Acculturative Stress and Mental Health: Implications for Immigrant-Origin Youth.

"In this article, the authors provide an overview of the current global and US debates on immigration as a key developmental context for immigrant-origin youth. Relying on a conceptual framework that highlights both risk and protective factors, the authors provide evidence from their longitudinal study that empirically links acculturative stress to key mental health outcomes during adolescence. They conclude with a discussion of clinical implications of their work with an emphasis on what is needed to meet the growing mental health needs of immigrant youth."

Discrimination-related stress effects on the development of internalizing symptoms among Latino adolescents.

This three-wave longitudinal study of 173 Latino adolescents (M = 16.16 years, SD = 0.65) is designed to understand the role of discrimination-related stress in mental health trajectories during middle to late adolescence with attention to differences due to immigration status. The results of the growth curve analysis showed that anxious-depressed, withdrawn-depressed, and somatic complaints significantly decreased over time. Furthermore, although discrimination-related stress was found to be significantly related to the trajectories of three types of mental health symptoms, the results revealed that immigration status moderated these relations such that discrimination-related stress was significantly related to these outcomes for Latino youth whose parents were born in the United States, while this relation was not significant for Latino children of immigrants.

The role of collective self-esteem on anxious-depressed symptoms for Asian and Latino children of immigrants.

We conducted a 3-wave, longitudinal study to examine the role of ethnic collective self-esteem and United States (U.S.) collective self-esteem on anxious-depressed symptoms over time among Asian and Latino immigrant-origin adolescents (n = 171). Growth curve analysis revealed that anxious-depressed symptoms first decreased between 10th and 11th grade and then increased over time for both groups. Additionally higher levels of ethnic collective self-esteem were associated with lower levels of anxious-depressed symptoms only for Asian adolescents. There was a differing pattern for U.S. collective self-esteem such that for Latino adolescents, higher U.S. collective self-esteem was associated with higher anxious-depressed symptoms, whereas for Asian adolescents there was an inverse relationship with anxious-depressed symptoms. The results expand the literature on ethnic and U.S. collective self-esteem and their link to mental health. Implications of the findings for research in general, and for counseling immigrant youth and families in particular, are discussed.

Segmented assimilation and attitudes toward psychotherapy: a moderated mediation analysis.

The present study examines the relations between acculturative stress, mental health, and attitudes toward psychotherapy, and whether these relations are the same for immigrants of color and White immigrants. This study predicted that acculturative stress would have a significant, negative relation with attitudes toward psychotherapy and that this relation would be moderated by race (immigrants of color and White immigrants) so that as acculturative stress increases, attitudes toward psychotherapy become more negative for immigrants of color but not White immigrants. Finally, mental health was predicted to mediate the relation between acculturative stress and attitudes toward psychotherapy for immigrants of color, but not White immigrants. Participants were 149 first-generation, immigrant, young adults, between the ages of 18 and 29, who identified as White, Black, Latino, or Asian. A significant negative correlation was found between acculturative stress and attitudes toward psychotherapy. A moderated mediation analysis demonstrated that the negative relation between acculturative stress and attitudes toward psychotherapy was mediated by mental health symptoms for immigrants of color but not White immigrants.

The role of acculturative stress on mental health symptoms for immigrant adolescents: a longitudinal investigation.

Immigrant-origin adolescents represent the fastest growing segment of youth population in the United States, and in many urban schools they represent the majority of students. In this 3-wave longitudinal study, we explored trajectories of internalizing mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms). The participants included 332 urban-residing first-and second-generation immigrant adolescents (44% male). Participants were recruited in 10th grade (Mage = 16.20 years, SD = 1.19), and 2 additional waves of data were gathered in 12-month intervals. Both generational and racial/ethnic background of the participants reflected the general demographics of urban centers in the United States. With individual growth curve modeling, the results show significant decline in internalizing mental health problems during the high school years. At the same time, greater exposure to acculturative stress predicted significantly more withdrawn, somatic, and anxious/depressed symptoms. Gender and generation status differences in internalizing mental health problems were also identified.

Cultural identity and mental health: differing trajectories among Asian and Latino youth.

Asians and Latinos are the 2 fastest growing immigrant populations in the United States. In this 3-year longitudinal study, we explored trajectories of mental health symptoms (withdrawn/depressed and somatic symptoms) among 163 first- and second-generation Asian (n = 76) and Latino (n = 97) adolescents. The focus of the study was to examine how ethnic identity and U.S. identity, as 2 separate processes of identity development, affect mental health symptoms, and whether these relationships are moderated by ethnic group, Asian or Latino. Participants were recruited when they entered 10th grade, and 2 additional waves of data were gathered at 12-month intervals. Results revealed that somatic and depressed symptoms decreased over time for both groups. Similarly, for both groups, U.S. identity and ethnic identity increased over time. Ethnic identity was associated with lower levels of withdrawn/depressed symptoms for both Latino and Asian youth. Ethnic identity was associated with lower levels of somatic symptoms for Asian youth, but not for Latino youth. U.S. identity was not associated with reduced levels of somatic or withdrawn/depressed symptoms for either group. Implications for clinicians are discussed.