"They Dumped Me Like Trash": The Social and Psychological Toll of Victimization on Latino Day Laborers' Lives

Hazard and Injury Experiences of Latino Day Laborers in Houston, Texas

Latino day laborers in the United States provide skilled labor to businesses and homeowners through informal work arrangements. We conducted exploratory qualitative research with Latino day laborers in Houston, Texas, to investigate their perceptions of safety risks and circumstances related to work-related injuries. We conducted focus groups with 34 participants and used risk mapping and body mapping activities to elicit greater engagement by the Latino day laborers in the conversations. Participants described physical, occupational, and psychosocial hazards that affected their risk for workplace injuries. They indicated a significant risk for injury was employers failing to provide proper tools or equipment for the job being done. The themes that emerged from the analysis were lack of control over employment conditions and the risk of performing unsafe work in order to meet financial needs. This formative qualitative research informed a pilot test and subsequent clinical trial of injury risk reduction strategies for Latino day laborers. Interventions to protect day laborers from work-related injuries should be informed by recognizing the employment and social dilemmas they confront.

Patterns of Polydrug Use Classes Among a Subset of Latino Male Seasonal Workers in South Florida: A Latent Class Analysis

BACKGROUND

Little is known about polydrug use among Latino seasonal farmworkers. This cross-sectional study with male Latino seasonal workers (LSWs) living in South Florida categorized distinct classes of drug use and then characterized each drug use typology by demographic, structural, and psychological factors.

METHODS

One hundred and twenty-five male LSWs were recruited during community events using convenience sampling between July 2019-March 2020. Latent class analysis was conducted by leveraging measures of self-reported use of nine drugs in the past year (sedatives, cannabis, stimulants, heroin, opioids, cocaine, PCP, hallucinogens, and inhalants). Correlates of latent class membership were examined using 3-step categorical latent variable logistic regression. Analyses were performed using Mplus version 8 and SAS 9.4.

RESULTS

Four drug use classes were identified, male LSWs who exhibited: 1) use of illegal opioids only (n = 32); 2) concurrent cannabis and cocaine use (n = 75); 3) concurrent sedative and cannabis use (n = 13); and 4) high concurrent drug use (n = 5). About 84.7% of the sample reported use of at least one drug in the past 12 months. LSWs who identified as White and were married or in a stable relationship were likely to only use illegal opioids. LSWs with less than high school education and self-reported good to excellent health were more likely to use cannabis and cocaine. Men with moderate to severe anxiety and self-reported bad health were classified as engaging in sedative and cannabis co-use. Survivors of physical abuse were more commonly classified as people using high concurrent substances relative to non-abused men among the four classes.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study suggests the presence of heterogeneity in polydrug use classes among LSWs in South Florida.

At-Risk Drinking and Workplace Conditions among Latino Day Laborers

Background: Latino Day Laborers (LDL) face a variety of factors which have been associated with at-risk drinking. The objective of this study was to assess the association of at-risk drinking with measures of work site conditions. Methods: Data from surveys conducted with 307 LDL in Houston, TX in 2015 were analyzed. Sociodemographic information and measures of exposures to hazardous products at the worksite, adverse working conditions, and work stressors were collected. Measures of positive working climate at the jobsite and a climate that promoted jobsite safety were also included. Participants were administered the Hazardous Use items from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test of Consumption (AUDIT-C). Participants were classified as low-risk or at-risk drinkers based on AUDIT-C score. Logistic regression models were run to assess the associations of the sociodemographic and worksite related variables with drinking status. Results: One-hundred-five (34.2%) participants were classified as at-risk drinkers. At-risk drinking was associated with past-month income, being formerly married (compared to having never married), and lack of housing. At-risk drinking was also associated with measures of a positive working climate and a climate that promoted jobsite safety. Conclusions: One-third of our participants were classified as at-risk drinkers. At-risk drinking was associated with stressors in the form of lack of housing and no longer having a spouse but was also associated with increased income and with positive workplace factors. At-risk drinking was thus a function of both stressors and positive factors, including a positive work site.

Structural vulnerability as a conceptual framework for transgender health research: findings from a community needs assessment of transgender women of colour in Detroit

The concept of structural vulnerability explains how systems of oppression drive health inequities by reducing access to survival resources (e.g. food, housing) for marginalised populations. Indicators of structural vulnerability such as housing instability, violent victimisation and poverty are often interconnected and result from intersectional oppression. We sought to demonstrate the utility of the structural vulnerability framework for transgender health research by examining patterns of structural vulnerability indicators among transgender women of colour in Detroit. We conducted latent class analysis and tested associations between classes and mental health and substance use outcomes. Membership to the Lowest Vulnerability class was negatively associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (aOR = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.02-0.59). High Economic Vulnerability membership was associated with daily marijuana use (aOR = 4.61, 95% CI: 1.31-16.16). Complex Multi-Vulnerability membership was associated with PTSD (aOR = 9.75, 95% CI: 2.55-37.29), anxiety (aOR = 4.12, 95% CI: 1.22-13.97), suicidality (aOR = 6.20, 95% CI: 1.39-27.70), and club drug use (aOR = 4.75, 95% CI: 1.31-17.29). Substantively different findings emerged when testing relationships between each indicator and each outcome, highlighting the value of theoretically grounded quantitative approaches to understanding health inequities. Community-driven interventions and policy changes that reduce structural vulnerability may improve mental health and substance use outcomes among structurally vulnerable trans women of colour.

