Emotional Distress and Maternal Health Vulnerability

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。母亲压力的经历是心理和生殖健康之间关系的重要中介，面临不同压力源的妇女有所不同。因此，查明影响不同母亲经历的确切因素，以及这些因素如何影响脆弱性，对于为旨在缓解母婴健康差距的努力提供信息至关重要。该项目调查了在外国出生的移民妇女和在怀孕期间面临各种压力和支持的本地妇女的怀孕经历。这项研究包括向社区利益攸关方传播成果的介绍，以及向决策者传播成果的白皮书。该项目将通过一个西班牙裔服务机构进行，为来自代表性不足群体的本科生和研究生提供研究培训。具体地说，这项研究试图了解女性如何内化与移民相关的压力，以及女性的经历如何塑造压力的生物标志。这项研究建立在理论上有影响力，但往往操作性较差的体现概念的基础上，通过检查将压力经历和个人病史与可证明的压力生物标记联系起来的具体路径。这些问题将采用多阶段设计进行调查，其中包括对调查数据的分析、自我报告的压力经历、生物压力数据、健康记录和深入访谈。这项研究提供了一个重要的窗口和一个整体的视角，来了解美国移民和土生土长的女性的关切和不同的经历。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Experiences of maternal stress are important mediators of the relationship between mental and reproductive health and vary among women facing different stressors. Identifying the precise factors that affect experiences of diverse mothers and how these, in turn, impact vulnerability, is thus critical to informing efforts aimed at alleviating maternal and infant health disparities. This project examines the experiences of pregnancy among foreign-born immigrant women and native-born women who face a diversity of stressors and supports during pregnancy. The research includes presentations to disseminate results to community stakeholders and a white paper to disseminate results to policymakers. The project will be conducted through a Hispanic Serving Institution, offering research training for undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups.Specifically, this research seeks to understand how women internalize immigration-related stress and in what ways women's experiences shape biological markers of stress. The research builds on the theoretically influential, but often poorly operationalized, concept of embodiment by examining the specific pathways that link experiences of stress and individual histories to demonstrable biological markers of stress. These issues will be investigated using a multi-phased design that includes analysis of survey data, self-reported experiences of stress, biological stress data, health records, and in-depth interviews. The research offers an important window and a holistic perspective on concerns and the differential experiences of immigrants and native-born women in the United States.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.