Browsing by Author "Diaz, Virna"

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    Latino immigrant parents of adolescents: Need for parenting support
    (2014) Bigatti, Silvia; Diaz, Virna; Conrad, Katrina; Weathers, Tess; Mirabal, Magdy
    Statement of problem: Latino immigrants in Indianapolis report difficulties parenting their adolescents, meanwhile higher rates of suicide attempts among Latino adolescents have been documented. Relevance: Successful transition through adolescence leads to family and individual well-being. This is especially important for families dealing with the stress of migration and acculturation. Methods: As part of a larger study to identify predictors of Latino adolescent depression, the community partner recruited adolescents and their parents from the population they serve. While the adolescents completed survey instruments, parents (roughly 100) participated in focus groups (n = 8) at various locations around the metropolitan area. One community partner and one academic partner ran the focus groups jointly, asking parents about their concerns regarding parenting and their children. Results: Parents reported problematic behaviors in their children, including aggression, isolation, and cutting. Several themes emerged, with two highlighted here: 1) an understanding that depression and anxiety explained some of the more extreme adolescent behaviors, and 2) a concern that their children would lose their identity and acculturate so much that they would disconnect from the family and its values. Parents reported need for parenting resources to help them navigate the adolescent years. Conclusions: It is challenging to parent adolescents, especially those who have the additional burden of straddling two very distinct cultures. When the parents themselves are adjusting to the new culture it is even more difficult. Culturally-tailored parenting guidance is desired by this Latino community and is likely to improve family functioning and adolescent adjustment.
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    A Mixed-Methods, Community-Based Study To Identify Predictors Of Depression In Latino Adolescents By Gender
    (2019) Bigatti, Silvia M.; Diaz, Virna; Conrad, Katrina K.; Ramirez, Michelle; Weathers, Tess D.; Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health
    Latino adolescent depressive symptoms are a growing problem, of interest to both the community and academic partner who are reporting the present study. In this mixed-method, community-based participatory research study we quantitatively examined predictors of depression known to impact adolescent mental health that are amenable to interventions. Concurrently, we qualitatively assessed parents’ perceptions of mental health problems in children, their causes and potential solutions. The data from parents (n = 108) was obtained in focus groups led in Spanish, and the data from adolescents (n = 86) was obtained in English language surveys. Among the adolescents there was an even representation of males (47.7%) and females (52.3%), Mage = 15.24 (SD = 1.97). Nearly half (47.7%) of the adolescents were experiencing minor depression and one in ten (10.5%) were experiencing major depression according to their scores on the PHQ-9. Adolescent participants reported low acculturative stress, average social support, and high mastery, as well as highly functional families. Males reported higher self-mastery than females and lower acculturative stress. Predictors of depression differed by gender. For males, self-mastery predicted depressive symptoms; for females acculturative stress predicted depressive symptoms. The focus groups with parents supported and expanded quantitative findings. The parents demonstrated a keen awareness of depression in teens and their own contributions to the problem, including their efforts to maintain their culture of origin which prevents integration of their children into the majority culture. Parents also reported difficulties knowing what steps to take and finding resources. The additional dimension of parental voice is often missing from studies of adolescents, and here it clarified many of the issues identified in the teens. These findings suggest the need to focus on mental health in this population, potentially developing differential interventions by gender and taking a family systems approach.
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    Your Life. Your Story. Latino Youth Summit: Building Latino Adolescent Resilience Through a Successful Community-Academic Partnership
    (Ball State University, 2016) Conrad, Katrina K.; Bigatti, Silvia M.; Diaz, Virna; Medina, Monica A.; Mirabal, Magdy; Weathers, Tess D.; Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health
    Developing successful relationships between academia and community can be difficult. Investigators who want to work with community organizations often do not know where to start, or how to carry them out well. However, successful collaborations can speed up the transition from research to practice, and bring interventions to communities more effectively. We present the development of a successful partnership and the consequent intervention program, Your Life. Your Story., a yearlong resiliency-building intervention for Latino youth at risk for depression. We present the exploratory study where our relationship began, as well as the preliminary findings that led to the design of our intervention. We then present the detailed components of the resiliency-building, emotional expression, coping and social support intervention. We also present preliminary qualitative and quantitative results and show the yearlong intervention plan. Throughout, we show, in sections in italics, how the partnership guaranteed that the study and intervention would succeed.