Search Results (32)

Background: Suicidal ideation among adolescents remains a major public health challenge. Exposure to neighborhood violence is associated with increased risk of mental health distress and school-related vulnerabilities. This study investigates the predictors of suicidal ideation among U.S. adolescents who have witnessed neighborhood violence. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a nationally representative survey of high school students in the United States. A subsample of 3495 adolescents who reported witnessing neighborhood violence was analyzed. Key variables included sociodemographic characteristics, mental health symptoms, perceived school safety, and experiences of victimization. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with suicidal ideation, defined as seriously considering suicide in the past year. Analyses were conducted using Jamovi (version 2.6), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation in the sample was 34.2%. Bisexual adolescents had significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation compared to heterosexual peers (OR = 2.34, p < 0.001). Depressive symptoms were the strongest predictor (OR = 7.51, p < 0.001). Both perceived lack of safety at school and differences in ethnic and population backgrounds were significant. Black and Hispanic/Latino adolescents had lower odds compared to White peers. Conclusions: Findings highlight sexual identity, depressive symptoms, school safety concerns, and ethnic and population background differences as key correlates of suicidal ideation. Culturally responsive, trauma-informed interventions are urgently needed for youth exposed to community violence. Full article

Background/Objectives: Effective diabetes self-management is critical for glycemic management and well-being, yet Latino youth face unique cultural and socioeconomic barriers that are insufficiently explored in the literature. This review mapped existing evidence on diabetes self-management for Latino youth. Methods: Searches were conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Web of Science, LILACS, ERIC, and The Cochrane Library, using the gray literature and reference lists, in September 2024, following JBI guidelines. The included studies were qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies and reviews on diabetes self-management for Latinos aged 0–30 with type 1 or 2 diabetes. Studies including participants over 30 or with gestational diabetes were excluded. Two reviewers independently extracted data using a standardized table and analyzed findings using the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists framework (ADCES7) for self-care behaviors: healthy eating, being active, monitoring, taking medication, problem-solving, reducing risks, and healthy coping. Results: Forty-five studies (forty from the United States) were included from 860 citations. The findings highlighted challenges in adopting diabetes-friendly diets, including cultural preferences, food insecurity, and limited resources. Physical activity improved glycemic control but was hindered by family and school obligations. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) enhanced outcomes, though economic barriers limited access. Family-centered education improved medication adherence, while family support strengthened problem-solving. CGMs and insulin pumps reduced complications, and culturally adapted psychological support enhanced emotional well-being and glycemic management. Conclusions: This review underscores persistent disparities in diabetes self-management among Latino youth. While the study designs and settings were heterogeneous, the findings highlight the need for culturally tailored, family-centered interventions that address structural barriers and psychosocial needs to improve care. Full article

Previous studies have examined the association between family dysfunction and pubertal timing in adolescent girls. However, the evidence is lacking on the role of family dysfunction during sensitive developmental periods in both boys and girls from racial and ethnic minority groups. This study aimed to determine the effect of family dysfunction on the timing of pubertal maturation among US Hispanic/Latino children and adolescents. Participants were 1466 youths (50% female; ages 8–16 years) from the Hispanic Community Children’s Health Study/Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth). Pubertal maturation was measured using self-administered Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) items for boys and girls. Family dysfunction included measures of single-parent family structure, unhealthy family functioning, low parental closeness, and neglectful parenting style. We used multivariable ordinal logistic and linear regression analyses to examine the associations between family dysfunction and pubertal maturation (individual and cumulative measures), with adjustment for childhood BMI and socioeconomic factors, design effects (strata and clustering), and sample weights. Multivariable models of individual PDS items showed that family dysfunction was negatively associated with growth in height (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.99) in girls; no associations were found in boys. In the assessment of cumulative PDS scores, family dysfunction was associated with a lower average pubertal maturation score (b = −0.63, 95% CI: −1.21, −0.05) in boys, while no associations were found in girls. Pubertal timing lies at the intersection of associations between childhood adversity and adult health and warrants further investigation to understand the factors affecting timing and differences across sex and sociocultural background. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study examines the factors associated with U.S. adolescents’ obesity and overweight status. Methods: Using a multivariable logistic regression, we analyzed the data from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), comprising 17,232 students. Results: The odds of being obese or overweight were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) for the participants who perceived themselves as slightly overweight (AOR, 13.31; 95% CI [11.83, 14.97]) or very overweight (AOR, 39.29; 95% CI [30.12, 51.25]) compared to those who perceived their weight as about right. The participants with significantly higher odds included those aged 14 years (AOR, 2.53) compared to those aged 13 years or younger; male students (AOR, 1.63) compared to female students; and American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students (AOR, 2.11), Black or African American students (AOR, 2.63), Hispanic/Latino students (AOR, 1.54), and students of multiple races (AOR, 1.56), compared to White students. The odds were also significantly higher for the participants who did not eat breakfast on all seven days of a week (AOR, 1.21) and for the students who did not report their mental health status (AOR, 2.07) compared to those who reported their mental health as mostly or always not good. Conclusions: These findings suggest schools are uniquely positioned to implement strategies for healthier behaviors designed and implemented with a focus on health equity. Full article

