• Anxiety Disorders and Latinos: The Role of Family Cohesion and Family Discord
  Presented by: Jacob Bird Priest

• Effects of Economic Stress, Racism, and Mental Health on Father Involvement
  Presented by: Cassandra Latrice Kirkland, Margaret Keiley, Francesca Adler-Baeder, Amy Rauer, Ivan Watts

• Family Formation among African American Young Adults
  Presented by: Clifford Broman

Abstracts

Anxiety Disorders and Latinos: The Role of Family Cohesion and Family Discord

Presented by: Jacob Bird Priest

Family cohesion serves as a protective factor against psychological distress and other risk behaviors for Latinos, but little is know about the relationship of family cohesion, family discord and anxiety disorder. Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, this study examines the relationship between family functioning and anxiety disorders.  Results show that for that more family discord increases the risk of having lifetime or twelve month prevalence of almost all anxiety disorder.  On the other hand, strong family cohesion is only associated with decreased risk of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder.

Effects of Economic Stress, Racism, and Mental Health on Father Involvement

Presented by: Cassandra Latrice Kirkland, Margaret Keiley, Francesca Adler-Baeder, Amy Rauer, Ivan Watts

The current study investigates the indirect effects of financial resources and racial discrimination on paternal involvement via psychological functioning (hopelessness and life satisfaction). We hypothesized that lower levels of financial resources, higher levels of financial worry, and higher levels of perceived discrimination would be negatively related to psychological functioning, which in turn, would predict lower levels of father involvement. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant negative relationship between discrimination and life satisfaction, and discrimination also significantly predicted hopelessness, demonstrating a positive relationship. And lastly, of the psychological indicators, only hopelessness significantly predicted father involvement, and its effects were minimal.

Family Formation among African American Young Adults

Presented by: Clifford Broman

In this paper, we examine behavior regarding family formation in the young adult African-American population. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health),we find the relationship between parent and adolescent has a long term impact on family formation behaviors.  Mother warmth and the parent's assessment of the respondent's closeness are linked to the respondent's likelihood of having a large number of marriages, and of having/parenting a child out of wedlock.