Poster #7

The Importance of Trust and Culture in addressing domestic violence and mental health needs for Mexican Migrant Indigenous Women

By: Irisela Contreras. Co-authored by Alison Herrmann, Teresa Santos, Leticia Galicia, Leonides Aguilar, Barbara Marquez-O'Neill, Victor Espinosa, Genevieve Flores-Haro, and Arcenio Lopez

Abstract:

Migrant indigenous communities face multiple obstacles for achieving mental health and reporting Domestic Violence (DV). Many speak primarily their indigenous language leading to isolation and linguistic barriers. This population comes from historical oppressed communities in Mexico where mental health and DV awareness are non-existent, and gender inequity predominates, excluding women from political spaces of power. These communities are governed by their traditional norms and customs where strict gender roles, religious beliefs, and the patriarchal system is reinforced, affecting largely women who at a young age experience domestic abuse leading to mental health problems and isolation. DV is an ongoing concern in this population, rooted in multiple risk factors such as, extreme poverty, inequity, and the lack of access to education. While in the U.S., these practices and beliefs remain, and the barriers to report DV increases due to the fear of deportation, economic barriers, unfamiliarity with the system, and language differences. LwL is a Prevention and Early Intervention mental health and DV program that address issues of depression, anxiety, domestic violence, and (socio-cultural and linguistic) isolation for Mexican indigenous migrant populations by decreasing mental health stigma, improving knowledge about mental health issues, and increasing knowledge, awareness, and access to mental health services including DV support resources. In 2017, LwL was selected to participate in the California Reducing Disparities Project, a statewide, cross-population initiative, to reduce mental health disparities among underserved populations. Pre-post program survey (N=168) and follow-up (N=75) data were collected from women (65% married, mean age = 39, mean years in US = 16, mean household size = 7) who participated in LwL from 2017-2021, 77% in small groups; 23% one-on-one with a promotora. Pre- post analyses revealed significant improvements (p<.05 – p<.0001) in all program outcomes, representing medium-large effect sizes (d=.50-.98), providing strong evidence for the effectiveness of LwL.

irisela contreras

Irisela Contreras is the California Reducing Disparities Project’s (CRDP) Evaluation Coordinator at the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP). She is working in collaboration with the UC Los Angeles Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity, UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities, and Loyola Marymount University’s Psychology Applied Research Center on evaluating MICOP’s Living with Love, a mental health prevention and early intervention community-defined evidenced practice, designed to serve the hardest-to-reach Latino indigenous communities in Ventura County. Ms. Contreras graduated from California State University Channel Islands with a Major in Sociology and a Double Minor in Chicano/a Studies and Spanish.

Ms. Contreras grew up in Mexico and migrated to the United States at the age of 14 years old. She is a proud daughter of former farmworkers who came from Mexico searching for a better future opportunity for their family. As a young researcher, Ms. Contreras is interested in the life experiences of Latino immigrant and indigenous populations, with a focus on reducing health disparities and social determinants that increases individuals’ and families’ prevalence to mental health disorder.