Creation of a machine learning-based model for early identification of mild cognitive impairment risk in Parkinson's disease: A PD research center-based population study.

In response to Latinx individuals comprising the most rapidly growing ethnoracial community in the United States (U.S.; ), psychology and allied professions study the prevalence, variability, and persistence of psychological distress among Latina women of multiple Latinx origins and contexts (e.g., , ; ; ). When examined in the aggregate, national samples of foreign-born Latina women consistently indicate higher rates of psychological distress than men (). Young adult Latina women also have increased susceptibility to psychological distress (e.g., depression, anxiety) than older women (; ). Considering this, the purpose of the present study was to contribute to theoretical and empirical knowledge bases concerning psychological distress and its determinants among foreign-born, young Latina women in the U.S. Specifically, we studied psychological distress rates reported annually by Latina women (ages 18-23) over a three-year time period during their initial years in Miami-Dade County, Florida. In addition, we studied baseline cultural, interpersonal/familial, and individual factors as predictors of psychological distress over time because our primary aim was to examine whether and how experiences during participants’ initial 36 months in the in the United States (i.e., time of baseline assessment) may influence subsequent trajectories of psychological distress. By focusing on these early experiences, we sought to identify potentially modifiable factors that may shape long-term mental health outcomes. These findings contribute to the literature by suggesting that intervention efforts should target such factors during young Latina women’s early years in the U.S., with the goal of preventing psychological distress and promoting well-being both in the immediate post-immigration period and in subsequent years. Our research questions and hypotheses were guided by social ecological theoretical framework (, ) because it is (a) inclusive of social and cultural determinants of health and (b) facilitates the study of the influence of co-occurring determinants on psychological distress experienced during young adult Latina women’s initial years in the U.S. Social ecological theory has explained the interdependence between health and social contexts of ethnoracial communities (; ). More specifically, psychological distress is posited to result from an interplay of cultural-, interpersonal/familial-, individual-level factors that are nested within broader sociocultural structures to influence young Latina women’s mental health soon after immigration (; ). By obtaining self-reports of young adult Latina women soon after immigration, we attempted to advance empirical knowledge concerning the theorized cultural, interpersonal/familial, and individual factors that may affect their mental health during this distinct time period. Acculturation is a multidimensional process involving interactions between heritage-cultural and receiving-cultural practices, values, and identifications during a person’s experience of a new culture (; ). Acculturation can entail changes in a person’s behaviors (e.g., language use), values (e.g., collectivism, individualism), and cultural identification (e.g., ethnic identity), among other factors (; ). Multiple acculturation strategies are theorized, including (a) assimilation, (b) enculturation, (c) integration/biculturalism, and (d) marginalization (; ). Assimilation occurs when individuals adopt U.S. mainstream culture and abandon their cultural heritage, whereas enculturation refers to the retention of cultural heritage and the rejection of U.S. mainstream culture. Integration, or biculturalism, occurs when individuals adopt U.S. mainstream culture, while also maintaining their cultural heritage. Lastly, marginalization refers to the rejection of both U.S. mainstream culture and heritage culture. In terms of our guiding social ecological framework, acculturation can be conceptualized as primarily a macrosystem-level cultural adaptation process that is enacted within everyday interpersonal contexts (microsystems) and shaped by linkages across settings (mesosystem) over time (, ). We studied Latina adult’s perceptions of this construct after arrival to the U.S. and subsequent associations with psychological distress.