Parent-Adolescent Acculturation Profiles and Adolescent Language Brokering Experiences in Mexican Immigrant Families

Development and initial validation of the Immigrant Optimism Questionnaire (IOQ) for immigrant-origin young adults

Immigrant optimism has been identified as a cultural protective factor that could be targeted in prevention efforts that support immigrant well-being. However, to date, immigrant optimism has not been consistently operationalized. We report on an iterative and collaborative approach to develop and validate a measure of immigrant optimism.

METHODS

Content validity was established using feedback from immigrant-origin young adults and from experts in the field. Then, using survey data from 241 immigrant-origin young adults, we examined reliability, validity, and invariance of our measure among first- and second-generation immigrants.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a single immigrant optimism factor explains significant variation in each of our indicators. Our measure was further invariant across first- and second-generation immigrant youth and demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings support the use of our measure with immigrant-origin young adults. We offer considerations for future research and highlight implications for prevention efforts.

Hidden care: a qualitative exploration of the roles and responsibilities of language brokers

This qualitative study explored language brokers' conceptualizations of their roles and responsibilities within the family in Sydney, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to obtain retrospective accounts of language brokering experiences from 14 self-identified language brokers, 10 females and four males aged between 19 to 49 years (Mean age = 31) who started brokering between ages 7 to 16 (M = 11). Participants were from varied ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds (Turkish, Lebanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese and Greek/German). Thematic analysis identified three primary themes: "Hidden Carers: When Parent-Child Roles are Reversed"; "Lost Childhoods: Personal Sacrifice for the Good of the Family"; and "Protecting Parents: Language Brokers as Custodians of Information." Findings revealed that language brokering constitutes a form of hidden caregiving that carries with it several ramifications for the individual and their family. These findings have important implications for future research and policymakers working towards developing culturally responsive interventions that improve the health and wellbeing of language brokers and the resettlement experiences of migrants and their families.

Acculturative Orientations Among Hispanic/Latinx Caregivers in the ABCD Study: Associations With Caregiver and Youth Mental Health and Youth Brain Function

Background

Population-based neuroscience offers opportunities to examine important but understudied sociocultural factors such as acculturation. Acculturation refers to the extent to which an individual retains their cultural heritage and/or adopts the receiving society's culture and is particularly salient among Hispanic/Latinx immigrants. Specific acculturative orientations have been linked to vulnerability to substance use, depression, and suicide and are known to influence family dynamics between caregivers and their children.

Methods

Using data from first- and second-generation Hispanic/Latinx caregivers in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 1057), we examined how caregivers' acculturative orientation affects their mental health, as well as the mental health and brain function of their children. Neuroimaging analyses focused on regions associated with self- and affiliation-based social processing (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, insula, and temporoparietal junction).

Results

We identified 2 profiles of caregiver acculturation: bicultural (retains heritage culture while adopting U.S. culture) and detached (discards heritage culture and rejects U.S. culture). Bicultural caregivers exhibited fewer internalizing and externalizing problems than detached caregivers; furthermore, youth exhibited similar internalizing effects across caregiver profiles. In addition, youth with bicultural caregivers displayed increased resting-state brain activity (i.e., fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity) in the left insula, which has been linked to psychopathology; however, differences in long-range functional connectivity were not significant.

Conclusions

Caregiver acculturation is an important familial factor that has been linked to significant differences in youth mental health and insula activity. Future work should examine sociocultural and neurodevelopmental changes across adolescence to assess health outcomes and determine whether localized, corticolimbic brain effects are ultimately translated into long-range connectivity differences.

Acculturation and daily cigarette use among Mexican-origin youth: The moderating role of executive functions

INTRODUCTION

Acculturation and enculturation have been conceptualized, respectively, as risk and protective factors for cigarette use. Although acculturation/enculturation orientations are often studied as stable characteristics, they represent a dynamic process influenced by individuals' social environments and can fluctuate across time. Therefore, investigating how youth actively navigate their acculturation and enculturation beliefs and behaviors on a day-to-day basis can advance scientific understanding of factors related to cigarette use. Executive functions, including inhibitory control, shifting, and working memory, are robust predictors of smoking (e.g., cigarette use). However, we know little about the protective role of executive functions on the daily level associations between acculturation/enculturation and cigarette use among Mexican-origin youth.

OBJECTIVES

In a low-income Mexican-origin youth sample (M = 16.94, SD = 1.01; 52 % female), this study examined within-person associations between daily acculturation/enculturation and daily cigarette use and the moderating role of individual-level executive functions.

METHOD

We captured the daily fluctuations of acculturation/enculturation and smoking by utilizing data from a 4-day daily diary. The study assessed inhibitory control, shifting, and working memory using behavioral paradigms.

RESULTS

A multilevel logistic moderation model revealed statistically significant interactions between acculturation (but not enculturation) and all executive function skills predicting cigarette use. Higher daily acculturation levels were related to greater odds of daily cigarette use only for youth with lower levels of executive function skills.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that interventions aimed at improving executive functions may protect Mexican-origin youth from the possible adverse effect of acculturation on cigarette use.

