Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item Latino Threat: The Role of Political Threat on City Capacity for Social Control(2023) Donohue, Frank; Vélez, María B.; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In recent years, police killings of minority individuals have come to the forefront ofscholars and the minds of the general public, with the highly publicized murders of George Floyd, Freddie Gray, and Breonna Taylor. Extant literature largely focuses on police killings of African Americans, and while this is of great importance, less attention has been paid to police-involved homicides of Latinos. The current study seeks to understand city level variation in police killings of Latinos, paying particular attention to a “dynamic” measure of racial threat -- change in the Latino population, and the presence of open political opportunity structures. I draw on an original dataset of 233 cities, with data curated from Fatal Encounters, Decennial Census, the American Community Survey, the Uniform Crime Report, the National Immigration Law Center, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Regarding racial threat, I find that static Latino threat operates in a nonlinear fashion as it relates to police killings, and moreover that cities that experience more pronounced change in the Latino population over time (i.e., dynamic threat) translates to higher city-level rates of police killings of Latinos. Additionally, I find that sanctuary jurisdictions and gateway cities serve as a protective buffer for Latinos against lethal police violence. Implications for this complex and nuanced issue, including police-community relationships, the functionality of the police, and extralegal consequences for minority populations are also discussed.Item The Influence of Pre-Migration Factors and Post-Migration Climate of the Receiving Community on the Psychological Distress of Latino Immigrants(2016) Kahn, Sherylls Valladares; Leslie, Leigh A.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Over forty million foreign-born residents currently live in the United States. Latinos make up the largest population of immigrants living in the U.S. Previous research suggests that Latino immigrants often experience pre-migration stressors, such as traumatic experiences, political upheaval, and unplanned migration. These stressors may have a negative impact on immigrants’ post-migration mental health. Research also suggests that the post-migration climate of the receiving community may inform the connection between pre-migration experiences and post-migration mental health. The current study examined the relationship between Latino immigrants’ reasons for migration, migration planning, and pre-migration experience of political and/or interpersonal violence, and post-migration symptoms of psychological distress. In addition to examining the effect of these pre-migration factors, the current study also examined the community “climate” experienced by Latino immigrants post-migration by assessing the influence of three post-migration factors: 1) community support and engagement, 2) discrimination, and 3) employment. The study was a secondary analysis of data collected for the National Latino and Asian American Study, which focused on the mental health and service utilization of Latinos and Asian Americans. Participants included 1,629 Latino immigrants from across the United States. Results indicated that pre-migration experience of political and/or interpersonal trauma, post-migration experience of discrimination, and female sex were positively associated with psychological distress. Post-migration employment was negatively associated with psychological distress. In addition, discrimination modified the association between unplanned migration and psychological distress; the relationship between unplanned migration and psychological distress decreased for participants who reported more discrimination. Furthermore, employment modified the association between political and/or interpersonal trauma and psychological distress; the connection between trauma and psychological distress increased among those who reported having less employment. Recommendations for further research were presented. Policy and clinical practice implications were discussed, particularly given the current climate of high anti-immigrant sentiment and hostility in the U.S.Item Evaluating the Efficacy of Behavioral Activation Among Spanish-Speaking Latinos(2014) Collado, Anahi; Lejuez, Carl W; MacPherson, Laura; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly prevalent among U.S. Spanish-speaking Latinos. Although MDD is very treatable, the lack of empirically-supported treatments precludes this population's access to quality mental health care. Following the promising results of a small open-label pilot study in which we tested the efficacy of Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD) in a sample Latinos with Spanish-speaking preference, we conducted a randomized control trial (RCT; N = 46) that compared BATD (N = 23) to supportive counseling (N = 23) across various domains, including depression, BATD proposed mechanisms (activity level and environmental reward), and non-specific psychotherapy factors. Results indicated that relative to SC, BATD led to greater decreases in depressive symptoms over time (p = 0.04) and greater MDD remission at the end of treatment and at the one-month follow-up (p = 0.01). Activity level (p = 0.01) and environmental reward (p = 0.05) showed greater increases over time among participants who received BATD compared to SC. Further, proposed BATD mechanisms of change did not correspond over time with depressive symptomatology. Treatment adherence, therapeutic alliance, and treatment satisfaction did not differ between the groups (ps > 0.17). The one-month follow-up suggested sustained clinical gains across therapies. The current study adds to a limited treatment research literature and suggests that BATD, a time-limited and straightforward intervention, is efficacious in reducing depression and increasing activity level and environmental reward in this important, yet underserved population of the U.S. The current study sets the stage for a larger RCT to examine BATD against an empirically-supported treatment, with additional moderators of treatment and mechanisms of change.Item Re-Positioning Latino Heritage Language Learners: The Case of one adolescent's experiences in two different pedagogical spaces.