The Effects of Intergenerational Conflict, School Quality, and Racial Discrimination on Depressive Symptoms Among Mexican-American Youths

Purpose: Adolescence is a crucial period in development regardless of ethnicity, and he importance of considering youth development within environments such as family, school, and neighborhood quality has been well-established in the general population. It can be especially vital for Mexican-American youth, who are known to struggle with not only typical adolescence-related stressors but also unique challenges related to minority status and acculturation, which negatively impact their psychological well-being (e.g. suicide is the third leading cause of death among Mexican-Americans between 10 and 24 years of age).he risk of intergenerational conflict is elevated in Mexican immigrant families due to significant differences between Mexican/Hispanic culture (e.g. collectivism and familyism/interdependence) and majority American culture (e.g. individualism and independence). This discrepancy is particularly pronounced during adolescence, when separation-individuation is normative in American culture and maintaining family values and beliefs is expected in Hispanic culture. This leads to intergenerational conflict between immigrant parents and their children. School violence and poor teaching quality are also recognized as hindering the development of positive psychological adjustment for Mexican-American youths. Racial discrimination is another contextual factor to be considered, as studies show that racial discrimination, either experienced or perceived, is associated with detrimental mental health outcomes in Mexican-American youths. However, relatively little research explores the factors contributing to Mexican-American youths’ psychological well-being by collectively considering family, school, and racial discrimination. This study sought to fill this gap in literature.

Methods: By using secondary quantitative data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, 316 Mexican-American adolescents in grades 11 (59.8%) and 12 (40.2%) in San Diego were included in this study. Gender was evenly distributed (50.9% female). Intergenerational conflict was assessed by the number of conflicts occurring due to discrepancies between adolescents’ acculturation level and their parents’ acculturation level. School quality was measured by items addressing perceived safety and teaching quality. Racial discrimination was measured by youth’s perception about persistent racial inequality and discrimination in society. Depressive symptom levels were assessed by four items from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.

Results: Bivariate analysis showed a significant relationship between depressive symptoms and intergenerational/intercultural conflict (r=0.21), school quality (r= -0.19), and perceived racial discrimination (r= 0.17). After controlling for gender, socioeconomic status, educational achievement (GPA), and neighborhood quality/violence, multiple regression analyses showed that higher intergenerational conflict (β=0.19, p< 0.001), poor school quality (β= -0.10, p< 0.05) and higher perceived racial discrimination (β=0.10, p< 0.01) significantly predicted depressive symptoms.

Conclusions and Implications: This study provides a better understanding of the systemic factors associated with depressive symptoms among Mexican-American adolescents. Its findings offer a multifaceted view of the challenges faced by Mexican-American youth, which are impacted by factors outside the individual, such as family, peers and teachers. These findings suggest that interventions improving school safety and teaching quality, mitigating intergenerational/intercultural conflict, and reducing racial discrimination must be comprehensively addressed to enhance Mexican-American youths’ well-being. To help those who suffer from depressive symptoms, as Mexican-American youths tend to underutilize traditional mental health services due to stigma, school-based outreach efforts can be effective.