Cultural Stress, Emotional well-being, and Health Risk Behaviors among Recent Immigrant Latinx families: The Moderating Role of Perceived Neighborhood Characteristics

A systematic review of how social connectedness influences associations between racism and discrimination on health outcomes

Racial discrimination is a well-known risk factor of racial disparities in health. Although progress has been made in identifying multiple levels through which racism and racial discrimination influences health, less is known about social factors that may buffer racism's associations with health. We conducted a systematic review of the literature with a specific focus on social connectedness, racism, and health, retrieving studies conducted in the United States and published between January 1, 2012, and July 30, 2022, in peer-reviewed journals. Of the 787 articles screened, 32 were selected for full-text synthesis. Most studies (72%) were at the individual level, cross-sectional, and among community/neighborhood, school, or university samples. Studies had good methodological rigor and low risk of bias. Measures of racism and racial discrimination varied. Discrimination scales included unfair treatment because of race, schedule of racist events, experiences of lifetime discrimination, and everyday discrimination. Measures of social connectedness (or disconnectedness) varied. Social-connectedness constructs included social isolation, loneliness, and social support. Mental health was the most frequently examined outcome (75%). Effect modification was used in 56% of studies and mediation in 34% of studies. In 81% of studies, at least 1 aspect of social connectedness significantly buffered or mediated the associations between racism and health. Negative health associations were often weaker among people with higher social connectedness. Social connectedness is an important buffering mechanism to mitigate the associations between racial discrimination and health. In future studies, harmonizing metrics of social connectedness and racial discrimination can strengthen causal claims to inform interventions.

Mexican-origin parent and child reported neighborhood factors and youth substance use

Background

Structural oppression affects health behaviors through residence in suboptimal neighborhoods and exposure to community violence. Youth and parents report perceptions of neighborhood factors that can affect youth substance use behaviors. Given that Latinx youth report higher levels of perceived community violence than other racial and ethnic groups, it is imperative to examine how youth- and parent-perceived neighborhood-level factors may relate to youth substance use.

Methods

Data were collected using clinical interviews with family triads (fathers, mothers, and youth) and parent-child dyads (father or mother and youth) enrolled in the Seguimos Avanzando study of 344 Mexican-origin families in Indiana. Neighborhood measures, including perceptions of exposure to violence, neighborhood characteristics, and neighborhood collective efficacy, were included in parent and youth surveys. Self-report measures for past year alcohol and drug use were included in the youth survey only. T-tests were conducted to estimate differences in neighborhood reports among the sample triads. A series of linear regression models were used to estimate the associations between youth-, mother-, and father-reported perceptions of neighborhood factors and youth substance use.

Results

Preliminary results indicate that fathers reported higher levels of exposure to violence than mothers [t(163) = 2.33, p = 0.02] and youth [t(173) = 3.61, p < 0.001]. Youth reported lower negative neighborhood characteristics than mothers [t(329) = 6.43, p < 0.001] and fathers [t(169) = 3.73, p < 0.001]. Youth reported significantly better neighborhood collective efficacy than mothers [t(296) = 3.14, p = 0.002], but not statistically different from fathers. Results from the primary analysis showed that youth exposure to violence was positively associated with youth substance use (b = 0.24, SE = 0.06, p < 0.0001), but the youth's neighborhood characteristics and collective efficacy were not significantly associated with youth substance use. None of the parent-reported neighborhood variables were associated with youth substance use.

Conclusion

The discrepant findings between parent and youth reports of perceived neighborhood characteristics and substance use have important implications for researchers and community stakeholders, and for developing targeted interventions and prevention strategies. Our study highlights the need to address youth experience of community violence and to prioritize creating safe and inclusive neighborhood environments. Potential strategies include improving community resources, strengthening social support networks, promoting open communication about neighborhood risks, and fostering collaborative efforts to address substance use behaviors.

