Mental health literacy of Latina women in the United States for their school-aged children

Despite known mental health (MH) disparities faced by Latino children relative to children from other minority groups of similar socioeconomic status (SES), little is known about how Latina mothers make MH decisions for their children. The present study examined links between Latina mothers' mental health literacy (MHL), including the recognition of and response to child psychiatric symptoms, and maternal acculturation factors as well as interpersonal violence (IPV) related symptomatology. Participants were 80 Latina mothers from Denver, Colorado and Modesto, California with at least one child between the ages of 8-12 years. Mothers were presented vignettes depicting child internalizing and externalizing disorders as well as interviewed about their help seeking behaviors. Maternal acculturation was not related to identification of disorders, but was related to more symptoms recognized for child internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Acculturation predicted use of formal source of care for child internalizing and externalizing disorder. Women demonstrated a preference for informal source of care, with the exception of IPV-related child symptoms, where women demonstrated a preference for formal source of care. IPV-related symptoms did not moderate the relationship between acculturation and MHL. The relationship between maternal acculturation, IPV related symptomatology and their combined effect on MHL for child psychiatric disorders are discussed.

Examining the impact of pre-k and kindergarten classroom alignment on school readiness outcomes

This study explored children’s experiences of instructional alignment from prekindergarten to kindergarten and analyzed the impact of those alignment experiences on children’s school readiness outcomes. The study answered the following overarching research question: Does the alignment of children’s learning experiences between prekindergarten and kindergarten impact school readiness outcomes? Three sub-questions drove the research design: (1) How do children’s prekindergarten and kindergarten learning experiences align; (2) To what extent does the alignment of early learning experiences predict children’s school readiness outcomes; and (3) Does the quality of prekindergarten classroom teacher interactions moderate the impact of any PK-K alignment effects? Using cluster analysis and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to analyze data from over 1,300 children in the 2009 Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), the study found that children have distinct and definable experiences of PK-K alignment. Results also indicated a disparity in children’s PK-K alignment experiences, with Hispanic/Latino children more likely to attend Head Start programs with poor systems transition practices followed by kindergartens with poor classroom structures. The study found that growth in the use of instructional activity centers from prekindergarten to kindergarten is predictive of better literacy and math outcomes. Findings further suggested that boys, minority students, and children from lower income households are predicted to score lower than girls, white classmates, and higher-income peers across school readiness measures. Findings support the need for equitable transition and alignment practices for children from all racial and ethnic groups. They also argue for an increase in child-directed activity centers in kindergarten. With one exception, the current findings did not support the hypothesis that prekindergarten teacher quality is a moderator of alignment effects on children’s school readiness outcomes. The study presents suggestions for further research.

Family Coping as a Protective Factor for Poor Children

This study examined family influences on coping and adjustment among 90 low-income Latino middle school children (46% Female; Average age = 11.38, SD = .66) and their primary caregivers (93% Female; Average age = 36.12, SD = 6.13). All participants identified as Hispanic/Latino, with 75% of families identifying as Mexican-origin Latino, 77% of parents identifying as immigrants, and 32% of children identifying immigrants. All children participating in the study were receiving free or reduced lunch, a poverty indicator. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that family reframing is related to fewer symptoms of psychopathology and that familism enhances the protective effect of family reframing, while passive appraisal is linked to worse functioning. Path analyses showed that family reframing also has indirect effects on symptoms through child primary control coping. Additional analyses identified family mobilizing support and family ethnic socialization as potential contributors to child secondary control coping. Family mobilizing support may also be helpful for single-parent families, while family spiritual support is helpful for immigrant families. Qualitative findings from an initial focus group and from the larger sample are also discussed. Results are discussed with regard to the implications of this research for preventive interventions with families in poverty. Understanding the protective links of family coping and cultural strengths to mental health outcomes of poor children can influence intervention or prevention programming and policy targeting at-risk youth and families.