Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Purpose: Poverty is associated with many negative child outcomes, including mental health problems. Links between poverty and children's mental health problems are of particular importance for immigrant children who experience poverty at a higher rate than non-immigrant children. Research with non-immigrant children and families suggests that poverty typically does not have a direct effect on children's mental health, but instead it indirectly affects children via its negative impact on certain family processes, including parental self-efficacy, parenting behavior, and family conflict. Research on the mediating role of family processes among poor immigrant families is lacking. This study fills this gap in the research by testing the family process mediational model among three groups of youth: immigrant children (i.e. first-generation immigrants), children of immigrant parents (i.e. second generation immigrants), and children of non-immigrant parents. The hypothesis for this study is that the family process mediational model will operate differently across the three groups.

Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional survey design and used data from Wave I of the Rand Corporation's Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A. FANS). Surveys were completed by primary caregivers and their children through an interview process that was conducted from 2000-2002. A stratified random sample of 65 census tracts in Los Angeles County was used. Stratification was used so that an oversample of poor census tracts and households with children were obtained. For this study, the sample was divided into three groups: immigrant children (N = 158), children of immigrant parents (N = 374) and children of non-immigrant parents (N = 359). The independent variable was poverty, which was measured with an income-to-needs ratio. The dependent variable was children's emotional problems, which was measured using the Behavior Problem Index. Three commonly used measures of family process mediational variables were used: 1) parental self-efficacy, 2) parenting behavior, and 3) family conflict. The mediating effect of family process variables was tested using statistical procedures described by Baron and Kenny (1986) who recommend testing mediation with a series of multiple regression models.

Results: Results supported the study's hypothesis and indicated that the family process mediational model operates differently across the three groups. Among immigrant children, family process variables did not operate as mediators between poverty and emotional problems, suggesting that other variables not included in this study may be operating as mediators for this group. Among children of immigrant parents, poverty continued to have a direct effect on children's emotional problems, suggesting that material deprivation may be directly harmful to this group. Last, among children of non-immigrant parents, the family process variable of primary caregiver self-efficacy emerged as a significant mediator between poverty and children's emotional problems.

Conclusions and Implications: These findings suggest that, for first generation immigrant children, more research is needed to identify variables that mediate the relationship between poverty and children's emotional problems. Implications for second generation immigrant children suggest that social welfare policies that are aimed at reducing poverty among immigrant families may have a directly positive impact children's mental health.