Family connections and the Latino health paradox: exploring the mediating role of loneliness in the relationships between the Latina/o cultural value of familism and health
Abstract
This study aims to understand Latina/o health from a social relationships perspective. Specifically, a major goal of the study is to explain how despite disadvantages (e.g., lower income and less education), Latinas/os in some cases have superior health compared to non-Latina/o whites, a phenomenon known as the Latino Health Paradox. Based on the central role of familial relationships in Latina/o culture, and utilizing Hawkley and Cacioppo’s theoretical model of loneliness and health as a foundation for the study, the premise underlying this research is that the Latina/o cultural value of familism has a beneficial impact on health via reduced loneliness. Participants were 255 adults who identified as Latina/o (N = 139) or non-Latina/o white (N = 116), ranging in age from 19–88. Results indicate that being Latina/o predicted strong endorsement of familism, that predicted lower loneliness, and lower loneliness subsequently predicted better overall health, mental health, and health practices. These results suggest that the cultural value of familism provides health-related benefits for Latinas/os, which contributes to understanding the Latino health paradox. Results also underscore the value of including loneliness in studies examining the impact of cultural values on health, as only loneliness had statistically significant direct associations with all three health outcomes.
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Research has identified the family as a particularly important source of health-related support among Latinos, including for HIV care.
“Research has also identified the family as a particularly important source of health-related support among Latinos (Diaz & Niño, 2019;Gallegos & Segrin, 2021;Velasco-Mondragon, Jimenez, Palladino-Davis, Davis, & Escamilla-Cejuda, 2016), including for HIV care”
From Nurse-led approaches to address social determinants of health and advance health equity: A new framework and its implications (2023) · cites this paper as Gallegos & Segrin, 2021
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Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316 · Cited by 7,272 · cited 1× · see citing works
“A meta-analysis of 148 longitudinal studies reported a 50% reduced mortality risk for people with stronger relationships; an effect that is greater in magnitude than other risk factors such as obesity, and is comparable to cigarette smoking (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010).”
BackgroundLoneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691614568352 · Cited by 6,043 · see citing works
Loneliness matters: a theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms
Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8 · Cited by 4,782 · cited 12× · see citing works
“Also, considering that loneliness can negatively impact physical health, mental health, and health practices (Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2010), it is important to test the relationship between ethnicity, familism, and loneliness with multiple health outcomes.”
BackgroundInfluentialThe clinical significance of loneliness: a literature review
Heinrich, L. M., & Gullone, E. (2006) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2006.04.002 · Cited by 1,986 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Loneliness has also been associated with mental health problems including schizophrenia, suicide, depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, recreational drug use, eating disorders (Ernst & Cacioppo, 1999; Heinrich & Gullone, 2006), and increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease.”
BackgroundSocioemotional selectivity theory and the regulation of emotion in the second half of life
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Loneliness in everyday life: Cardiovascular activity, psychosocial context, and health behaviors.
Hawkley, L. C., Burleson, M. H., Berntson, G. G., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2003) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.1.105 · Cited by 608 · see citing works
Loneliness is a unique predictor of age-related differences in systolic blood pressure.
Hawkley, L. C., Masi, C. M., Berry, J. D., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2006) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.21.1.152 · Cited by 488 · see citing works
Loneliness and pathways to disease
Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2003) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/s0889-1591(02)00073-9 · Cited by 446 · see citing works
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Guilamo-Ramos, V., Johnson, C., Thimm-Kaiser, M., & Benzekri, A. (2023) · Nursing Outlook · doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2023.101996 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
- Authors
- Gallegos, M. L., & Segrin, C.
- Affiliations
- California State University, Northridge (US)
- University of Arizona (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gallegos, Monica L.
- Venue
- Health Communication
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2021-04-15
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1204-1214
- ISSN
- 1041-0236 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7027
- OpenAlex
- W3154615106
- Cited by
- 41
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 2.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Communication (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ford Foundation (Funding not specific to the study (broad use))
- University of Arizona (SBSRI Summer Dissertation Completion Fellowship)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Latin American and Latino Studies
- Keywords
- familism, loneliness, family relationships, interpersonal relationships, mental health, health practices
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Family Relations, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Loneliness, Mental Health
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