Predictors of Suicidality in Young Latino Men

Recent studies have focused on challenging deficit narratives and discourses perpetuating the criminalization of Latino men and boys. But even with this emerging literature, mainstream counter-narratives of young Latino boys and their attitudes towards manhood and masculinity stand in stark contrast to the dangerous and animalistic portrayals of Latino boys and men in the media and society. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the authors draw on the notion of counter-storytelling to explore how Latino boys try to reframe masculinity, manhood, and what they label as ‘responsible manhood.’ Counter-storytelling and narratives provide a platform from which to challenge the discourse, narratives, and imaginaries guiding the conceptualization of machismo. In their counter-narratives, Latino boys critiqued how they are raced, gendered, and Othered in derogatory ways.

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The Dual Use of Religious-Faith in Intimate Partner Abuse Perpetration: Perspectives of Latino Men in a Parish-based Intervention Program

Social Work & Christianity ◽

10.34043/swc.v47i3.109 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 (4) ◽

pp. 71-95

Author(s):

Maxine Davis ◽

Melissa Jonson-Reid

Keyword(s):

Partner Violence ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Protective Factor ◽

Partner Abuse ◽

Religious Faith ◽

Gain Control ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Latino Men ◽

Spiritual Abuse ◽

The Relationship

Little is known about the role that religious-faith plays in the lives of men who have acted abusively against an intimate partner. Studies report mixed findings about the relationship between religious-faith and intimate partner violence/abuse (IPV/A) perpetration. This study explored the perceptions of Latino men involved in a parish-based partner abuse intervention program (PAIP). Two focus groups were conducted with members of the PAIP (N=18). Two major themes emerged. Participants reported using religious-faith as a mechanism for ending violence. However, participants also reported past misuse of religion in order to gain control over intimate partners. These apparently conflicting roles of religion were further elucidated in several sub-themes. Religious-faith is complex. This study offers insight into how faith may serve as both a risk and protective factor for IPV/A perpetration. Implications for how intervention programs may address participants’ religious-faith during treatment and how religio-spiritual abuse is measured are discussed.

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Productive pleasures across binary regimes: Phenomenologies of bisexual desires among Latino men

Sexualities ◽

10.1177/1363460719839915 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 645-665 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jorge Fontdevila

Keyword(s):

Impression Management ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Status Quo ◽

Sexual Agency ◽

Latino Men ◽

Hetero Structure ◽

Men And Women ◽

Liminal Spaces ◽

Sexual Ambiguity ◽

Sex With Men

Modern orders were founded on the repudiation of sexual ambiguity and the confinement of desire within discursive classifications of man/woman and hetero/homosexual binaries. However, the persistence of bisexual practices reveals the unstable nature of these modern binary regimes, which require the “erasure” of bisexuality to perpetuate their status quo. Yet some men negotiate their bisexual desires in productive ways without undermining their sense of masculinity and sexual agency. Based on qualitative interviews I explore the sexualities of a group of these men—Latino men who have sex with men and women in southern California. I find that sex with women involves interactional work that is more demanding on impression management and moral grounds. Sex with men is rougher, adventurous, and less restrained. I conclude that sex with men opens liminal spaces that resist binary definition and are less discursively regulated—relative “anti-structures” à la Victor Turner that decouple agency from (hetero)structure. This transgressive liminality is key to understanding these same-sex spaces' recurrent attraction and productive pleasure. The study challenges monolithic understandings of migrant sexualities by finding great diversity among non-gay identified men, including homoerotic practices combined with strong desire for women.

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Pathways to Seeking Help From a Partner Abuse Intervention Program: A Qualitative Study of Voluntary and Non-Court-Mandated Latino Men’s Experiences

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260519884680 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 088626051988468

Author(s):

Maxine Davis ◽

Bruno Fernandez ◽

Melissa Jonson-Reid ◽

Stavroula Kyriakakis

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Partner Abuse ◽

Relationship Building ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

Specific Information ◽

Latino Men ◽

Seeking Help ◽

Court Mandated

Involvement in treatment for intimate partner violence and abuse (IPV/A) perpetration is often limited to those who are arrested and convicted of domestic violence offenses. Consequently, the majority of research into partner abuse intervention programs (PAIPs; also known as batterer intervention programs [BIPs]) has utilized data from court-mandated participants despite the existence of voluntary programs. Therefore, little is known about the experiences of voluntary and non-court-mandated BIP/PAIP participants. Using an interpretive phenomenological analysis, this study sought to understand how participants perceived their lived experience in seeking help from a voluntary BIP/PAIP serving Latino men. Men volunteering for this study participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews ( N = 16). The findings reveal that the decision to engage in a BIP/PAIP voluntarily is process laden. Participants described the process as involving a breakdown in the health of their intimate relationship, reaching tipping points at which avoiding help was no longer an option, and locating specific information on where to seek treatment. The findings also reveal that once involved, most participants anticipated and desired to engage in the program long term. This study illuminates the many factors that may contribute to decision-making when men who have acted abusively seek help. Strategies for increasing voluntary BIP/PAIP participation may involve enhancing marketing of services or information for accessing services, and personal relationship building between facilitators and potential participants.

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