Recruitment and Retention of Low-SES Latinx Families in Developmental Psychopathology Research

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic -Diversity, Equity & Social Justice

Abstract

Introduction
Latinx youth are at an increased risk for mental health problems and experience higher levels of uncontrollable stress related to socioeconomic status (SES), acculturation, and discrimination (Costello et al., 2003; Canino & Roberts, 2001).
However, recruitment and retention challenges have led to underrepresentation of Latinx families in longitudinal developmental psychopathology research (Hussain-Gambles et al., 2004). Additional information is needed on family characteristics predictive of research engagement (Robinson et al., 2015).

This study’s objectives are to examine rates and predictors of attrition in a 3-wave longitudinal study of 129 low-SES Latinx families. We hypothesized that having a lower income and being a younger parent, a first generation parent, a parent with less education, a father, a parent with more children, an older adolescent, and/or a youth with more mental health concerns would increase a family’s likelihood of missing a study timepoint.

Methods
The participants include 129 bilingual Latinx youth ages 10-15 (M=12.0 years (SD=1.1), 47% female) and their parents (M=39.1 years (SD=6.50), 95% female). 88% of families qualified for free/reduced lunch. See Image 1 for recruitment and retention data.

At the first timepoint, parents completed a demographic form. At all three timepoints, each six months apart, parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and youth completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR) to assess youth mental health problems. At the second and third timepoints, parents completed a form about the child’s current mental health service utilization. Parents or children who endorsed item(s) related to suicidality completed a suicide risk assessment as part of our safety protocol. We examined point-biserial correlations between participant demographic and mental health variables and attrition.

Results
19.0% of families/parents who missed a timepoint had a risk assessment compared to 13.8% of families who did not miss a timepoint.

Lower income families were more likely to miss a timepoint (r(128)=-.17, p=.027). Parent and child age and gender, number of children, parent educational level and generational status were not significant predictors of missing a timepoint.

Youth who reported higher externalizing or internalizing problems were more likely to have missed the previous timepoint (r(111)=-.23, p=.006 for externalizing, r(111)=-.21, p=.012 for internalizing). This association was not significant for the parent reports. Families with children who received mental health services since starting the study were more likely to miss a timepoint (r(105)=.19, p=.025).

Conclusions
Family income and child mental health variables were associated with attrition. This suggests that families with lower SES or with children with mental health concerns face more barriers to research participation.

These findings suggest that, even in low-SES samples, more support should be dedicated to families with the lowest SES to facilitate continued research participation. Additionally, researchers should direct retention strategies towards youth with mental health concerns to avoid bias and increase generalizability of findings in developmental psychopathology research with Latinx youth. Some facilitators and retention strategies include providing information to affordable community mental health resources to participants and identifying participants with risk factors for attrition to proactively identify and address barriers to participation.

Authors

• Catherine Esperanza, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Ana Sofia Ocegueda, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anneli Garcia, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author

• Erin Rodriguez, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author