Understanding Latine(a/o/x) and Hispanic Perceptions of Engagement in Firearm Violence Prevention: A Mixed Methods Study

In the United States, firearm violence disproportionately impacts Latine(a/o/x) and Hispanic people, particularly in the state of New Mexico. Understanding the social ecological factors that impact Latine experiences with firearm violence is integral to understanding engagement with prevention. Employing a framework incorporating structural violence, empowerment, and collective efficacy, the objective of this mixed methods study is to investigate contextual information regarding the barriers and facilitators to gun violence prevention among participants who reported differing degrees of collective efficacy. Quantitative data collected in a questionnaire (n = 303) were used to inform the conducting of qualitative interview data, which included a participatory mapping exercise (n=18) for Latine and Hispanic adult residents residing in a community near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Survey, interview, and map data were analyzed using an integrated results matrix to identify differences found between groups, and the point of integration for this explanatory sequential design occurred following collection and analyses of both strands of data. Reporting higher collective efficacy or informal social control, speaking Spanish or ‘Spanish and English’ in the home, endorsing gun safety to reduce violence, being married, and not owning a firearm were found to be potential facilitators to awareness of and involvement in firearm violence prevention activities within Latine communities. Organized by social ecological domains, common themes arose including: (1) the need to engage appropriate audiences in firearm violence prevention (organizational); (2) perceived place-based barriers and facilitators to firearm violence prevention (structural); (3) collective efficacy and communal perception (communal); (4) nuance of Latine and Hispanic communities (cultural); (5) familial conflict and intervention (interpersonal), and; (6) personal efficacy (intrapersonal). Implications of this study point to the role of place and community in fostering firearm violence prevention through the development of sustained community-driven initiatives tailored to the cultural nuance of Latino and Hispanic groups.