Cultural Stress Profiles: Describing Different Typologies of Migration Related and Cultural Stressors among Hispanic or Latino Youth

Youth of immigrant origin vary across their families' migration history (e.g., country of heritage, reasons for migration, etc.) and in the communities in which they reside. As such, these youth are often faced with different cultural and immigrant stressors. Although prior research documented the detrimental impact of cultural and immigrant stressors, variable-centered approaches fail to account for the fact that these stressors often co-occur. Addressing this gap, the current study identified typologies of cultural stressors in Hispanic/Latino adolescents using latent profile analysis. Cultural stress profiles were derived using socio-political stress, language brokering, in-group identity threats, and within-group discrimination as indicators. The study was conducted in two sites (Los Angeles and Miami; total N = 306) during Spring and Summer 2020. A four-profile solution was identified: Low Cultural Stress (n = 94, 30.7%), Sociopolitical and Language Brokering Stress (n = 147, 48%), Sociopolitical and In-group Identity Threat Stress (n = 48, 15.7%), and Higher Stress (n = 17, 5.6%). Results indicate that profiles with stress were characterized by worse mental health symptoms, reporting higher means of depression, stress, and lower self-esteem, as well as by higher heritage cultural orientation compared to the low stress profile. Interventions designed to mitigate the deleterious effects of cultural stressors would benefit from adopting an individualized, tailored approach that addresses youth's stress profile membership.

With a little help from my friends? Acculturation and mental health in Arabic-speaking refugee youth living with their families

Introduction

Refugee youth are often faced with the compounding challenges of heightened exposure to traumatic events and acculturating to a new country during a developmental period when their sense of self is still forming. This study investigated whether refugee youth’s acculturation orientation (separation, integration, marginalization, and assimilation) is associated with depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms and aimed to identify additional indicators of acculturation that may contribute to mental health.

Methods

A total of 101 Arabic-speaking refugee youths (aged 14–20 years), who were living with their families and attending school in Germany, took part in the study. They answered questions concerning traumatic exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms, and several indicators of acculturation, including cultural orientation, positive and negative intra- and intergroup contact, language skills and friendship networks. All participants were categorized into one of four acculturation orientations using median splits.

Results

Kruskal–Wallis rank sum tests revealed that acculturation orientation was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms [χ2 (3, 97) = 0.519, p = 0.915] or posttraumatic stress symptoms [χ2 (3, 97) = 0.263, p = 0.967]. Regression analysis revealed that German language skills were significantly associated with lower scores of depressive symptoms (p = 0.016) and number of friends in Germany was significantly associated with lower scores of depressive (p = 0.006) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (p = 0.002), respectively.

Discussion

Policies that provide refugee youth with access to language classes and social activities with peers do not only enable them to actively participate in a new society but may also have a positive effect on their mental health.

Longitudinal profiles of acculturation and developmental outcomes among Mexican-origin adolescents from immigrant families

Prior studies investigating the association between acculturation and adolescent adjustment have often focused on specific acculturation domains rather than examining these domains collectively in a profile typology. Here, we investigate stability and change patterns in Mexican American adolescent acculturation profiles over time, using a two-wave longitudinal dataset spanning 5 years. Using latent profile analysis, three adolescent acculturation profiles were identified at Waves 1 and 2: integrated; moderately integrated; and moderately assimilated. Using latent transition analysis, four acculturation transition profiles were identified across time: stable integrated; stable moderately integrated; progressive; and regressive. Over half of all adolescents were identified as belonging to the stable integrated and stable moderately integrated transition profiles. Adolescents classified in the stable integrated profile reported the highest levels of adjustment (academic competence and socioemotional well-being) relative to those with other transition profiles. Findings from this study contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic process of acculturation among Mexican American adolescents, and provide useful insights to inform interventions and policies aimed at improving Mexican-origin adolescents' adaption to US culture while maintaining their heritage Mexican culture.

A person-centered examination of acculturation and psychological functioning among Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers in the United States

Objectives: The present research used a person-centered approach to examine the acculturation styles of Chinese and Korean immigrant mothers in the United States and demographic characteristics and psychological functioning associated with each acculturation style. Method: The sample comprised 240 first-generation Chinese immigrant mothers (CIMs; M = 37.80 years, SD = 4.55) and 222 first-generation Korean immigrant mothers (KIMs; M = 36.00 years, SD = 3.69) of preschool children. Latent profile analysis was used to identify latent acculturation styles among CIMs and KIMs. We further examined whether mothers' acculturation styles were associated with their sociodemographic characteristics and psychological functioning within each cultural group. Results: Four acculturation styles were revealed among CIMs: (a) behaviorally undifferentiated/psychologically assimilated, (b) behaviorally marginalized/psychologically separated, (c) behaviorally psychologically assimilated, and (d) behaviorally integrated/psychologically undifferentiated. Three acculturation styles were uncovered among KIMs: behaviorally psychologically separated, behaviorally psychologically assimilated, and behaviorally psychologically integrated. Chinese behaviorally integrated/psychologically undifferentiated mothers and Korean behaviorally psychologically separated perceived the highest levels of coethnic concentration in their communities. Chinese behaviorally marginalized/psychologically separated mothers reported poorer psychological functioning than other Chinese mothers. Korean behaviorally psychologically separated mothers had poorer psychological functioning than other Korean mothers. Conclusions: Findings revealed the significant role of participation in the American mainstream culture for Asian immigrant mothers' psychological adjustment. The heterogeneity in the acculturation experiences of Asian immigrants in the United States was highlighted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).