Objective. The aim was to investigate the influence of feeding styles and food parenting practices on low-income children’s weight status over time.Method. Participants were 129 Latina parents and their Head Start children participating in a longitudinal study. Children were assessed at baseline (4 to 5 years old) and again eighteen months later. At each time point, parents completed questionnaires and height and weight measures were taken on the child.Results. The indulgent feeding style (parent-report at baseline) was associated with increased child BMIz-score eighteen months later compared to other feeding styles. Authoritative, authoritarian, and uninvolved feeding styles were not significantly associated with increased child BMIz-score. Child BMIz-score at Time 1 (strongest) and maternal acculturation were positive predictors of child BMIz-score at Time 2. Maternal use of restriction positively predicted and maternal monitoring negatively predicted Time 2 BMIz-score, but only when accounting for feeding styles.Conclusion. This is the first study to investigate the impact of feeding styles on child weight status over time. Results suggest that indulgent feeding predicts later increases in children’s weight status. The interplay between feeding styles and food parenting practices in influencing child weight status needs to be further explored.

Intersecting socially marginalized identities and unique biopsychosocial factors place women with substance use disorders (SUDs) experiencing myriad disadvantages at higher risk for smoking and stigmatization. Here, based on our work with women receiving care for SUDs in four participating treatment/women-serving centers (N = 6 individual clinics), we: (1) describe the functions of smoking for women with SUDs; and (2) explore participants’ experiences of a comprehensive tobacco-free workplace (TFW) program, Taking Texas Tobacco-Free (TTTF), that was implemented during their SUD treatment. Ultimately, information gleaned was intended to inform the development of women-tailored tobacco interventions. Data collection occurred pre- and post-TTTF implementation and entailed conducting client (7) and clinician (5) focus groups. Using thematic analysis, we identified four main themes: “the social context of smoking,” “challenges to finding support and better coping methods,” “addressing underlying conditions: building inner and outer supportive environments,” and “sustaining support: TFW program experiences.” Women reported that: smoking served as a “coping mechanism” for stress and facilitated socialization; stigmatization hindered quitting; non-stigmatizing counseling cessation support provided alternative coping strategies; and, with clinicians, the cessation opportunities TTTF presented are valuable. Clinicians reported organizational support, or lack thereof, and tobacco-related misconceptions as the main facilitator/barriers to treating tobacco addiction. Effective tobacco cessation interventions for women with SUDs should be informed by, and tailored to, their gendered experiences, needs, and recommendations. Participants recommended replacing smoking with healthy stress alleviating strategies; the importance of adopting non-judgmental, supportive, cessation interventions; and the support of TFW programs and nicotine replacement therapy to aid in quitting.

Food insecurity results from unreliable access to affordable and nutritious food. Homeless adults are particularly vulnerable to both food insecurity and problematic alcohol use. The current study examined the link between problematic alcohol use and food insecurity among homeless adults. Participants (N = 528; 62.7% men; M_age = 43.6 ± 12.2) were recruited from homeless-serving agencies in Oklahoma City. Problematic alcohol use was measured using the Alcohol Quantity and Frequency Questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire. The latter used DSM-IV diagnostic criteria to assess probable alcohol use dependence/abuse. Heavy drinking was considered >7 drinks (women) and >14 drinks (men) per week. Food insecurity was measured with the USDA Food Security Scale-Short Form. The link between alcohol problems and food insecurity was examined with logistic regression analyses controlling for sex, age, education, income, and months homeless. Overall, 28.4% of the sample had probable alcohol dependence, 25% were heavy drinkers, and 78.4% were food insecure. Probable alcohol dependence and heavy drinking were correlated at 0.53 (p < 0.001). Results indicated that heavy drinking (OR = 2.12, CI_.95 = 1.21, 3.73) and probable alcohol dependence/abuse (OR = 2.72, CI_.95 = 1.55, 4.77) were each associated with increased odds of food insecurity. Food insecurity and problematic alcohol use are major issues among homeless populations; this study suggests they are associated. Future research is needed to shed light on potential causal mechanisms and on whether alcohol may take precedence over eating or food purchases.

Discrimination is a minority-related stressor that contributes to mental health disparities between Latinx youth and their racial/ethnic peers. Discrimination activates the body’s stress response system, resulting in a higher allostatic load that can cause mental health problems such as PTSD. We explored the 1) relation between perceived discrimination and PTSD symptoms among Latinx immigrant youth, and 2) how gender moderates this relation. We conducted surveys with 306 Latinx first- and second-generation immigrant youth during the 2018-19 school year in Harris County, Texas and Rhode Island. We found that youth who perceived more discrimination were more likely to report PTSD symptoms. Female participants reported higher levels of PTSD symptoms than males, including higher levels of avoidance and re-experiencing symptoms. Perceived discrimination was associated with increased PTSD symptoms, including hypervigilance and avoidance symptoms, for female participants but not males. These interactions did not differ by location. These results further provide support for research into discrimination as a potentially traumatic experience linked to PTSD and underscore the importance of including discrimination in assessments of trauma and adverse childhood outcomes among Latinx immigrant youth. Results further suggest the importance of an intersectional approach to understanding how discrimination relates to PTSD among Latinx immigrant youth.

Tobacco use, and thus tobacco-related morbidity, is elevated amongst patients with behavioral health treatment needs. Consequently, it is important that centers providing health care to this group mandate providers’ use of tobacco screenings to inform the need for tobacco use disorder intervention. This study examined the prevalence of mandated tobacco screenings in 80 centers providing health care to Texans with behavioral health needs, examined key factors that could enhance screening conduct, and delineated providers’ perceived barriers to tobacco use intervention provision. The results indicated that 80% of surveyed centers mandated tobacco use screenings; those that did were significantly more likely than those that did not to have a hard stop for tobacco use status in health records and were marginally more likely to make training on tobacco screening available to providers. The most widespread barriers to tobacco use disorder care provision were relative perceived importance of competing diagnoses, lack of community resources to refer patients, perceived lack of time, lack of provider knowledge or confidence, and belief that patients do not comply with cessation treatment. Overall, the results suggest that there are opportunities for centers providing care to Texans with behavioral health needs to bolster their tobacco screening and intervention capacity to better address tobacco-related health disparities in this group. Health care centers can support their providers to intervene in tobacco use by mandating screenings, streamlining clinical workflows with hard stops in patient records, and educating providers about the importance of treating tobacco with brief evidence-based intervention strategies while providing accurate information about patients’ interest in quitting and providers’ potential impacts on a successful quit attempt.