This paper describes how a collective of Latine youth and adult allies used art-based approaches in a participatory action research project to better understand the ways in which young U.S. Latines make meaning of wellbeing. In this study, we interviewed 19 individuals who identified as Latino/a/e, ages 19–24, from Colorado, Washington state and New Jersey. Our team intentionally chose art-based approaches, including music and painting, as analytical tools and healing methods to synthesize the responses of the Latine youth we interviewed. We found that Latine youth and young adults initially struggle with defining wellbeing, considering it to be an overly abstract concept or something only achievable through expensive, Western-based medical practices. We also found that many Latine youth often link the root cause of a majority of their mental health issues to numerous systemic terrors such as racism, capitalism and sexism that directly harm their most intimate and supportive relationships: their immediate or extended family and friendships. Young Latine adults have identified these components as pillars of their wellbeing, along with the need for intergenerational conversations, a sense of convivencia, rootedness with freedom of movement and our right to healing and joy. Full article

Pediatric obesity and cardiometabolic disease disproportionately impact minority communities. Sugar reduction is a promising prevention strategy with consistent cross-sectional associations of increased sugar consumption with unfavorable biomarkers of cardiometabolic disease. Few trials have tested the efficacy of pediatric sugar reduction interventions. Therefore, in a parallel-design trial, we randomized Latino youth with obesity (BMI ≥ 95th percentile) [n = 105; 14.8 years] to control (standard diet advice) or sugar reduction (clinical intervention with a goal of ≤10% of calories from free sugar) for 12-weeks. Outcomes included changes in glucose tolerance and its determinants as assessed by a 2-h frequently sample oral glucose tolerance test, fasting serum lipid profile (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, cholesterol:HDL), and inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6, TNF-$\alpha$). Free sugar intake decreased in the intervention group compared to the control group [11.5% to 7.3% vs. 13.9% to 10.7% (% Energy), respectively, p = 0.02], but there were no effects on any outcome of interest (p_all > 0.07). However, an exploratory analysis revealed that sugar reduction, independent of randomization, was associated with an improved Oral-disposition index (p < 0.001), triglycerides (p = 0.049), and TNF-$\alpha$ (p = 0.02). Dietary sugar reduction may have the potential to reduce chronic disease risks through improvements in beta-cell function, serum triglycerides, and inflammatory markers in Latino adolescents with obesity. Full article

Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation that may contribute to T2D among youth. We examined the association between inflammatory biomarkers and insulin sensitivity and β-cell function and response to lifestyle intervention among Latino youth with obesity. Latino youth (n = 64) were randomized to six months of lifestyle intervention (INT, n = 40) or usual care (UC, n = 24). INT included nutrition education and physical activity. UC involved meeting with a pediatric endocrinologist and registered dietitian to discuss healthy lifestyles. At baseline, multiple linear regression assessed fasting serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), high-molecular weight adiponectin (HMW Adpn), IL-10, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) as predictors of insulin sensitivity (whole-body insulin sensitivity index, WBISI) and β-cell function (oral disposition index, oDI). Changes in outcomes between groups were assessed using covariance pattern models. At baseline, MCP-1 (β ± SE, −0.12 ± 0.05, p = 0.027) and IL-1ra (−0.03 ± 0.01, p = 0.005) were negatively associated with WBISI. Treatment effects were not observed for inflammatory markers. WBISI was significantly increased among both INT (from 1.8 ± 0.2 to 2.6 ± 0.4, p = 0.005) and UC (from 1.6 ± 0.2 to 2.8 ± 0.5, p = 0.002) with no significant differences between the groups. Obesity-related inflammatory mediators were associated with T2D risk factors but were unaffected by lifestyle intervention among Latino youth. Full article

