Pilot Testing of a Structural Racism Intervention for Immigrant Latinx Families

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a new, community-based, group intervention called FIESTA (Familias Inmigrantes Empoderándose contra eStrés Tomando Acción) to understand how well it helps Latinx immigrant families deal with the impact of stress due to structural racism. Structural racism is defined as the policies, practices, and norms that work together to limit equal opportunities for minority communities. For Latinx immigrant families, this can include fears of deportation, lack of bilingual providers, and discrimination. These experiences of structural racism can turn into stress, which impacts well-being and mental health.

Researchers will investigate if: 1) FIESTA lowers stress and mental health symptoms (anxiety/depression) and increases feelings of empowerment, improved knowledge of resources, better parent-youth relationship quality, and higher use of healthy coping skills; and 2) FIESTA is feasible (easy to carry out), acceptable (agreeable or satisfactory), and appropriate (relevant to the needs of Latinx families).

FIESTA is ten-sessions and will be led by two community health workers. Researchers will enroll 35 parent-adolescent dyads (35 study-eligible parents and 35 study-eligible youth) in the initial study. This study will randomize parent-youth dyads to the treatment arm or waitlist-control arm using block randomization. In other words, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups, the First Group, or the Second Group. The First Group will begin immediately, and the Second Group will begin after three months. Data will be collected at baseline and three- and six-month post-baseline.