CURRENT PROJECTS

 

LWRI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: MILWAUKEE/WISCONSIN LATINA/O HEALTH DATA

A review of three health reports (Latino Milwaukee: A Statistical Portrait Report, The Milwaukee County Health Survey and Healthiest Wisconsin 2020 Baseline and Health Disparities Report: Hispanic/Latino Population) of Milwaukee county and the state of Wisconsin was completed. LWRI’s executive summary includes main findings from these reports regarding health disparities among the Latina/o community, including poverty, mental stress, and aversive child experiences. Click here to read LWRI's executive summary 

 

SALUD MENTAL MILWAUKEE

Salud Mental Milwaukee is a city-wide survey of mental health among Latina/o adults in the Milwaukee area. This survey builds upon existing health and population surveys about Latina/os in Milwaukee but focuses more specifically on mental health. This survey assesses a variety of demographic and psychological constructs, including: insurance and documentation status, PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, suicidality, physical health, anxiety symptoms, substance use, and interpersonal violence. Importantly, this survey also includes measures assessing Latina/o cultural values, life satisfaction, and hope.

Data collection for Salud Mental Milwaukee is ongoing.

 

RESEARCH ARTICLES

 

ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION, SOCIAL COHESION, AND MENTAL HEALTH AMONG LATINX ADULTS

Torres, L., Pachicano, J. B., Bird, C. M., & Edwards, L. M. (2022). Ethnic discrimination,
            social cohesion, and mental health among Latinx adults. The American Journal of
            Orthopsychiatry, 92(1), 51–57.  

The negative effects of ethnic discrimination on depression symptoms have led researchers to identify potential risk and protective variables of this relationship. While some studies have focused on individual level factors, little research has explored the role of community-level variables, or the combination of both. The present study of Latinx adults (N = 304) tested a moderated mediation model to examine if alcohol use was a mediator of ethnic discrimination and depression under certain levels of social cohesion. Results found that alcohol use was a mediator between ethnic discrimination and depression symptoms and social cohesion moderated this relationship, such that alcohol use was not significant at higher levels of social cohesion. Implications and future directions are discussed.