National data suggest that non-Hispanic, White youth engage in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use at the highest rates. These results are not likely to be mirrored across regional contexts. State-representative data from Utah in 2019 (N = 58,689) were used to estimate the odds of lifetime and past 30-day vaping across seven racial/ethnic categories. Youth in grades 8, 10, and 12 (mean age 15.2; 52% female) self-reported race/ethnicity and vaping product use history, including e-cigarettes, vape pens, or mods. A Cox proportional hazards model estimated the cumulative probabilities for initiating vaping product use. The results indicated that American Indian or Alaskan Native, Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander youth had significantly higher odds of both lifetime and past 30-day vaping compared to non-Hispanic White youth. The results showed significant variation in the cumulative probability of initiation by race/ethnicity, with Hispanic/Latino youth reporting the highest odds of initiation at each age. The regional patterns of vaping across racial/ethnic groups may not mirror national trends. State- and community-level data should be used to inform efforts to reduce e-cigarette use and promote health equity among youth. Full article

Based on the Ecological Stress-Based Model of Immigrant Worker Safety and Health, we hypothesized that occupational stress and physical safety would be negatively linked to workers’ depression, which in turn, would increase family conflict and decrease youth prosocial behaviors. A total of 242 Latino immigrant cattle feedyard workers from Nebraska and Kansas (90.9% male; M age = 37.7 years) answered questions assessing depression, occupational stress, whether they had ever been injured at work, familial conflict, and youth prosocial behaviors. All four indirect relations among occupational stress and injury and the outcomes (family conflict and youth prosocial behaviors) via depressive symptomatology were significant. Additionally, ever injured was negatively related to youth prosocial behaviors and occupational stress was positively related to youth prosocial behaviors. The findings support our model and suggest that increased stress and work-related injuries on cattle feedyards are linked to mental health problems, which in turn, is linked to more conflict experienced at home and less youth prosocial behaviors. Feedyard employers should focus on improving safety culture including providing robust training in the workplace. Practical implications to improve availability and access to mental and behavioral health resources to mitigate negative family outcomes are provided. Full article

Background: Although parental educational attainment is known to be associated with a lower prevalence of behaviors such as tobacco use, these effects are shown to be weaker for Black than White youth. It is important to study whether this difference is due to higher perceived tobacco use norms for Black youth. Aim: To study the association between parental educational attainment and perceived tobacco use norms overall and by race/ethnicity among youth in the US. Methods: The current study used four years of follow-up data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH-Youth) study conducted between 2013 and 2017. All participants were 12- to 17-year-old non-smokers at baseline and were successfully followed for four years (n = 4329). The outcome of interest was perceived tobacco use norms risk at year four. The predictor of interest was baseline parental educational attainment, the moderator was race/ethnicity, and the covariates were age, sex, and parental marital status at baseline. Results: Our linear regressions in the pooled sample showed that higher parental educational attainment at baseline was predictive of perceived disapproval of tobacco use at year four; however, this association was weaker for Latino than non-Latino youth. Our stratified models also showed that higher parental educational attainment was associated with perceived tobacco use norms for non-Latino but not for Latino youth. Conclusion: The effect of high parental educational attainment on anti-tobacco norms differs between Latino and non-Latino youth. Latino youth with highly educated parents remain at risk of tobacco use, while non-Latino youth with highly educated parents show low susceptibility to tobacco use. Full article

This paper examines Latino/a children’s roles and obligations to their immigrant families. Bridging insights from the literature on the “new sociology of childhood,” immigrant incorporation, and care work, this essay argues that children perform important—but often invisible—labor in immigrant families. Dominant ideologies depict childhood as an “innocent” time wherein young people are in need of guidance and are too underdeveloped to make meaningful contributions. However, this construction of childhood ignores the lived realities of the children of immigrants, who often serve as gatekeepers and connect their families to services and resources in their communities. This essay examines six dimensions of support that the children of immigrants provide to their families, namely, language and cultural help, financial contributions, bureaucratic assistance, emotional labor, legal support, and guidance with technology. This essay concludes with implications for scholars, students, and policymakers on the importance of recognizing this labor, along with future directions for research. Full article

Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) has reached epidemic levels among the pediatric population. Furthermore, disparities in T2D among youth are distributed in a manner that reflects the social inequality between population sub-groups. Here, we investigated the neighborhood determinants of T2D risk among a sample of Latino adolescents with obesity residing in Phoenix, Arizona (n = 133). In doing so we linked together four separate contextual data sources: the American Community Survey, the United States Department of Agriculture Food Access Research Atlas, the Arizona Healthy Community Map, and the National Neighborhood Data Archive to systematically analyze how and which neighborhood characteristics were associated with T2D risk factors as measured by fasting and 2-h glucose following a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test. Using linear regression models with and without individual/household covariates, we investigated how twenty-two housing and transportation sociodemographic and built and food environment characteristics were independently and jointly associated with T2D risk. The main finding from these analyses was the strong association between the density of fast food restaurants and 2-h glucose values (b = 2.42, p < 0.01). This association was independent of individual, household, and other neighborhood characteristics. Our results contribute to an increasingly robust literature demonstrating the deleterious influence of the neighborhood food environment, especially fast food, for T2D risk among Latino youth. Full article

Pesticides used to control insects, such as pyrethroids, are neurotoxicants, yet adolescent researchers often overlook their potential role in adolescent psychological adjustment. This brief report is guided by bioecological theory and considers the possible independent and interactive effects of environmental pyrethroid pesticide exposure for adolescent depressive symptoms. Self-reported adolescent appraisals of the parent–child relationship and depressive symptoms were obtained from a convenience sample of impoverished, predominantly Latino urban youth (n = 44). Exposure to environmental pyrethroids was obtained from wipe samples using a standardized protocol. Parent–adolescent conflict was higher in households with bifenthrin than those without, and adolescent depressive symptoms were elevated in homes where cypermethrin was detected. In addition, the presence of bifenthrin in the home attenuated the protective effects of parental involvement on adolescent depressive symptoms. The current results suggest that adolescent mental health researchers must consider the synergistic combinations of adolescents’ environments’ physical and social features. Given the endemic presence of pesticides and their neurotoxic function, pesticide exposure may demand specific attention. Full article

Background: Whether affective states acutely predict the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activities and whether energy balance-related behaviors moderate the affect–HPA axis relationship in obese youths are not well-understood. Methods: 87 mostly obese (94.3% obese) minority adolescents (mean: 16.3 ± 1.2 years old; 56.8% Latino and 43.2% African American) participated in a randomized crossover trial in an observation laboratory, where they received either high-sugar/low-fiber (HSLF) or low-sugar/high-fiber (LSHF) meals first and then crossed over in the next visit 2–4 weeks later. During each visit, they rated five affective states and provided a saliva sample every 30 min for the first 5 h and wore a waist-worn accelerometer. The association between the affect ratings and cortisol levels in the subsequent 30 min and the moderation effect of energy balance-related behavior were examined using multilevel models. Results: Within-person negative affect (β = 0.02, p = 0.0343) and feeling of panic (β = 0.007, p = 0.004) were acutely related to the subsequent cortisol level only during the HSLF condition. The time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity did not moderate the acute relationship between affect and the subsequent cortisol level. Conclusions: Negative affect could be acutely related to heightened HPA axis activities in youths, but only when they were exposed to meals with high sugar and low fiber content. These results suggest that the meals’ sugar and fiber content may modulate HPA axis reactivity to negative affect in youths. Full article

Nearly three out of ten neurodevelopmental disabilities in the United States have been linked to environmental conditions, prompting emerging lines of research examining the role of the neighborhood on children’s developmental outcomes. Utilizing data from a natural experiment in Denver, this study quantifies the impact of exposure to varied neighborhood contexts on the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders over the course of childhood. Our analysis is based upon retrospective child, caregiver, household and neighborhood data derived from the Denver Child Study for a sample of approximately 590 Latino and African American children and youth whose families were quasi-randomly assigned to subsidized housing operated by the Denver (CO) Housing Authority during part of their childhood. We employed binary response models with endogenous explanatory variables, estimated using instrumental variables (IV) probit and average marginal effects to identify predictors of a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosis during childhood. We found that multiple dimensions of neighborhood context—especially neighborhood socioeconomic status, older housing stock, residential instability and prevalence of neurological hazards in the ambient air—strongly and robustly predicted the diagnosis of a neurodevelopmental disorder during childhood. Full article