Blog Post 13 Latinx and Native American Populations

 Latinx and Native American Populations 

      We live in a society deeply engrained with racism. This meaning that it is a constant force in many people's lives and has a great affect on both mental and physical health. Discrimination alone can affect mental health, causing depression, anxiety, and so much more. This coupled with the fact that these groups often do not have access to health care or believe the have the resources or ability to get it causes a crisis especially among young people. In one of the videos we watched this week, a young girl spoke about how she fell down the stairs and injured herself, but denied medical help because she was scared of the possible repercussions or that they would not help her. This is heartbreaking. Everyone should feel that they can use medical emergency services without fear of discrimination. The family also spoke of how wrongful incarceration of a family member greatly affected their mental health and how difficult it was to reach out for help. 

    In a video we watched this week, Dr. Jill Fish discusses the Ecological Systems Model, which is a model of human development that takes culture and history into consideration. At the beginning of the model is the individual, which includes the persons traits and characteristics. The second level is the microsystem, which is the environments that the person is directly involved in, such as parents, peers, and school. The third level is the mesosytem, which are interactions with the environments in the Microsystems that were previously identified that impact the individual's development, for example, the school contacting the individuals parents. The fourth level is the exosystem, which is the interaction of different environments, however one of the environments does not directly involve the individual, like a friend's parents. 

    Both the article I chose and the articles we read for class offered some background information concerning the groups being discussed, the perceived root of the problem, and even some previous findings from other research if applicable. My article discussed racial segregation in schools in the past, work that has been done to abolish this or try to, and some statistics about segregation in schools today. The articles from class had a brief introduction explaining the history of alcohol consumption in the Native American population and the stress response of Mexican American families (respectively). Both discussed what role culture played in the observed variable. I think background information like this helps the reader get a better picture of the research being done and why. The articles are not about things that are common knowledge, so in most cases at least some background information is needed in order to understand the content. It also helps the reader understand the information provided in the correct context as well. Sometimes background in also given to help readers make connections. I think as long as the information is accurate and meaningful in conjunction to the article's content, this background section is helpful and sometimes even necessary. 

    In both articles, parental supervision and support was a factor that made a difference. Feeling welcomed, loved, and supported by parents and by a community is important for any young person, however it can be especially important for youth in these minority groups that already feel that they are alone, different, ostracized, etc. Feeling a strong connection to those around them and who are similar to them could go a long way into building healthy habits and creating a more positive mental health headspace. I think it is also important for children of immigrants to be able to celebrate their culture from home/their parents culture but also their American culture as well.