TY - JOUR
T1 - Measuring Latinx/@ Immigrant Experiences and Mental Health
T2 - Adaptation of Discrimination and Historical Loss Scales
AU - Handal, Alexis J.
AU - Guzman, Cirila Estela Vasquez
AU - Hernandez-Vallant, Alexandra
AU - Lemus, Alejandra
AU - Hess, Julia Meredith
AU - Casas, Norma
AU - Galvis, Margarita
AU - Medina, Dulce
AU - Huyser, Kimberly
AU - Goodkind, Jessica R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice
PY - 2022/11/14
Y1 - 2022/11/14
N2 - Migration processes encompass uncertainty, discrimination, racism, stigma, social isolation, lack of access to resources, fear of deportation, and family separation, having a critical impact on the health of Latinx/@ immigrants in the United States. It is essential to accurately measure the ways in which social, legal, economic, and political contexts impact mental health. This article discusses adaptation and use of discrimination and historical loss measures in a multilevel community-based advocacy, learning, and social support intervention (Immigrant Well-Being Project) with Latinx/@ immigrants in New Mexico, using participatory research approaches. Participants (n = 52) were recruited through community partner organizations and completed four qualitative and quantitative interviews over a 12-month period. The present analysis draws on the baseline quantitative data. Results show it is possible to adapt standardized measures of discrimination developed to assess the experiences of other racial/ ethnic groups; however, the most common responses involved response options added by our research team. For the historical loss instrument, there was a high frequency of “never” answers for many items, suggesting that they were not relevant for participants or did not capture their experiences of loss. As with the discrimination measures, the items we added resonated the most with participants. The contexts of discrimination and loss for Latinx/@ immigrant populations are complex, thus the tools we use to measure these experiences and their impact on health must account for this complexity. This study contributes to these endeavors through involving community members in the conceptualization and measurement of discrimination and historical loss among Latinx/@ immigrants.
AB - Migration processes encompass uncertainty, discrimination, racism, stigma, social isolation, lack of access to resources, fear of deportation, and family separation, having a critical impact on the health of Latinx/@ immigrants in the United States. It is essential to accurately measure the ways in which social, legal, economic, and political contexts impact mental health. This article discusses adaptation and use of discrimination and historical loss measures in a multilevel community-based advocacy, learning, and social support intervention (Immigrant Well-Being Project) with Latinx/@ immigrants in New Mexico, using participatory research approaches. Participants (n = 52) were recruited through community partner organizations and completed four qualitative and quantitative interviews over a 12-month period. The present analysis draws on the baseline quantitative data. Results show it is possible to adapt standardized measures of discrimination developed to assess the experiences of other racial/ ethnic groups; however, the most common responses involved response options added by our research team. For the historical loss instrument, there was a high frequency of “never” answers for many items, suggesting that they were not relevant for participants or did not capture their experiences of loss. As with the discrimination measures, the items we added resonated the most with participants. The contexts of discrimination and loss for Latinx/@ immigrant populations are complex, thus the tools we use to measure these experiences and their impact on health must account for this complexity. This study contributes to these endeavors through involving community members in the conceptualization and measurement of discrimination and historical loss among Latinx/@ immigrants.
KW - CBPR
KW - Latinx immigrants
KW - discrimination
KW - historical loss
KW - mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147143551&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85147143551&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/ort0000637
DO - 10.1037/ort0000637
M3 - Article
C2 - 36375031
AN - SCOPUS:85147143551
SN - 0002-9432
VL - 93
SP - 27
EP - 40
JO - American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
JF - American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
IS - 1
ER -