Neighborhood Physical and Social Environments and Social Inequalities in Health in Older Adolescents and Young Adults: A Scoping Review

Poor health and well-being are prevalent among young people. Neighborhoods may play a role in promoting good health. Little is known on if and how neighborhood characteristics affect health, and social inequalities therein, among young people. In this scoping review, we asked: (1) what features of the neighborhood physical and social environments have been studied in association with the physical and mental health and well-being of young people 15 to 30 years old; and (2) to what extent have social differentials in these associations been studied, and how? We identified peer-reviewed articles (2000 to 2023) through database and snowball searches. We summarized study characteristics, exposure(s), outcome(s) and main findings, with an eye on social inequalities in health. Out of the 69 articles reviewed, most were quantitative, cross-sectional, conducted among 18-year-olds and younger, and focused on the residential neighborhood. Neighborhood social capital and mental health were the most common exposure and outcome studied, respectively. Almost half of the studies examined social inequalities in health, mostly across sex/gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. Evidence gaps remain, which include exploring settings other than residential neighborhoods, studying the older age stratum of young adulthood, and assessing a broader range of social inequalities. Addressing these gaps can support research and action on designing healthy and equitable neighborhoods for young people.

Immigration Enforcement and Hispanic Youth Substance Use: Is Depression a Mediator?

Hispanic adolescents report earlier onset and higher substance use rates than their non-Hispanic White and Black peers. This study examines the associations between the immigration-related arrest of a family member and substance use among Hispanic early adolescents and explores the mediating role of depressive symptoms as the mechanism explaining the association. We apply a mediated multiple linear regression analysis on 661 Hispanic youth attending 7th grade in an urban school district in a south-central, new arrival state. We found that Hispanic early adolescents who experienced the immigration-related arrest of a family member reported significantly higher substance use than Hispanic youth who did not experience the arrest of a family member due to immigration enforcement. Moreover, we found this relationship to be fully mediated by depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that even though the majority of Hispanic youth in the U.S. are citizens, experiencing the immigration-related arrest of a family member is not uncommon and has critical implications for poor mental health and maladaptive coping behaviors.

Age of Immigration and Depressive Symptoms Among Young Adult Latinx Immigrants: A Test of Explanatory Models

Introduction: Latinx immigrants who migrate to the United States (US) as young children are more likely to experience depression than those who migrate later in life. Our purpose is to test three models that may explain the relationship between age of immigration and depressive symptoms among Latinx immigrants. Methods: A secondary analysis of baseline data from a community-based, longitudinal study of Latinx young adults in the US Southeast was conducted. Latinx immigrants who migrated before the age of 19 years (n = 157) were included, and path analysis was conducted. Results: Age of immigration and depressive symptoms were negatively related (b = -0.19, S = 0.08, p = .015), while acculturative stress and depressive symptoms were positively related (b = 0.04, SE = 0.01, p < .001). No significant indirect effects were found. Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of assessing acculturative stress and age of immigration as social drivers of mental health in Latinx immigrant children.

Systems of Oppression: The Impact of Discrimination on Latinx Immigrant Adolescents' Well-Being and Development

With over 400 harmful immigration policy changes in the past 4 years, Latinx adolescents and families nationwide are developing within a context of extreme anti-immigrant sentiment (Dismantling and reconstructing the U.S. immigration system: A catalog of changes under the Trump presidency, Migration Policy Institute, 2020). This paper introduces the Multitiered Model of Oppression and Discrimination (MMOD), a conceptual model for understanding the impacts of multiple levels of discrimination on the well-being and development of Latinx immigrant adolescents. Interpersonal discrimination (Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 2010, 32, 259), community-held stereotypes (Social Psychology of Education, 2001, 5, 201), institutional policies (Children and Youth Services Review, 2018, 87, 192), and structural practices (Journal of Criminal Justice, 2020, 66, 1) can negatively impact well-being and development among these adolescents. Culturally sustaining interventions, civic engagement and mobilization, and policies targeting inequitable policies and practices will provide healing and an avenue for liberation.