Contexts of violence victimization and service-seeking among Latino/a/x immigrant adults in Maryland and the District of Columbia: A qualitative study

In the United States (US), Latino/a/x immigrants are particularly vulnerable to discrimination and violence, which are associated with a host of negative physical and mental health consequences. Despite this, Latino/a/x immigrants may have limited access to resources and services to prevent and address its consequences. In-depth interviews (n = 17) and one focus group discussion (n = 5) were conducted among a maximum variation sample of adult Latino/a/x immigrants living in Maryland and the District of Columbia, following semi-structured interview guides to explore experiences of discrimination and violence, their impact on health, and barriers and facilitators to help-seeking. Experiences of discrimination and violence victimization were diverse in type and severity. Many women and one gender non-binary participant described experiences of intimate partner violence as well workplace violence. Men frequently described violence that occurred in public and in the workplace. Nearly all participants reported workplace discrimination. Lack of legal documentation, experiences of impunity in country of origin, and lack of knowledge of the US legal system presented barriers, while peers, social groups, and bystanders facilitated violence reporting and help-seeking. Results highlight clear opportunities to prevent and respond to violence through improved availability and accessibility of information, as well as expansion or adaptation of existing services across sectors.

Discrimination, acculturative stress, alcohol use and their associations with alcohol-related consequences among Latino immigrant men

Latino immigrant men are at increased risk for unhealthy alcohol use and related consequences due to social stressors associated with immigration. We assessed the associations of, and examined whether social stressors moderated associations between, alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences in a community-based sample of Latino immigrant men in Washington (N = 187). The mean Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test Consumption (AUDIT-C) score was 6.3 (scores ≥ 4 indicate unhealthy alcohol use). More than half of the men (61.5%) reported experiencing discrimination in at least one setting and mean acculturative stress score was 18.3 indicating moderate levels of acculturative stress. Linear regression models were fit to assess main effects (associations between both alcohol use and social stressors and alcohol-related consequences) and moderation (whether the association between alcohol use and consequences varied based on experience of social stressors using multiplicative interaction) after adjustment for potential confounders. Alcohol use (β = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.20-0.73; p = .001), discrimination (β = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.27-1.43; p = .004), and acculturative stress (β = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.02-0.24; p = .025) were all associated with increased experience of alcohol-related consequences. The association between alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences was stronger for those with high levels of acculturative stress (p = .025) but not experience of discrimination (p = .587). Findings underscore the importance of social and cultural context in alcohol use and related consequences. Efforts to reduce negative consequences of drinking may include focus on reducing exposure to discrimination and acculturative stress.

"The solitude absorbs and it oppresses": 'Illegality' and its implications on Latino immigrant day laborers' social isolation, loneliness and health

Despite a well-documented relationship between social isolation and health among men, this link has been understudied among marginalized populations such as undocumented immigrant men whose structural social exclusion may impede the cultivation and maintenance of social connections in the United States. This may be particularly so in new immigrant settlement cities that may lack an established Latina/o community or the social infrastructure often needed to ease the process of social integration. Studies that have examined social disconnectedness, social isolation, and/or loneliness have largely focused on individual level factors (i.e., older age) that may precipitate or contextualize experiences of social isolation, social support and social networks. Missing from such conceptualizations is a consideration of the role of structural factors, such as "illegality" among undocumented immigrant men, on experiences of social disconnection, social exclusion, social isolation and loneliness and resultant adverse health behaviors. This study, through in-depth qualitative participant narratives, explores the social condition of one group of "illegal" immigrant men, Latino immigrant day laborers (LIDL), and their experiences of social exclusion, social isolation, loneliness and health in the new immigrant settlement city of Baltimore. Using an ethnographic methodological approach, eight focus groups (N = 37) were conducted with participants recruited from two day labor sites from 2016 to 2019. Thematic analysis revealed a structural process of social exclusion and disconnection that exposed LIDLs to experiences of racism, structural vulnerability, and dehumanization which in turn may have heightened social isolation and loneliness and patterned substance use and sexual risk taking. Findings further emphasize the potential conceptual significance of structurally induced social disconnection, as distinct from lack of social support, in the study of LIDLs' social isolation, loneliness and health.