Bethany L Letiecq

George Mason University | GMU · School of Education

Objective The purpose of the current study was to examine whether immigration‐related stress is associated with reduced positive parenting and whether this association is mediated by depressive symptoms in undocumented Central American immigrant mothers. Background In the context of “illegality,” parents can face myriad stressors related to their...

Objective Using a community‐based participatory research (CBPR) approach, this study documents Latine immigrant families' work, childcare, and education experiences during the COVID‐19 pandemic to inform policy and practice to support Latine families. Background Latine immigrant communities, comprising undocumented and mixed‐status families, were...

In this article, I draw upon critical feminist and intersectional frameworks to delineate an overarching orientation to structural oppression and unequal power relations that advantages White heteropatriarchal nuclear families (WHNFs) and marginalizes others as a function of family structure and relationship status. Specifically, I theorize that ma...

Embedded within the sociocultural context of romantic relationships are features such as race, culture, neighborhoods, the legal system, and governmental policy. Due to the inherent difficulties with studying large structures and systems, little work has been done at the macro level in relationship science. This volume spotlights the complex interp...

Objective Drawing upon critical race and feminist theories, the objective of this qualitative study was to understand, through Black mothers' narratives, how structural racism operates within a public housing system located on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. Background Structural racism has been identified as a root cause of racialized housing s...

As a prophylactic against scientific harm, it is now increasingly common that research about marginalized people be conducted by and/or with them for their direct benefit. This approach to research, broadly known as participatory action research (PAR), is emergent in family science. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss and encourage the uptake...

In the field of family science and in the broader family policy discourse, debate is ongoing about the importance of family structure for child outcomes. Missing from this debate is a full integration of how the foundational pillars of White supremacy, namely structural racism and heteropatriarchy, impact both family formation and child outcomes, e...

Objective In partnership with Central American mothers, the objective of this study was to engage in the coproduction of a resistant knowledge project, delineating how racialized and gendered structural oppression in the context of illegality conditioned mothers' opportunities to work, live, and do family in an immigrant enclave in the Washington,...

The rapid circulation of COVID-19 misinformation posed one of the most vexing challenges to health communication scholars and practitioners during the pandemic. Within the communication field, our response to health misinformation has often focused on shoring up public trust in scientific knowledge and amplifying institutional expertise. But this s...

Access to high quality early care and education (ECE) is particularly valuable, but often most elusive, for young children and families situated on the margins of society, including many Latinx immigrant families facing income insecurity, discrimination, and limited access to resources due to documentation status. This study used a community-based...

In this presentation we focus on our Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) with Central American immigrant mothers. We detail our processes for analyzing data with our Community Advisory Board (CAB). Below is a Vimeo link to the presentation. https://vimeo.com/490929765/f5d7aed4fb

In this article, we theorize a new conceptual framework of family strengths and resilience emerging at the intersection of indigenous and Western approaches to family systems. Our work acknowledges that there are universal tenets pertaining to family and family relations within many cultural paradigms, yet few family theories have included or integ...

Using a community-based participatory research approach, we surveyed 134 undocumented Central American immigrant mothers to examine correlates of maternal mental health. Drawing upon an ecosystemic framework, predictors of depression included structural and familial stressors, parental concerns, and maternal health factors. Mothers' perceptions of...

This exploratory study builds upon previous research relating to grandparents of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth by investigating the experiences of 2 affirming grandmothers raising their transgender granddaughters (age 6 years at T1). Participants reported experiences similar to those reported by affirming parents of TGD children, such...

In family science, a great deal of scholarly work has focused on marginalized and disadvantaged families with stated goals of improving family outcomes and well‐being. Yet little attention has been paid to family privilege and the ways in which the advantages of privileged families are maintained within a White heteronormative hegemonic society to...

Native American grandparents by tradition are expected to play a role in rearing grandchildren. However, in many Native grandfamilies, grandparents are rearing grandchildren not by choice or tradition, but as the result of family crises that necessitated grandparent intervention. European American grandparents have likewise been called to rear thei...

This study explored how low-income documented and undocumented Latina immigrant mothers negotiate motherhood and adapt to life in new cultural and structural contexts. Grounded in ecocultural theory, we analyzed data from 21 in-depth interviews with Latina immigrant mothers to surface how their experiences of motherhood in the United States were sh...

Historically, translational family science frameworks focused on policy have delimited the roles family scientists can play and the approaches they can implement within the scientific realm. In this article, we call for an expanded translational research-to-policy framework that is inclusive of such roles as policy educator, scholar-advocate, and s...

Immigrant families settling in the United States face pressures to acculturate and become self-sufficient, yet their lives are highly regulated by restrictive and punitive policies and programs that may hinder their ability to cope with exposure to trauma and to build resilience. We theorize that U.S. policies and practices may exacerbate immigrati...

Extant research has focused on out-of-school time among urban and suburban youth, yet there remains scant information on rural low-income youth and their families. This study examines the salience of after-school programs for rural youth. Using an ecological framework, we assess changes in youth behavior and skill acquisition based on reports from...

One-fifth of the US population comprises immigrants and their children. In addition, immigrant settlement patterns indicate immigrant families now make up a larger portion of US immigrants than in previous decades. Given this, immigrant families are more diverse than ever in terms of language, countries of origin, reasons for migrating, and access...

Preschool age is a critical period for obesity prevention. Increasingly more children are being cared for outside the home; however, no national nutrition and physical activity guidelines exist for child care centers. The Environment and Policy Assessment Observation (EPAO) instrument was administered at two child development centers (CDC) located...

This paper discusses a project designed to create a holistic, scalable model to significantly improve the reading skills of children in grades one through three in Pakistan. Innovative aspects of this project include: 1) In terms of technology, we adapt digital tools in ways that are appropriate to the landscape of a developing country. Our vision...