(2015) Merrills, Kayra Zurany; Martin-Beltran, Melinda; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)To improve the education of heritage language learners, more research is necessary to understand alternative educational practices and learning contexts that tap into and further develop heritage language learners' bilingual competence. This inquiry investigates how one Latino heritage language learner (HLL), Yolanda, experienced distinct opportunities to use and develop her heritage language as she participated in a bilingual extra-curricular program and in a world language classroom. Drawing upon Positioning Theory (Davies & Harré, 1999; Harré & Moghaddam, 2003; Harré & van Langenhove, 1999), this study explored how her positioning promoted languaging and language use. Drawing from sociocultural theory, this study applied the concept of languaging to understand language learning (Swain, 2002, 2005, 2006; Swain et al, 2009). I use the term languaging to describe metalinguistic discourse in which students explain or discuss a linguistic problem to others or the moments when learners talk aloud to themselves to mediate understanding of language (Swain, 2006). This study provides an analysis of how the HLL's different positionings influenced the amount of languaging and the type of language (Spanish, English or both) she decided to use. This single-case study incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methodologies with exploratory purposes. Methods of data collection included observations, field notes, audio-recording, video-recording, and student interviews. Data analysis was guided by interactional ethnography, conversation analysis and grounded theory. I also used Dedoose software to code transcripts and identify the co-occurrence of languaging and positioning. This study found that a bilingual extra-curricular program afforded Yolanda positionings that promoted a higher quality and quantity of opportunities for languaging and use of linguistic multicompetence due to collaborative opportunities with linguistically diverse students. This study contributes to research on HLLs by focusing on classroom practices that promote languaging and use of linguistic multicompetence. This study has implications for teachers and teacher education by providing a rich description of an academic space that re-positions a heritage language learner as a multilingual expert and learner.Item EXPLORING FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE AND CAPITAL: CASE STUDIES OF LATINO IMMIGRANT FAMILIES SUPPORTING THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION, WITH A FOCUS ON MATHEMATICS(2014) Napp-Avelli, Carolina A.; Chazan, Daniel; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Latino students are frequently positioned by widespread achievement gap discourse at the bottom of the attainment spectrum. Both students and families are portrayed as inadequate and deficient, and are blamed for their lack of success in mathematics. One recommendation to improve Latino students' educational performance is to increase parental involvement in mathematics among Latinos. However, life conditions of Latino immigrant families include factors that often make it difficult for parents to get involved in the education of their children in the ways that schools expect. This study explores the knowledge and resources two Latino immigrant families have acquired thorough their experiences and how they use them to support their children's education and mathematics education. In order to analyze families' resources, a theoretical framework composed by the concepts of educability, capital, and funds of knowledge and community cultural wealth was developed. The construct of educability, which analyzes the tensions between the limitations that poverty and other life conditions impose on families and the possibilities for students to succeed in school, provides the overarching structure of the framework. Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital and the cycle of reproduction of capital describe why social groups with more capital (middle and upper classes) acquire capital easily, whereas social groups with less capital (low socioeconomic working classes) have fewer opportunities to acquire capital. This piece of the framework explains why it is so difficult for students living in hard conditions to overcome them and succeed academically. The funds of knowledge and community cultural wealth perspectives made it possible to identify the resources and knowledge families have acquired through their experiences and understand their actions and hopes in connection to their life histories. In particular, the study analyzes how families use their resources along three dimensions that affect children's conditions of educability. First, the study looks at how parents influence students' dispositions towards education; second, how parents develop relationships with schools; and third, how parents influence what students do in their leisure time. The researcher's journey as a white