Friday, 14 January 2005 - 10:00 AM

This presentation is part of: Acculturation and Biculturalism in Latino Adolescents: Mapping Risk and Protective Factors, Examining Measurement Strategies, and Evaluating Intervention Approaches

Acculturation Risk and Protective Factors: Mediating and Moderating Processes in the Development of Mental Health Problems in Latino Adolescents

Purpose

This investigation examined acculturation risk and protective factors that predicted internalizing, externalizing, or both internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems in Latino immigrant adolescents.

Methods

Sample The study sample consisted of 100 Latino immigrant families. All adolescents were between 12 and 18 years old (average age = 15), were born in a Latin American country and had lived in the U.S. for 10 years or less. An adolescent and at least one parent from each family were interviewed using an extensive mixed-methods interview protocol. Sixty-four percent of participants were from Mexico, 12 % from Colombia, and the remainder was from other Central and South American countries. Youths who were at high risk for mental health problems were oversampled and represented approximately 20% of the total sample. Annual family income levels ranged from $1,200 to $90,000 (average = $24,000) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) total scores ranged from 3 to 111 (average = 39), indicating that this convenience sample included a diverse range of Latino families from different backgrounds with different problems.

Independent Variables

Standardized scales were used to measure involvement in Latino culture, involvement in non-Latino (U.S.) culture, perceived discrimination, familism, and parent-adolescent conflict.

Dependent Variables

Dependent measures were collected from adolescents using the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) Youth Self Report (YSR). Adding CBCL - YSR items yielded continuous subscales that served as the dependent measures for this investigation. Subscales measured; anxious/depressed behavior, withdrawn/depressed behavior, internalizing behavior problems, social problems, affect problems, externalizing behavior problems, and total problems.

Data Analysis

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted.

Results

Multiple regression analyses revealed two risk factors, perceived discrimination and parent-adolescent conflict, which were highly significant predictors of the full range of adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and total problems. The direct effects of these two risk factors were stronger than the effects for involvement in Latino or non-Latino cultures. Interaction terms indicated that adolescents who were highly involved in Latino culture and who experienced high parent-adolescent conflict were particularly at risk for internalizing problems. Familism was an important protective factor associated with lower levels of internalizing and total problems. However, the effect for familism was always mediated by parent-adolescent conflict.

Implications for Practice and Policy

Social workers need to pay more attention to the deleterious effects that discrimination has on immigrant families and should advocate for policies that decrease institutional discrimination. Prevention and intervention program designers should specifically target discrimination and parent-adolescent conflict in programs for Latino immigrant families. Discrimination resistance skills and family communication enhancement are viable intervention components and warrant further integration into social work practice.

See more of Acculturation and Biculturalism in Latino Adolescents: Mapping Risk and Protective Factors, Examining Measurement Strategies, and Evaluating Intervention Approaches
See more of Symposium

See more of Celebrating a Decade of SSWR (January 13 - 16, 2005)