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This study documents the mental health of Mexican migrant men in a new non-traditional settlement in the Rocky Mountain West and examines the role of family separation and other structural and situational stressors in relation to depressive symptoms. Using a community-based participatory research approach, we conducted interviewer-assisted surveys...

In this article, we offer our reflections on our community-based participatory research (CBPR) project in partnership with Mexican migrants in a new rural destination of the Rocky Mountain West. To set the stage for our work, we first present the Montana migration context – a unique context in which the migrant community is hard to define, locate,...

Since the last Handbook was published a decade ago, the United States has experienced numerous challenges—all of which have social policy consequences for families. Perhaps the most profound issues to date are the two wars waged after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the ensuing economic downturn. The banking industry’s misuse of subprime loans,...

Responsible fathering programs address a range of obstacles to involvement; however, most concentrate on employment and co-parenting to the exclusion of men's mental health needs. Depression not only directly interferes with parent involvement, it also impacts employment and relationships. The goal of this paper was to determine the level of depres...

Responsible fathering programs address a range of obstacles to involvement; however, most concentrate on employment and co-parenting to the exclusion of men's mental health needs. Depression not only directly interferes with parent involvement, it also impacts employment and relationships. The goal of this paper was to determine the level of depres...

Depression is a major public health problem among Latino migrants in the United States, yet little is known about the influence of new non-traditional rural settlements on migrant mental health. This study is located in the frontier state of Montana, which experienced fast relative growth in its Mexican migrant population during the last decade. Ru...

Guided by the Double ABCX Model of Family Adjustment and Adaptation, this study explored the coping strategies and adaptation processes employed by grandparent caregivers as they moved from the initial crisis phase of taking in their grandchildren to settling down and carrying out the daily tasks of childrearing. Using qualitative methods, we analy...

The Messengers for Health on the Apsáalooke Reservation project uses a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and lay health advisors (LHAs) to generate knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer prevention among community members in a culturally competent manner. Northern Plains Native Americans, of whom Apsáalooke women are a p...

Cervical cancer mortality rates are among the highest in the United States for Northern Plains Native American women compared with white and other Native American women. The aims of Messengers for Health, a community-based participatory research project based on the Apsáalooke (Crow Indian) Reservation, are to decrease cervical cancer screening bar...

Guided by an ecological perspective on family policy, this qualitative study used family life history interviews to document the legal and policy dilemmas faced by 26 grandparent caregivers residing in Montana. Most grandparents (n = 18) were caring for their grandchildren in informal or private care arrangements. Findings revealed four legal or po...

Increasing numbers of grandparents are rearing their grandchildren because of their adult children's inability to parent. Researchers have begun to document the mental health outcomes of grandparent caregivers in general, yet none have examined the mental health of Native American and European American grandparent caregivers residing in rural commu...

African American/White interracial couples are a rapidly growing segment of the population. However, little is known about factors related to marital quality for these couples. The authors examine the relationships between sex role ideology, perception of relationship unfairness, and marital quality among a sample of 76 married African American/Whi...

The salience of spirituality in African American family life is well docu-mented. However, less is known about the role of spirituality in the parenting styles and practices of African American fathers generally or among those fa-thers rearing children in under-resourced, high-violence neighborhoods. African American families are disproportionately...

This article investigates the life conditions that contribute to low-income fathers’ depression and that may jeopardize their relationships with their children. This work is based on a cultural-ecological framework that emphasizes the need to understand these fathers within their larger familial and social contexts. The sample consisted of 127 pred...

In light of the growing number of interracial marriages in this country, the present study set out to examine the relative strength of one's racial identity, social support, and experience of discrimination in predicting interracial marriage quality. A total of 76 interracial couples (52 African American male/White female and 24 African American fe...

This qualitative study represents one of the first efforts to examine how African American fathers protect their children from community violence. Eighteen African American biological and “social” fathers of preschoolersin the Washington, DC, metropolitan area participated in focus groups addressing parentingin violent neighborhoods. Fathers descri...

There is limited guidance for conducting competent and responsive cross-cultural evaluation research with American Indian communities. The authors draw on Fisher and Ball's Tribal Participatory Research Model to highlight ways in which this project is attempting to be culturally appropriate and sensitive as they partner with an American Indian comm...

Using an ecological framework, this study investigated African- American fathers’ use of five protective strategies to keep their preschool children safe from community violence. Father, child, and contextual predictors of fathers’ protective strategies were also examined. In-depth interviews with 61 African-American Head Start fathers and father f...

The authors present the voices of 20 low-income fathers, all participants in a Responsible Fatherhood (RF) program in a large urban area. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to document participants' memories of becoming fathers, explain participants' perceptions of the benefits and the barriers to remaining involved with the progra...

This article examined behavior problems exhibited by African American children attending Head Start centers in violent neighborhoods. Children's scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)/parent form were compared to the mean scores for the CBCL's non-clinical standardization sample on the internalizing, externalizing, and total problem scales....

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Maryland, College Park, 1999. Thesis research directed by Dept. of Family Studies. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-154).

This study compared the social support of 115 low-income housed mothers and 92 homeless mothers residing in emergency shelters (n = 31), transitional housing units (n = 44), and doubled-up arrangements (n = 17). All mothers had a preschool child in the Head Start program and the majority of the sample was African American. Results revealed that hom...

The present study compared the social support of 92 homeless and 115 permanently housed low-income mothers. Results revealed that homeless mothers were in significantly less contact with their friends/relatives, could count on fewer people for help and child care in times of need, and felt their social networks were less helpful in raising their fa...