Adolescent Development in Context: A Decade Review of Neighborhood and Activity Space Research

Over the last decade, two lines of inquiry have emerged from earlier investigations of adolescent neighborhood effects. First, researchers began incorporating space-time geography to study adolescent development within activity spaces or routine activity locations and settings. Second, cultural-developmental researchers implicated neighborhood settings in cultural development, to capture neighborhood effects on competencies and processes that are salient or normative for minoritized youth. We review the decade's studies on adolescent externalizing, internalizing, academic achievement, health, and cultural development within neighborhoods and activity spaces. We offer recommendations supporting decompartmentalization of cultural-developmental and activity space scholarship to advance the science of adolescent development in context.

Immigrant Youth Resilience: Theoretical Considerations, Empirical Developments, and Future Directions

Resilient adaptation among immigrant youth provides the foundation for healthy and productive adult lives. Great diversity is observed in their adaptation. This diversity has been studied during the past decade from different angles and intellectual traditions. However, the results are disconnected. In this paper, first, we present a resilience conceptual model for understanding immigrant youth adaptation. We argue that its concepts and principles allow us to best pull together what is known and discover what is still unknown. Together with narrower topic-specific conceptual models, it can guide the formulation of hypotheses regarding immigrant youth resilience. Second, we examine comparatively, through the lens of this conceptual model, results of a content analysis on the abstracts of studies on individual differences in immigrant youth adaptation, conducted during the past decade in North American and European countries. Finally, we discuss the meaning of acculturation-related terms which are often used in an inconsistent way.

Family and School Connectedness Associated with Lower Depression among Latinx Early Adolescents in an Agricultural County

Depression constitutes one of the greatest sources of morbidity and mortality for U.S. adolescents. Latinx are the fastest growing U.S. adolescent population, particularly in rural communities, and suffer from depression at higher rates than other racial/ethnic groups. Informed by community perspectives on adolescent health, we examined factors associated with depression among Latinx early adolescents in an agricultural community. We surveyed 599 predominantly Latinx 8th graders (12 to 15 years old) recruited from middle schools in Salinas, California. Depression was measured cross-sectionally with the Patient Health Questionnaire-8. Exposures included environmental, cultural, and family factors, assessed using validated measures. We used hierarchical logistic regression guided by Garcia Coll's Model for the Study of Developmental Competencies in Minority Children to examine associations between protective factors within each domain and depression. Eighty-six of the 599 youth (14%) scored above the clinical threshold for depression, with higher prevalence among females (19%) than males (10%), p = .001. Environmental (school connectedness and neighborhood social cohesion) and family factors were associated with a lower odds of depression (all p ≤ .01). Social cohesion in neighborhoods and family communication offered similarly strong protective associations with depression. Increased language assimilation was associated with an increased odds of depression (p = .007).

Disentangling relationships between bicultural stress and mental well-being among Latinx immigrant adolescents

BACKGROUND

The Acculturative Process and Context Framework (Ward & Geeraert, 2016) proposes that acculturative stressors influence psychological well-being over time. In fact, extant literature has linked bicultural stress with psychological functioning; yet, no studies have explored the causal dominance of bicultural stress. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the directionality of prospective relations among bicultural stress and psychosocial functioning (i.e., depressive symptoms, hopefulness, and self-esteem) in Latinx immigrant adolescents across 5 waves.

METHOD

There were 303 Latinx adolescents who were recruited for this study from Los Angeles and Miami and were assessed across 5 waves at 6-month intervals. Adolescents were 14.50 years old on average (SD = .88) and 53.16% were male. Adolescents reported living in the United States for 2.07 years on average (SD = 1.87). A Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) was used to examine the between- and within-person relations among bicultural stress, depressive symptoms, hopefulness, and self-esteem in a comprehensive model.

RESULTS

The comprehensive RI-CLPM including bicultural stress, depressive symptoms, hopefulness, and self-esteem exhibited excellent model fit. Between-person, trait-like relations among constructs ranged from small to large, as expected. Within-person, cross-lagged estimates among constructs were overall inconsistent, with some evidence that, within individuals, self-esteem influences later hopefulness.

CONCLUSION

Findings from this study indicate that the RI-CLPM is an effective strategy to examine bicultural stress and well-being processes among adolescents. There is a need for further research examining bicultural stress among Latinx immigrant youth, particularly within prevention and intervention studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).