The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64895

Margaret Weiss Behrns, BA, Marketing and Outreach, SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, 11426 Rockville Pike, NCADI, suite 200, Rockville, MD 20852, 1-800-729-6686, ext.5240, mbehrns@health.org, Kenneth H. Beck, PhD, Department of Public and Community Health, University of Maryland, College of Health and Human Performance, College Park, MD 20742, Sharon M. Desmond, PhD, Health Education, University of Maryland at College Park, HHP Building Rm 2387, College Park, MD 20742, and Nancy L. Atkinson, PhD, Public Health Informatics Research Laboratory, University of Maryland, Department of Public and Community Health, Suite 2387 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742.

Academic achievement is relevant to the public health field because: academic achievement is critical to positive youth development, problem behavior is reciprocal, academic achievement and problem behavior share many risk and protective factors, and behavior influences future behavior. This interplay is especially relevant to youth who are constantly integrating feedback from two very different cultures.

This poster session will report on an explorative, qualitative study designed to increase understanding of low socioeconomic status (SES) immigrant Latino maternal academic involvement, focusing on communication about academic achievement. This research is motivated by the disproportionately high rates of Latino school dropout and the need to uncover malleable factors that can positively affect Latino youth academic achievement.

Due to the lack of information specific to Latino groups, grounded theory research was used to explore information that can be used in designing future hypotheses. Questions to be examined include: What are the general academic achievement aspirations that low SES immigrant Latino mothers hold for their middle-school-age children? What is the involvement of these mothers in helping their children reach those goals? What services do they need to help them ensure their children’s success?

A unique strength of this study is that it combines the academic rigor of the University of Maryland and the experience of a grass roots organization, Identity, Inc. Findings from this study were shared with programs that serve Latinos in Montgomery County, MD, thereby contributing to the public health goal of bringing research into practice.

Learning Objectives:

• By the end of this presentation participants will be able to: describe the current state of educational attainment among Latino youth in the United States; describe the relationship between school dropout and other problem behaviors such as substance abuse, teen pregnancy, delinquency, and suicide; identify at least two research findings uncovered in the focus group discussions; and identify at least three services requested by the participants.

Keywords: Hispanic Youth, Immigrant Women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Handout (.pdf format, 1198.0 kb)