Enhancing Family Reslience Among at Risk Latinos

Background- In addition to the general stressors experienced by all families regardless of ethnicity or race, there is a class of community level stressors associated with immigration, acculturation and the adaptation that immigrant and U.S. born Latinos often experience. Yet in the face of these stressors Latino families also show a number of resiliency factors that moderates the effects of these contextual stress conditions. These often hidden resources and effective strategies help the family to overcome the stress of navigating a new culture, strained family and work roles, limited access to formal resources, and a system filled with anti-immigrant sentiment and institutionalized racism.  Studies on the resiliency among vulnerable Latino families is a new and important area of research. Prevention programs can benefit from incorporating evidence based information on Latino family resilience as on strategy to assist families who experience health and behavioral health disparities.

Methods - This presentation will provide information from an NIH supported study that examined Latino family resilience using qualitative data from Latino serving family counselors (n=9), Latino family research experts (n=4) and both clinical (n=20) and non-clinical families (n=40) in a series of focus groups in Los Angeles and Miami, FL. Data collected from families was gathered from both youth 12-17 and parents in separate focus group setting. The focus groups were conducted using an interview protocol for inquiry that included contextual, environmental and societal stress and health inequity domains.

Results - This presentation will provide an analysis of data using InVivo qualitative software. Results support the presence of a number of culturally based family resilience domains that can be mobilized as part of evidence based prevention and early intervention programming for high risk, vulnerable families that face a number of contextual health inequities. Specific findings on 1)“familismo”, 2) cultural identity, 3) extended family support, 4) spirituality, and 5) information seeking strategies will be discussed.

Conclusions- The presenters will offer specific strategies for prevention and early intervention providers for tailoring EBPs to address health inequities using findings from the Latino family resilience study. Many Latino families reside in communities with high levels of health inequity. Prevention programs that can assist vulnerable families to cope and in the context of addressing disparities by tailoring preventive interventions to the needs of this vulnerable populations.