents seemed to be antagonistic toward risk group who are perceived to transmit a deadly virus which is highly contagious via behaviors that are socially and morally objectionable. It is recommended that AIDS prevention campaigns emphasize accuracy of information about AIDS disease characteristics, in addition to accurate information about groups at risk for AIDS, in order to dispell misconceptions and fears that hinder the effective prevention of AIDS.

This study tested the Adolescent Family Assessment Model, using a descriptive correlational design. The model describes the relationships between caregiving behaviors, caregiving knowledge, peer and family approval, and the outcome variable of family functioning. Social exchange theory and social learning theory guided the study. Model building procedures involved replicated testing with data from two samples: Anglo and Mexican American adolescent mothers. The subjects were 50 Anglo and 64 Mexican American adolescent mothers living in the southwest, nineteen years of age or less, who had not yet completed their high school education, and were living in the same household as their child. Family was operationalized for both the family of origin and the current family unit of the adolescent mother. Eighty-three percent (N = 94) of the sample were enrolled in teen parent programs. Four instruments were tested and used to measure the concepts: the Infant Caregiving Inventory (alpha =.93); Smilkstein's Family Apgar (alpha =.90); the Peer Approval Instrument (alpha =.73); and the Family Approval Instrument (alpha =.83). Results for Anglo mothers indicated that caregiving behavior was explained by single marital status (R² =.22). Family functioning was explained by the age of the adolescent's first child (R² =.11). The empirical Mexican American model differed from the Anglo model. Caregiving knowledge was explained by past experience caring for toddlers (R² =.14), while family functioning was explained by caregiving behavior (R² =.10). The variables function differently in Mexican American and Anglo families, reflecting the cultural value of family within the groups. Results offer direction to health care providers working with adolescent parents and for future research endeavors.