The role of structural and interpersonal discrimination in Latina mother and child immune pathways

Discrimination not only shapes the lives of those who experience it directly but may also leave lasting biological imprints across generations. The central hypothesis of this dissertation is that exposure to structural and interpersonal discrimination is associated with immune dysregulation (e.g., inflammation) and socioemotional outcomes in mothers and their children during sensitive developmental periods —pregnancy and early childhood.The research presented in Chapters 2 and 3 focuses on foreign-born immigrant Latina mother-child dyads (N=92) residing in North Carolina. Chapter 2 presents a mixed-methods analysis of the role of sociopolitical context (structural and interpersonal discrimination) in the emotional well-being of both mothers and their children. The study in Chapter 3 examines whether mothers’ experiences of discrimination are related to their children’s immune dysregulation through epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms. Finally, Chapter 4 consists of a secondary data analysis (N=150), shifting the focus from foreign-born immigrant mothers and their young children to the subsequent generation — US-raised Latina mothers and their children in utero. Research in this chapter explores the role of discrimination and trauma symptoms in inflammation during pregnancy, a period of heightened immune malleability with potential consequences for the developing fetus.Mothers’ experiences of discrimination were linked to socioemotional outcomes in their children, with county-level sociopolitical context playing a critical role (Chapter 2). On a biological level, mothers’ discrimination experiences were associated with elevated pro-inflammatory gene expression (IL-8 and IL-1β mRNA) in their children — with far-reaching implications for lifelong well-being (Chapter 3). Finally, US-raised Latina mothers exhibited elevated levels of inflammatory proteins, perceived more interpersonal discrimination, and reported more traumatic avoidance symptoms compared to mothers who migrated from Latin America as adults (Chapter 4). Based on a two-mediator sequential model, discrimination and traumatic avoidance symptoms sequentially mediated the relationship between growing up in the US and the higher levels of maternal inflammation.Overall, this dissertation underscores how exposure to discrimination, situated within broader sociopolitical contexts, reverberate through generations. By focusing on the intersection of structural and interpersonal discrimination, maternal mental health, and child outcomes, these findings highlight the need to create environments that foster safety, inclusion, and opportunity for immigrant families.