Disentangling Relationships Between Bicultural Stress and Mental Well-Being Among Latinx Immigrant Adolescents

• Published in: Journal of consulting and clinical psychology Vol. 88; no. 2; pp. 149 - 159
• Main Authors: Romero, Andrea, Piña-Watson, Brandy, Stevens, Angela K, Schwartz, Seth J, Unger, Jennifer B, Zamboanga, Byron L, Szapocznik, Jose, Lorenzo-Blanco, Elma, Cano, Miguel Ángel, Meca, Alan, Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes, Córdova, David, Villamar, Juan A, Soto, Daniel W, Lizzi, Karina M, Des Rosiers, Sabrina E, Pattarroyo, Monica, Oshri, Assaf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01-02-2020
• Subjects: Acculturation; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Adolescent boys; Adolescent Psychology; Depression - psychology; Dominance; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Female; Hope; Human; Humans; Immigrants; Immigration; Latinos/Latinas; Major Depression; Male; Mental depression; Mental Health; Multiculturalism; Prevention programs; Psychological functioning; Psychological well being; Psychosocial factors; Psychosocial functioning; Self Concept; Self esteem; Stress; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Teenagers; United States; Well Being; United States; bicultural stress; hopefulness; immigrant; depressive; youth
• ISSN: 0022-006X; 1939-2117
• DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000466

Background: The Acculturative Process and Context Framework (Ward & Geeraert, 2016) proposes that acculturative stressors influence psychological well-being over time. In fact, extant literature has linked bicultural stress with psychological functioning; yet, no studies have explored the causal dominance of bicultural stress. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the directionality of prospective relations among bicultural stress and psychosocial functioning (i.e., depressive symptoms, hopefulness, and self-esteem) in Latinx immigrant adolescents across 5 waves. Method: There were 303 Latinx adolescents who were recruited for this study from Los Angeles and Miami and were assessed across 5 waves at 6-month intervals. Adolescents were 14.50 years old on average (SD = .88) and 53.16% were male. Adolescents reported living in the United States for 2.07 years on average (SD = 1.87). A Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) was used to examine the between- and within-person relations among bicultural stress, depressive symptoms, hopefulness, and self-esteem in a comprehensive model. Results: The comprehensive RI-CLPM including bicultural stress, depressive symptoms, hopefulness, and self-esteem exhibited excellent model fit. Between-person, trait-like relations among constructs ranged from small to large, as expected. Within-person, cross-lagged estimates among constructs were overall inconsistent, with some evidence that, within individuals, self-esteem influences later hopefulness. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that the RI-CLPM is an effective strategy to examine bicultural stress and well-being processes among adolescents. There is a need for further research examining bicultural stress among Latinx immigrant youth, particularly within prevention and intervention studies.
What is the public health significance of this article?
Psychological well-being is a significant health indicator during adolescence and is associated with a better transition to adulthood. The current study examines the direction of the relationship between stress and psychological well-being among Latinx youth. Previous research has found that stress from moving between two cultures is predictive of health outcomes for Latinx youth. Our findings demonstrate that relations between bicultural stress and psychological functioning are because of stable differences between individuals.