Risk and Resilience in Rural Communities: The Experiences of Immigrant Latina Mothers

Abstract

Immigrants from Latin America are increasingly settling in rural U.S. communities that welcome them as workers but are often unprepared to address their needs and promote their well‐being. Building on recent descriptive studies, we examined factors associated with individual and family well‐being in a sample of 112 immigrant Latina mothers (mean age 34.5 years, 93% Mexican) who completed in‐person interviews. Mothers who reported a more negative community climate reported lower levels of individual and family well‐being (life satisfaction, financial well‐being, and food security). Composite measures of economic and social capital were positively related to family well‐being; unexpectedly, mothers with higher levels of human capital reported lower levels of life satisfaction. Discussion focuses on implications of results for future research, theory‐building, and practice.

Factors Correlated to Protective and Risk Dietary Patterns in Immigrant Latino Mothers in Non-metropolitan Rural Communities

“…Principal component analysis was used for measures reduction; variables are listed in Table 3. Eigenvalues and variance accounted for are consistent with previous analyses of the dataset (Table 3) [11]. The protective dietary patterns outcome variable was measured using the National Cancer Institute Food and Vegetable Screener [30], while harmful dietary patterns were measured using items from the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey [31].…”

“…Determining which nutrition intake-and healthrelated behaviors affect weight status and consequently impact health in Mexican-Americans is complex [7,23]. Family challenges have been associated with higher intrafamilial stress whereas community challenges have been associated with food insecurity and lower levels of life satisfaction [11,12]. Likewise, household food insecurity has been negatively associated with Latinas' diet and health status [24].…”

“…The accumulation of economic capital has shown positive effects on Latino immigrant adaptation to new environments whereas greater human capital has been linked to improved employment opportunities for Latino immigrants in Midwestern rural areas [11,18]. Capital assets have been associated with indicators of well-being for Latino immigrant families living in non-metropolitan Midwestern communities [11].…”

“…Earlier analysis of the data on which our study is based assessed overall well-being of Latino immigrants [11]. For purposes of this study, we focus on the associations of food and nutritional outcomes with life and environmental factors [11][12][13][14].…”

Rural Latinos’ Mental Wellbeing: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study of Family, Environment and Social Isolation Factors

“…Migration to less populated rural areas may involve greater social adjustment, particularly in terms of culture, economics, and environment. In addition, because rural communities often discriminate against outsiders, immigrants are often pushed out of social and environmental spaces, leading to cultural, geographic, linguistic and social isolation; which can detrimentally affect their wellbeing by acting as chronic stressors (Ornelas, Perreira, Beeber, & Maxwell, 2009; Raffaelli, Tran, Wiley, Galarza-Heras, & Lazarevic, 2012; Sano, Garasky, Greder, & Browder, 2011; Stacciarini et al, 2014). …”