Browsing by Author "Garcini, Luz M."
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Item Dying in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Contextual Considerations and Clinical Recommendations(American Psychological Association, 2020) LeRoy, Angie S.; Robles, Barbara; Kilpela, Lisa S.; Garcini, Luz M.Dying is a natural part of life; however, death is often a fearful, frightening event. Dying in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges that magnify normative fears and may interfere with a healthy grieving process. To maintain a resilient spirit among those who are at risk of losing a loved one or who have lost a family member to COVID-19, it is important that they be provided with the necessary contextually and culturally appropriate skills and resources to facilitate healing in the face of hardship and uncertainty.Item Low childhood subjective social status and telomere length in adulthood: The role of attachment orientations(Wiley, 2018) Murdock, Kyle W.; Seiler, Annina; Chirinos, Diana A.; Garcini, Luz M.; Acebo, Sally L.; Cohen, Sheldon; Fagundes, Christopher P.Low subjective social status (SSS) in childhood places one at greater risk of a number of health problems in adulthood. Theoretical and empirical evidence indicates that exposure to supportive parenting may buffer the negative effects of low childhood SSS on adult health. Given the importance of supportive caregivers and close others for the development of attachment orientations throughout the lifespan, attachment theory may be important for understanding why some individuals are resilient to the negative effects of low childhood SSS on adult health while others are not. We examined if attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance altered the association between childhood subjective social status (SSS) and length of telomeres in white blood cells in adulthood. Shorter telomere length is associated with increased risk of age‐related diseases including cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Participants (N = 128) completed self‐report measures of childhood SSS and attachment orientations, as well as a blood draw. We found that among those with low childhood SSS, low attachment anxiety was associated with longer telomere length in white blood cells in comparison to high attachment anxiety controlling for participant age, sex, race, body mass index, and adult SSS. Among those with high childhood SSS, low attachment anxiety was associated with a slight decrease in telomere length. Attachment avoidance was unrelated to length of telomeres. Such findings provide further evidence for the role that close relationships may have on buffering SSS related health disparities.Item Pathways linking racial/ethnic discrimination and sleep among U.S.-born and foreign-born Latinxs(Springer, 2018) Garcini, Luz M.; Chirinos, Diana A.; Murdock, Kyle W.; Seiler, Annina; LeRoy, Angie S.; Peek, Kristen; Cutchin, Malcom P.; Fagundes, ChristopherThis study examined the association between racial/ethnic discrimination and sleep through psychological distress and body mass index (BMI), and determined whether the aforementioned associations vary between U.S. and foreign-born Latinxs. Participants were 1332 Latinx adults enrolled in the Texas City Stress and Health Study. Multistage sampling methods were used to select participants. A model linking racial/ethnic discrimination with sleep disturbances through direct and indirect (i.e., psychological distress and BMI) paths demonstrated good fit. Greater racial/ethnic discrimination was associated with greater psychological distress and higher BMI. Psychological distress and BMI were also significant predictors of sleep disturbances. The indirect path from racial/ethnic discrimination to sleep disturbances via psychological distress was significant. A model with parameters constrained to be equal between U.S.-born and foreign-born Latinxs suggested associations were comparable between these groups. Our study demonstrated the relevance of racial/ethnic discrimination to sleep disturbances, particularly its association via psychological distress among Latinxs.Item Vaccination for COVID-19 among historically underserved Latino communities in the United States: Perspectives of community health workers(Frontiers Media S.A., 2022) Garcini, Luz M.; Ambriz, Arlynn M.; Vázquez, Alejandro L.; Abraham, Cristina; Sarabu, Vyas; Abraham, Ciciya; Lucas-Marinelli, Autumn K.; Lill, Sarah; Tsevat, Joel; Baker Institute Center for the United States and MexicoA critical step to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is vaccination. We conducted a mixed methods project that used online surveys and focus groups with 64 Community Health Workers and Promotor/as (CHW/Ps) located near the U.S.-Mexico border to identify barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination among Latino communities that have been historically underrepresented and medically underserved. Overall, personal barriers to vaccination included mistrust of manufacturers and administrators as well as fear of: becoming infected from the vaccine, discrimination/stigmatization from healthcare professionals administering the vaccine, exploitation/manipulation by the government or health authorities, and having personal information mishandled. Environmental and community barriers included being undocumented and fear-inducing myths and beliefs. Additional barriers included limited information and logistics pertaining to vaccination access. Targeted efforts are needed to overcome barriers in a culturally and contextually sensitive manner to prevent harm and reduce risk of infection among communities that have been historically underrepresented.