Prevention and Intervention Research With Latino Families: A Translational Approach

• Author: Gabriela L. Stein,Linda E. Guzman
• Published date: 01 June 2015
• Date: 01 June 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12143

Prevention and Intervention Research With Latino

Families: A Translational Approach

GABRIELA L. STEIN*

LINDA E. GUZMAN*

The present paper takes a translational approach in applying the themes of the current

special section to prevention and intervention science in Latino fam ilies. The paper reviews

the current literature on cultural processes in prevention and intervention research with

Latino families. Overall, many prevention and intervention programs have either been

developed specifically for Latino families or have been modified for Latino families with

great attention paid to the socio-cultural needs of these families. Nevertheless, few studies

have tested the role of cultural values or acculturation processes on outcomes. We make rec-

ommendations based on findings within basic science and in particular this special sectio n

on the incorporation of these values and processes into prevention and intervention science

with Latino families.

Keywords: Latino; Acculturation; Cultural values; Interventions; Families

Fam Proc 54:280–292, 2015

As the Latino population in the United States continues to grow, research needs to con-

sider how to bestserve the needs of this vibrantand diverse community. Muchattention

has been paid in the literature to the importance of culturally grounding prevention and

intervention efforts by describing the pertinent socio-cultural factors that need to be consid-

ered in delivering effective services for Latinos (e.g., Bernal, Bonilla, & Bellido, 1995). This

call to arms resultedin a multitude of interventions thathave been developed specifically for

Latino families (e.g., Gonzales et al., 2012) or that have tailored existing interventions to

meet the unique socio-cultural needs of this group (e.g., McCabe & Yeh, 2009). While there

is a healthy debate about how treatment and intervention research should empirically test

cultural adaptations with various cultural groups (e.g., Bernal, Jim

enez-Chafey, & Domen-

ech Rodr

ıguez, 2009; Castro, Barrera, & Steiker, 2010; Kazdin & Wassell, 2000), this paper

will instead focus on how basic research on cultural and family processes in Latino families

can guide future research questions within prevention and intervention science that test the

complexity and nuances inherent in the studyof specific cultural groups.

The papers in this special section highlight the increasingly multifaceted ways to

understand the impact of culture on Latino family processes, and how newer statistical

techniques are leveraged to further this understanding. In particular, we can take away

from these papers: (1) the need to examine the effects of specific cultural values (P

erez-

Brena, Updegraff, Uma~

na-Taylor, Jahromi, & Guimond, 2014; Paper A); (2) the impor-

tance of unpacking the effects of acculturation variables (e.g., language, generation status)

*Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health

Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Gabriela L. Stein, Department of Psy-

chology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 296 Eberhart Building, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro,

NC 27402-6170. E-mail: glstein@uncg.edu

280

Family Process, Vol. 54, No. 2, 2015 ©2015 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12143