ABSTRACT

This study aims to understand Latina/o health from a social relationships perspective. Specifically, a major goal of the study is to explain how despite disadvantages (e.g., lower income and less education), Latinas/os in some cases have superior health compared to non-Latina/o whites, a phenomenon known as the Latino Health Paradox. Based on the central role of familial relationships in Latina/o culture, and utilizing Hawkley and Cacioppo’s theoretical model of loneliness and health as a foundation for the study, the premise underlying this research is that the Latina/o cultural value of familism has a beneficial impact on health via reduced loneliness. Participants were 255 adults who identified as Latina/o (N = 139) or non-Latina/o white (N = 116), ranging in age from 19–88. Results indicate that being Latina/o predicted strong endorsement of familism, that predicted lower loneliness, and lower loneliness subsequently predicted better overall health, mental health, and health practices. These results suggest that the cultural value of familism provides health-related benefits for Latinas/os, which contributes to understanding the Latino health paradox. Results also underscore the value of including loneliness in studies examining the impact of cultural values on health, as only loneliness had statistically significant direct associations with all three health outcomes.

摘要

本研究旨在从社会关系的角度了解拉丁裔/o 健康。具体来说，该研究的一个主要目标是解释尽管存在不利条件（例如，收入较低和教育程度较低），但在某些情况下，拉丁裔/os 与非拉丁裔/o 白人相比具有更好的健康状况，这种现象被称为拉丁裔健康悖论. 基于家庭关系在拉丁/o文化中的核心作用，并以霍克利和卡乔波的孤独与健康理论模型为研究基础，本研究的前提是家庭主义的拉丁/o文化价值具有有益的意义。通过减少孤独感来影响健康。参与者是 255 名被认定为拉丁裔/o（N =  139）或非拉丁/o 白人（N= 116），年龄在 19-88 岁之间。结果表明，拉丁裔/o 预示着对家庭主义的强烈支持，这预示着较低的孤独感，而较低的孤独感随后预示着更好的整体健康、心理健康和健康实践。这些结果表明，家庭主义的文化价值为拉丁裔/os 提供了与健康相关的好处，这有助于理解拉丁裔健康悖论。结果还强调了将孤独纳入研究文化价值观对健康影响的研究的价值，因为只有孤独与所有三种健康结果具有统计学上显着的直接关联。