Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Ijeoma Opara

Second Advisor

Trace Kershaw

Abstract

Latina girls in the United States are disproportionately impacted by teen dating violence, an issue which can be exacerbated by the unique cultural factors such as machismo, traditional gender roles, and closed communication between parent-daughter dyads in discussing romantic relationships. The role of positive interpersonal relationships between Latinx parents and their daughters can provide protection, mitigating engagement with risk behaviors. However, Latinx parents report discomfort in engaging in sensitive discussions such as relationships due to generational norms of closed communication. Four Latinx-identifying parents of daughters in Paterson were recruited to establish the Latinx Parent Advisory Board (LPAB) within the Paterson Prevention Project. Using rapid qualitative analysis to analyze transcripts from the 4 focus groups, all conducted in Spanish, three core themes emerged from the data: (1) Duality of learned, cultural values as barriers and protective factors, (2) Open door approach to parenting, and (3) Healthy and unhealthy romantic relationships. This study demonstrates the strengths and utility of employing community based participatory research (CBPR) as a research framework and tool of community empowerment in the process of developing a toolkit to facilitate parent-child communication tailored to the unique needs of Latinx parents in Paterson, NJ.

Comments

This thesis is restricted to Yale network users only. It will be made publicly available on 06/16/2027

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