Dr. Mary Held’s recent application to the UT Office of Research and Development for her study on Stress, Resilience, and Mental Health in Latinx Adults received funding. Held will study how stress due to discrimination, enforcement of new immigration policies, and COVID -19 may influence mental wellness and whether resilience factors buffer those influences.

The study will investigate levels of resilience among native- and foreign-born Latinx adults in the current sociopolitical context of three stressors that disproportionately affect the mental health and wellbeing of Latinx adults in the United States: 1) immigration enforcement strategies, 2) COVID-19 risk factors, and 3) discrimination. Despite evidence regarding the detrimental effects of these stressors for Latinx adult mental health (Bruzelius & Baum, 2019; CDC, 2020), data are lacking regarding variation by nativity, gender, and age, the unique and additive impact of each stressor, and the mediating role of resilience. Data from Latinx adults are needed to better understand their perceptions and experiences of resilience, key stressors, and mental health and to improve services provided to those in need.

The current project employs a cross-sectional survey design to assess the correlation of these stressors, as well as the mitigating role of resilience, on depression and anxiety for Latinx native- and foreign-born adults.