Ethnic Socialization, Family Cohesion, and Ethnic Identity Development Over Time among Latinx Adolescents

Exploring the Role of Ethnic Identity, Attachment, and Family Prosocial Opportunities on BIPOC Adolescents' Anxiety and Depression

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) adolescents experience oppressive mental health stressors and barriers to receiving treatment. Ethnic identity development, attachment to parents, and family prosocial opportunities have been associated with improved mental health outcomes in BIPOC adolescents, yet there is a dearth of literature examining the intersections of these variables on anxiety and depressive outcomes for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between ethnic identity development, attachment to parents, family prosocial opportunities, and anxiety and depressive symptoms in a sample of BIPOC adolescents (N = 1424) in the Northeastern United States. Attachment to father (B =  - 0.14, p < 0.01), family prosocial opportunities (B =  - 0.51, p < 0.001), and ethnic identity development (B =  - 0.20, p < 0.001) emerged as significant protective factors of anxiety. Similarly, attachment to father (B =  - 0.14, p < 0.01), attachment to mother (B =  - 0.19, p < 0.05), family prosocial opportunities (B =  - 0.55, p < 0.001), and ethnic identity development (B =  - 0.14, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with decreased depressive symptoms. These findings suggest implications related to culturally responsive mental health prevention and intervention efforts for practitioners who serve BIPOC adolescents.

Longitudinal Profiles of Cultural Identity Processes and Associations with Psychosocial Outcomes Among Adolescents Participating in the Identity Project in Italy

Cultural identity formation is a complex developmental task that influences adolescents' adjustment. However, less is known about individual variations in trajectories of cultural identity processes and how they relate to youth psychosocial outcomes. Using a person-centered approach, this study investigated patterns of change over a year in cultural identity exploration and resolution, respectively, among ethnically diverse adolescents in Italy. The sample included 173 high school students (Mage = 15 yrs, SD = 0.62, range = 14-17; 58.4% female; 26% immigrant background) who had participated in the Identity Project, a school-based intervention targeting ethnic-racial identity development. Longitudinal latent profile analysis revealed only one profile of change for exploration, whereas four unique profiles for resolution emerged ("stable low," "stable average," "increase low-to-average," "increase high-to-higher"). Overall, youth in the resolution-increase profiles reported the best outcomes. The findings highlight the heterogeneity of adolescents' resolution trajectories and the benefits of an increased sense of clarity concerning one's cultural identity for positive psychosocial functioning.

Longitudinal links between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic-racial discrimination, and ethnic-racial pride in Mexican American youth

This paper used cross-lagged panel models to test the longitudinal interplay between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic-racial discrimination, and ethnic-racial pride across 5th to 11th grade among Mexican American youth (N = 674, M_age  = 10.86; 72% born in the United States; 50% girls; Wave 1 collected 2006-2008). Maternal cultural socialization predicted increases in subsequent youth ethnic-racial pride, and youth ethnic-racial pride prompted greater maternal cultural socialization. However, peer ethnic-racial discrimination was associated with subsequent decreases in ethnic-racial pride. The magnitude of these associations was consistent across 5th to 11th grades suggesting that maternal cultural socialization messages are necessary to maintain ethnic-racial pride across adolescence, thus families must continually support the development of ethnic-racial pride in their youth to counter the effects of discrimination.

Latent transitions across perceived parental marital conflict and family cohesion profiles in high school students

This study aimed to explore the latent profiles across perceived parental marital conflict and family cohesion, as well as the transition patterns within-person and within-sample profiles over time. We conducted a 1-year follow-up study with a sample of first-year high school students from China. A total of 453 participants were included in the present analysis. We identified the following three latent profiles: high parental conflict and poor family cohesion profile, moderate parental conflict and family cohesion profile, and low parental conflict and good family cohesion profile. Female students and those who not lived with parents together were more likely to perceive more parental marital conflict and less cohesion in the family. The majority of students with high transition probability remained in the same profiles over time. The counts of latent transition pattern also demonstrated that students remaining in the primary profile over time accounted for the large proportion. The present study advances empirical bases for confirming the family system theory’s notion that the family is not static, but dynamic. Findings provide the optimal timing of interventions toward healthy transition.

Discrimination and Internalizing Symptoms in Rural Latinx Adolescents: The Protective Role of Family Resilience

Objective: There is a well-documented relationship between discrimination and increases in internalizing symptoms among rural Latinx youth. Among numerous assets in these adolescents' lives, family resilience emerges as a culturally relevant and robust protective factor. However, it is still unclear whether family resilience is equally protective across different internalizing symptom clusters and whether this buffering effect is independent of other interconnected resilience sources.Method: Latinx adolescents from an underserved rural community (n = 444; M_age = 15.74, SD_age = 1.22; 51% male) reported on their internalizing symptoms, experiences of discrimination, and sources of resilience. We examined whether perceived family resilience moderated the association between perceived discrimination and self-reported depressive, somatic, and anxiety symptoms over and above adolescents' sex, self-reported level of acculturation, as well as perceived individual and contextual resilience.Results: Analyses showed that perceived discrimination experiences were robustly associated with higher levels of self-reported internalizing symptoms, while perceived family resilience was related to lower self-reported symptomatology. Closer examination revealed that perceived family resilience buffered the negative effects of perceived discrimination on self-reported depression and somatic symptoms, but not anxiety symptoms.Conclusions: This study addresses a gap in the literature by identifying differential protective effects of family resilience that might be explained by cultural values and practices in rural Latinx families. Findings suggest that interventions that incorporate family members and promote supportive family environments may benefit rural Latinx youth with a broad range of internalizing symptoms.