middle-class highly educated woman working with Latino working-class families is also analyzed as part of the study.Item BRIEF BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION IN SPANISH-SPEAKING LATINOS: ACCEPTABILITY AND PRELIMINARY EVALUATION(2012) Collado-Rodriguez, Anahi D.; MacPherson, Laura; Lejuez, Carl W; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Although depression is highly treatable, disparities in mental health treatment in the US have prevented Latinos who lack English language proficiency from accessing efficacious interventions. Reasons cited for these disparities include language barriers, high cost of services, lack of culturally sensitive treatments, and stigma toward mental health treatment. A direct Spanish translation of the Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD) may be well-equipped to address the existing barriers through its focus on individual and cultural values, its efficiency and straight-forward nature, itsfocus on developing existing and new strengths, and conceptualization of depression as a consequence of clients' environments and not of cognitive processes, which may serve to decrease stigma associated with care. Using this translation, the current study sought to establish preliminary efficacy and acceptability of BATD in a group of depressed Spanish-speaking Latinos (N=10) . Results showed that over time there was a significant decrease in self-reported depression and a significant increase in activation as indicated by multiple self-report measures. Further, increases in activation corresponded to decreases in depression. Sustained clinical gains through a one-month follow-up were observed. Taken together, these results provide preliminary support for BATD as an efficacious treatment for depression. Consideration of the results combined with interview-based feedback obtained from participants provide several domains for modification of this treatment for future studies, and suggest that the next logical step is to include a treatment control group and a larger sample size in future investigations.Item Breaking into the Public Sphere: Temporality, Context, and Innovation in the Politicization of Latin American Immigrants(2008-11-21) Cantor, Guillermo; Korzeniewicz, Roberto P; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation aims to improve our understanding of the political life of Latinos in the U.S., in specific local contexts and historical moments. To that end, I propose to reframe the understanding of politics and the political. Borrowing elements from political philosophy, I propose using the concept of politicization, which is primarily defined by the introduction of innovation in the public realm; the generation of consequences that affect not only those directly involved in a situation but others as well; and the intervention in a public domain that is not limited to state structures. To elaborate on this idea of politicization as well as to bring history, context, and in particular, temporality, to the center of this research, I look at two major events that crystallized the most critical landmarks in the recent political history of Latinos in the Washington D.C. area: the Mount Pleasant Riots of 1991 and "La Marcha" of 2006. In order to disentangle the process of politicization in each of the events analyzed, I examine the interplay of context (including demographic, political, and organizational features of the local Latino community), episodes of contention, attribution of opportunities and threats, social and organizational appropriation, and innovation. I then reconstruct these cases by inscribing them in their contexts and analyzing how, why, and when different consequential actions were performed. Both the Mount Pleasant riots and La Marcha involved the engagement of ordinary people in the Latino community in contentious public acts which led to the emergence of a transformed ethnically-centered political actor. I argue that this actor constitution was the result of the way in which ordinary people and various collective actors proceeded throughout the exceptional public performances, before, during, and after. My main argument is that the profile and structural location of leading organizations (e.g., dependency on government contracts, foundations' grants, employers, or ordinary people) involved in the events had a decisive impact on the actions adopted by community leaders which, in turn, affected the direction of the political path that the Latino community undertook.Item Differences among Latinos in Anticipated College Experience and Use of College Services by college generational status and gender(2007-12-10) Najera, Hugo Estuardo; McEwen, Marylu K; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study was to determine whether differences in Anticipated College Experience and Anticipated Use of College Services exist between first-generation and continuing generation college Latino students, and between male and female Latino students. The University New Student Census was used to collect data. Items exploring short and long-term college expectations, and use of college services were selected as dependent variables and tested using two-way MANOVAs; ANOVAs were used to analyze significant main effects. A total of 211 Latino first-year entering freshmen responded to the instrument. Results indicated females and first-generation college students had a stronger expectation to use college services than male and continuing generation students. Males expected more than females to have the skills and knowledge to complete their semester goals, yet males indicated a stronger expectation to drop out and not complete a degree. Females expected to be more concerned over financing their college education than males.