Moderating Influence of Enculturation on the Relations Between Minority Stressors and Physical Health via Anxiety in Latinx Immigrants

• Published in: Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 356 - 366
• Main Authors: Cariello, Annahir N., Perrin, Paul B., Williams, Chelsea Derlan, Espinoza, G. Antonio, Morlett-Paredes, Alejandra, Moreno, Oswaldo A., Trujillo, Michael A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Educational Publishing Foundation 01-07-2020
• Subjects: Acculturation; Anxiety; Anxiety - ethnology; Anxiety - psychology; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Female; Hispanic Americans - psychology; Hispanic Americans - statistics & numerical data; Human; Humans; Immigration; Latinos/Latinas; Male; Mental Health - ethics; Minority Groups; Physical Health; Race and Ethnic Discrimination; Social Behavior; Stress; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Test Construction; United States; United States; anxiety; enculturation; physical health; Latin immigration
• ISSN: 1099-9809; 1939-0106
• DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000308

Objectives: The Latinx population in the United States has grown rapidly, now standing at over 56 million people. Discrimination and acculturative stress have been found to affect the mental and physical health of Latinx immigrants, yet enculturation has been identified as an important cultural strength for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among minority stressors, anxiety, and physical health in a sample of Latinx immigrants living in the United States. A secondary aim was to examine whether the direct and indirect effects among these variables were moderated by enculturation (i.e., moderated mediation). Method: A community sample of 202 Latinx immigrants completed questionnaires measuring these constructs. Results: Both acculturative stress (b = −1.68, p < .001) and discrimination (b = −1.69, p < .001) yielded direct effects on physical health, as well as indirect effects (b = −.10, 95% confidence interval [−.23, −.01]; b = −.21, 95% confidence interval [−.40, −.08], respectively) through anxiety. Conclusions: Psychologists and allied health care providers are recommended to assess for the impact of minority stressors on anxiety and physical health when providing care to Latinx immigrants. Future intervention research targeting Latinx mental and physical health can consider ways to include innate cultural strengths like enculturation and partner with Latinx cultural centers, churches, and local communities to make enculturation more salient.
Public Significance Statement
Latinx immigrants living in the United States experience daily discrimination and acculturative stress related to navigating a different country's customs. This study found that in Latinx immigrants, discrimination and acculturative stress were associated with physical health through their effects on anxiety. The more that Latinx immigrants adhered to the cultural customs of their country of origin (enculturation), the less that these stressors impacted anxiety and health. Mental health professionals and health care providers are encouraged to assess for discrimination experiences and acculturative stress when providing treatment to Latinx immigrants.