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There is a growing recognition that Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) can inform some sources of physical and mental health disparities among the Latinx population. The current study sought to expand previous research by exploring the singular and interactive influence of financial strain and subjective social status—two common and clinically important SDoH factors—on pain intensity, pain disability, general depression, social anxiety, and anxious arousal. The current sample consisted of 155 Latinx adults (81.3% female; Mage= 40.02 years, SD = 10.61) presenting for care at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Multivariate results demonstrated that financial strain was statistically significantly associated with greater pain intensity, pain disability, general depression, and anxious arousal, but not social anxiety. Further, lower subjective social status was related to greater general depression, social anxiety, and anxious arousal but not with higher levels of pain indices. An interactive effect was found wherein the combination of higher levels of financial strain and low levels of subjective social status was related to general depression and anxious arousal. This is the first study to empirically evaluate the main and interactive effects of financial strain and subjective social status regarding numerous physical and mental health symptoms. These findings clarify how two prevalent SDoH factors influence health outcomes. Specifically, the results suggest that a multi-risk conceptualization can advance a fine-grained understanding of Latinx health disparities by showing differential associations between SDoH factors and clinical outcomes that are frequently the source of health inequities in the Latinx population.

Rates of traumatic event exposure, posttraumatic stress (PTS), and co-occurring mental health symptoms and disorders are conditionally higher among Latinx individuals compared to other racial/ethnic populations. Importantly, Latinx persons are a heterogeneous population, and certain subgroups endorse higher rates of negative mental health outcomes than others, including Latinx young adults born in the USA. Yet, there is little understanding of individual difference factors among trauma-exposed US born Latinx young adults that may be involved in mental health burden among this group. The present investigation sought to evaluate the potential explanatory relevance of heart-focused anxiety as an individual difference factor regarding some of the most common co-occurring mental health problems among trauma-exposed populations. Specifically, we tested whether heart-focused anxiety was related to increased co-occurring anxious arousal symptoms, depression, social anxiety, and suicidality among 169 (84% female, Mage=23.15 years, SD=6.07) trauma-exposed Latinx young adults. Results indicated that heart-focused anxiety was a statistically significant predictor of general depression (ΔR2= .02, F(1, 161) = 4.25, p= .041), suicidality (ΔR2= .10, F(1, 161) = 21.49, p< .001), anxious arousal (ΔR2= .11, F(1, 161) = 27.31, p< .001), and social anxiety (ΔR2= .03, F(1, 161) = 7.93, p= .005). Overall, this work offers empirical evidence that individual differences in heart-focused anxiety are related to more severe co-occurring anxiety and depressive symptomatology among a particularly at risk Latinx segment of the Latinx population (non-immigrant Latinx young adults s with previous trauma history).

ABSTRACTBackgroundFatigue sensitivity, or the misattribution that fatigue symptoms will lead to negative personal consequences, is one individual difference factor related to adverse behavioral health consequences.MethodsThe current study investigated whether fatigue sensitivity was related to panic symptoms, depression, as well as fatigue severity among 166 persons of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds with severe fatigue.ResultsAs hypothesized, fatigue sensitivity was statistically significantly related to greater panic symptoms, general depression, and fatigue severity. These results were evident over the variance explained by age, sex, neuroticism, and somatic symptoms.ConclusionsThis work is the first to evaluate fatigue sensitivity in terms of behavioral health outcomes among a racial/ethnically diverse sample with severe fatigue.

ABSTRACTObjectives:Emotion dysregulation is an important individual difference variable for substance use. Limited empirical data has evaluated the influence of emotion dysregulation on e-cigarette use and outcomes related to use. Similarly, the role of fatigue has received little attention in this regard despite emerging links with e-cigarette use.Methods:Therefore, the present study examined a theoretically informed model focused on whether the experience of more severe fatigue explains, in part, the relation between emotion dysregulation and e-cigarette dependence and perceived barriers to e-cigarette cessation among 525 adult e-cigarette users (50.9% female, Mage = 35.25 years, SD = 10.10).Results:Results suggest that fatigue severity significantly explains part of the relation between emotion dysregulation and dependence (b = 0.04, 95% CI [0.02, 0.06]) as well as perceived barriers for e-cigarette cessation (b = 0.21, 95%CI [0.14, 0.29]). In addition, reverse models were tested that suggest emotion dysregulation may also explain, in part, the relation between fatigue severity and dependence (95% CI [0.07, 0.34]) as well as perceived barriers for e-cigarette cessation (95% CI [0.96, 1.92]).Conclusions:The current study provides initial empirical support for the role of fatigue severity in the relation between emotion dysregulation and e-cigarette use processes, but also highlights the potential for bi-directional effects.

ABSTRACTBackground:Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has risen dramatically in the United States. Research on combustible cigarette use has indicated that mental health symptoms and disorders are among the most important factors related to the maintenance and relapse of use. There is emerging research that suggests mental health symptoms, such as anxiety and negative affect, are overrepresented among e-cigarette users and that these factors are related to more frequent use of e-cigarettes. Yet, little is known about individual difference factors that may be associated with some of the most common mental health symptoms among e-cigarette users. Objective:Clinically significant fatigue may be one individual difference factor related to greater anxiety and distress and dysregulated emotional states more generally among e-cigarette users. Unfortunately, past work has yet to explore this relation. Method:Thus, the current study sought to evaluate clinically significant fatigue severity and its relation to negative affect, anxious arousal, and emotion dysregulation among 525 adult e-cigarette smokers (50.9% female, Mage = 35.25 years, SD = 10.10). Results:Results indicated that severe fatigue was significantly related to negative affect (p < 0.001), anxious arousal (p < 0.001), and emotion dysregulation (p < 0.001); effects that were evident after adjusting for a range of other factors (e.g. combustible cigarette use). Conclusions:These novel empirical results highlight the severity of fatigue as a potentially important construct in efforts to better understand common mental health problems among e-cigarette users.

Latinos, one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, suffer from high rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and its clinical correlates (e.g., disability). Although research suggests the experience of pain is closely related to PTS among trauma-exposed groups, there has been little exploration of the processes that may link pain intensity to greater PTS among trauma-exposed Latinos. The current study explored insomnia, a common problem associated with both pain intensity and PTS, as a mechanism in the association between pain intensity and PTS among trauma-exposed Latinos (N= 208, Mage=39.39 years, SD = 11.48) attending a Federally Qualified Health Center. Results indicated that insomnia partially explained the relationship between pain intensity and PTS total score (B= 0.25, 95% CI [0.12, 0.43]), as well as re-experiencing (B= 0.09, 95% CI [0.04, 0.17]), avoidance (B= 0.09, 95% CI [0.04, 0.17]), and arousal symptoms (B= 0.10, 95% CI [0.04, 0.17]). Future work is needed to explore the extent to which insomnia accounts for relations between pain and PTS using longitudinal designs to further clarify theoretical health disparity models involving these comorbid conditions.