Migration and Health Lab

Overview

Dr. Pinedo has developed two highly focused lines of research that examine critical social determinants of health that are salient among Latino populations (e.g., immigration-related stressors) that may help explain and address existing health disparities related to substance misuse and use of treatment services. His first line of research examines how stressors stemming from immigration enforcement policies (e.g., deportations, fear of deportation) shape vulnerability to substance misuse among Latinos. His second line of work investigates factors that discourage Latinos in need from using substance use treatment services. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, his research underscores the importance of structural (e.g., immigration policies, deportations), social (e.g., anti-immigration discrimination), and cultural (e.g., cultural perceptions surrounding substance use) factors in influencing the health behaviors, risk practices, and health outcomes of Latinos.

Childhood parental deportations & Health

In the last decade, more than one million US-born, US-citizen, Latino children have experienced the trauma of family separation via parental deportation. Yet, family separation via parental deportation is a poorly understood childhood trauma and little is known about the long-term implications. This mixed methods project investigates how having a parent deported as a child relates to mental health, substance use, and wealth in adulthood.

The influence of immigration enforcement policies on the mental health and substance-using behaviors of US-born LatinosImmigration policies produce immigration-related stressors that carry important mental health and substance use implications. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, this project examines how immigration-related stressors influence substance use and mental health status among US-born Latino adults.

Latino-White disparities in the use of substance use treatment services