Adverse Childhood Experiences across Generations of Latinx Immigrant Youth: Is Adversity Worsening?

Background and Purpose:

A growing body of research that has emerged from the landmark adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study over the past two decades illuminates the importance of early childhood experiences in predicting later health and behavioral outcomes. An immigrant paradox in research has persistently shown worsening health among Latinx groups with more time and generations spent in the U.S., but it is not known whether or how adverse experiences in childhood may drive these patterns. Nascent research has begun to describe the prevalence of ACE by Latinx immigrant generation. However, a key methodological limitation of this research is the exclusion of important measures of ACE that encompass experiences of child abuse and neglect. Developing a deeper understanding of ACE among Latinx immigrant and multi-generational families is necessary for improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities among historically marginalized groups. This study examines the distribution of ACE across three generations of immigrants among a community sample of Latinx youth.

Methods:

Project RED is a longitudinal study of substance use among Latinx youth. Data collection began in 2005 during high school, with seven waves collected into young adulthood ending in 2016. A total of 1,303 participants completed follow-up data in one or more of four additional waves (W4-W7). Study participants had a mean age of 14.5 years in W1 and mean age of 23.9 years (W7) in young adulthood. Participants were classified as first generation (born outside of U.S.), second generation (U.S. born and at least one foreign born parent), and third generation (U.S. born and both parents U.S. born). Measures of ACE (i.e., experiences during first 18 years of life occurring in the home) included physical, emotional and sexual abuse, parental domestic violence, separation/divorce, household member alcohol/drug use, mental illness, and incarceration. Logistic regression examined associations between immigrant generation and ACE and included sociodemographic covariates in adjusted models.

Results:

Third generation Latinx youth had 2 times higher odds of experiencing household dysfunction, particularly living with an alcohol/drug user and person with mental illness, compared to first generation (OR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.08-3.88), and second generation (OR=2.51, 95% CI: 1.45-4.35). Interestingly, first generation youth had over twice the odds of reporting sexual abuse (OR=2.27, 95% CI: 1.14-4.52), compared to third generation.

Conclusions and Implications:

This study elucidates important associations between ACE and immigrant generation among a community sample of Latinx youth. Results suggest there may be variations in ACE experiences across generations of Latinx immigrant-heritage youth. Reducing health disparities among immigrant-origin youth requires a better understanding of how ACE impacts Latinx youth across generations. For example, targeting factors related to household dysfunction in childhood may be key to interventions aimed at reducing poor health outcomes observed in third generation immigrants and beyond.  Examining factors related to the increase of household dysfunction among third generation Latinx youth and developing knowledge about how worsening household dysfunction influences behavioral health outcomes, are critical next steps in this research.