A research team supported by a University of Maryland Grand Challenges Grant is addressing mental health inequities faced by low-income Latino immigrant youth through a community partnership. The team, led by Associate Professor of Family Science Amy Lewin (SPHL), Professor of Family Science Kevin Roy (SPHL), and Associate Clinical Professor of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership Beatriz Quintos (EDUC), recently completed the formative evaluation phase of their community-based participatory research (CBPR) project.
The team implemented and refined the Youth Encuentros intervention, and collected preliminary data from over 700 youth participants. These preliminary data have shown that the intervention is extremely effective at reducing symptoms of anxiety and increasing feelings of connectedness and belonging among Latinx high school youth. These preliminary results were presented in a community forum with local policymakers and service providers as well as at two national academic conferences. The team's community partner has also used these preliminary results to obtain over $1 million of funding to expand the delivery of Youth Encuentros across Montgomery County, Maryland.
The researchers also completed a community needs assessment around prevention of youth substance use in the Latinx community. Results and recommendations from that assessment were distributed to local leaders and policymakers, and the work was featured in five different media outlets including WTOP radio, WNBC4 and Telemundo. Based on the formative evaluation, and collaboration with a group of youth peer leaders, the team has designed and is now beginning to conduct a randomized controlled trial of Youth Encuentros that will continue for the remainder of this school year.
For more information about this initiative, visit: https://research.umd.edu/encuentros.