Perceived discrimination, cultural identity development, and intimate partner violence among a sample of Hispanic young adults.

Abstract

Objective Despite the prevalence of interpersonal violence (IPV), scientific understanding of the risk and protective factors for unidirectional and bidirectional IPV, and especially the role of sociocultural variables in these behaviors, is limited. This study investigates the association between ethnic identity search, ethnic identity affirmation, perceived discrimination and unidirectional (victimization only, perpetration only) and bidirectional (reciprocal violence) IPV behaviors among foreign born and US born Hispanic young adults. Design Data are from Project RED (Reteniendo y Entendiendo Diversidad para Salud), a study investigating the effect of psychosocial and sociocultural factors on health behavior among a community sample of Hispanic young adults in Southern California (n=1,267). Results Approximately 40% of the sample reported unidirectional or bidirectional IPV, with significant gender differences across the three categories. Compared to men, women had approximately 70% lower odds of victimization (OR= 0.31, 95% CI=0.15–0.71), over twice the odds of perpetration (OR=2.53, 95% CI=1.98–3.62), and 35% higher odds (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.04–1.81) of bidirectional IPV. Higher ethnic identity affirmation was protective for victimization (OR=0.86, 95% CI: 0.81–0.99) and bidirectional IPV (OR= 0.72, 95% CI= 0.62–0.89) whereas higher perceived discrimination scores increased the odds for bidirectional IPV (OR=1.37 95% CI=1.26–1.56) and was particularly detrimental for foreign-born participants. Conclusion Intervention strategies should consider gender-specific risk profiles, cultural contexts, and the influence of sociocultural stressors. Addressing the harmful effects of perceived discrimination and leveraging the protective effects of ethnic identity affirmation may be promising IPV prevention strategies for Hispanic young adults. Future research directions and implications are discussed.

The Role of Familial Incarceration and Ethnic Identity in Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempt: Findings from a Longitudinal Study of Latinx Young Adults in California

“…The 12‐item MEIM instrument is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that includes cognitive and affective features (Phinney & Ong, ). Consistent with prior work using these data (Forster et al., ) and the theorized dimensions of this construct, our analysis yielded a two‐factor solution operationalized as ethnic identity search and affirmation, independent but related aspects of ethnic identity. At age 15, participants provided responses on five questions assessing ethnic identity search (cognitive) (α = .70 e.g., “In order to learn more about my ethnic background, I have often talked to other people about my ethnic background.”) and seven items assessing ethnic identity affirmation (affective) (α = .89 e.g., “I feel a strong attachment to my ethnic group;” “I feel good about my cultural or ethnic background.”).…”

“…Empirically, a positive perception of one's ethnic heritage, and a shared sense of belonging and membership in a group, is integral to minority youths’ development of a positive self‐concept, psychosocial adjustment, and well‐being (Jackson & Lassiter, ; Quintana, ; Schwartz, Côté, & Arnett, ; Smith & Silva, ). The aforementioned findings and evidence regarding the role of ethnic identity in Hispanic and African American health outcomes (Burnett‐Zeigler, Bohnert, & Ilgen, ; Castro, Stein, & Bentler, ; Forster, Grigsby, Soto, Sussman, & Unger, ; Schwartz, Zamboanga, Weisskirch, & Wang, ; Umaña‐Taylor & Updegraff, ; Walker, Wingate, Obasi, & Joiner, ) have established the centrality of sociocultural processes in health and resilience (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, ; Ungar, ). Although research suggests positive ethnic identity can mitigate the association between sociocultural stressors and SI and SA (Cheref, Talavera, & Walker, ; O'donnell, O'donnell, Wardlaw, & Stueve, ; Polanco‐Roman & Miranda, ), this construct has not been studied in conjunction with risk factors such as familial incarceration to determine whether these protective effects extend beyond sociocultural stressors (Haskins, Amorim, & Mingo, ).…”

Ethnic variations in the relationship between multiple stress domains and use of several types of tobacco/nicotine products among a diverse sample of adults

“…Tobacco/nicotine prevention strategies may benefit from programs that explicitly link discrimination and financial strain to culturally-based coping and social support. In sum, these findings build on research suggesting that future work will need to identify whether cultural factors associated with lower odds of risky behaviors can mitigate the negative effects of discriminatory and financial stressors for nicotine use ( Forster, Grigsby, Soto, Sussman, & Unger, 2017 ; Soto et al, 2011 ; Unger et al, 2002 ; Unger, Shakib, Gallaher, & Ritt-Olson, 2006 ).…”

Prevalence of Interpersonal Violence Among Latinas: A Systematic Review

“…Census Bureau, 2014). Several of the studies included in this systematic review of the literature contained relatively large samples of Latinas (Cuevas et al, 2011; Forster, Grigsby, Soto, Sussman, & Unger, 2017; Warner et al, 2012), while other studies included smaller proportions of Latina participants (Duke & Curadi, 2011; Ferguson, 2011; Friedman et al, 2011; Latta et al, 2016). A total of 34 (83%) of the included manuscripts reported a sample size consisting of at least 9% Latinas (and thus arguably could be representative of the U.S. Latina population); 21 (51%) of the manuscripts included in this systematic review of the literature included samples of solely Latinas.…”