Racial identity and self-esteem: problems peculiar to biracial children

Racial and ethnic differences in major depressive episode, severe role impairment, and mental health service utilization in U.S. adolescents

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine racial and ethnic variations in national trends, past-year prevalence, determinants of major depressive episode (MDE), MDE-related role impairment and mental health (MH) services utilization in U.S. adolescents.

METHODS

Data was extracted from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2010 to 2018. A total of 137,671 nationally representative adolescents aged 12-17 were included in the study. Weighted temporal trends in the past-year prevalence of MDE, and MDE with severe role impairment were estimated both overall and by race and ethnicity. Weighted multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to assess racial/ethnic differences in determinants of MDE, MDE-related severe role impairment, and MH services utilization after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, family structure, substance use, activity participation, and problem-solving group engagement.

RESULTS

The prevalence of MDE and MDE with severe role impairment among U.S. adolescents has steadily increased, while MDE-related health services utilization remained low from 2010 to 2018. Racial and ethnic minority adolescents were more likely to experience an MDE, but less likely to use MH services compared to their White counterparts. Participating in school, family, community, or faith-based activities was significantly associated with lower MDE incidence. Problem-solving group engagement was associated with MH services utilization (all p-values < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

High prevalence of depression and low MH service utilization among U.S. adolescents remains a public health issue. Moreover, racial/ethnic disparities persist in MH and service utilization outcomes. Future research must investigate the burden and predictors of mental illness, and the factors influencing MH services utilization in diverse adolescent populations.

The Relationship Between Mixed Race/Ethnicity, Developmental Assets, and Mental Health Among Youth

This study assessed whether high school youth with mixed race/ethnicity are at greater risk for poor mental health conditions compared to their single race/ethnic counterparts and whether this mental health risk can be mitigated by youth developmental assets regardless of one's race/ethnicity. Methods involved secondary data analysis of the 2009-2013 Youth Risk Behavioral Survey-Anchorage, Alaska subsample. Difference in rates of mental health conditions and mean number of developmental assets (protective factors) were assessed among three racial/ethnic groups. Logistic regression models tested whether race/ethnicity has an independent association with mental health conditions and whether there is an interaction effect between race/ethnicity and protective factors. Results show that, compared to white students, mixed race/ethnic students have significantly higher rates of poor mental health condition and significantly fewer protective factors. A significant interaction effect between race/ethnicity and protective factors was also found, showing decreasing likelihood of poor mental health condition with increasing number of protective factors among all racial/ethnic groups. However, this effect was more pronounced among white students compared to both mixed and single race/ethnicity minority students. Study findings indicate that youth of mixed race/ethnicity are more likely to be at risk for poor mental health outcomes, yet less likely to mitigate this risk even with similar number of external developmental assets as their single race/ethnic counterparts. More research is needed to further understand the differential effect of certain developmental assets among different racial/ethnic groups.

Epidemiology of drug use among biracial/ethnic youth and young adults: results from a U.S. population-based survey

This study estimates the prevalence of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use in a nationally representative sample of monoracial/ethnic and biracial/ethnic youth and young adults. The authors consider 16 racial/ethnic categories and used four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The analysis sample consists of 20,745 individuals in Wave 1. The primary statistical methodology used in the present study is logistic regression with sample weights. Findings suggest that participants who self-report two races/ethnicities have prevalence rates that are intermediate to those of the two corresponding monoracial/ethnic rates. For example, Black-American Indians reported cigarette smoking rates that were significantly lower than rates reported by American Indians but significantly higher than rates reported by Blacks. Groups with the highest prevalence of cigarette smoking at Wave 1 were American Indian, White-American Indian, White, and Multiracial (people reporting three or more races/ethnicities). Groups with the highest prevalence of alcohol drinking at Wave 1 were White-American Indian, Multiracial, Hispanic, White, and White-Hispanic. Groups with the highest prevalence of marijuana smoking at Wave 1 were Black-Asian and American Indian. The authors found an interaction effect between race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Lower-class SES status may serve as a risk factor for biracial/ethnic adolescents while upper-class SES may serve as a protective factor for these youth. In general, biracial/ethnic individuals have prevalence rates that are intermediate to those of the two corresponding monoracial/ethnic rates.

Behavioral health in multiracial adolescents: the role of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the present study was twofold: (1) to determine whether adolescents who self-identify as multiracial have more adverse health behaviors than their monoracial counterparts, and (2) to examine whether the health behaviors of adolescents who are multiracial and Hispanic are more similar to those who identify as monoracial Hispanic or those who are multiracial and non-Hispanic.

METHODS

Secondary analyses of data in a subsample from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 3,704 (27.2%) adolescents who identified as Hispanic/Latino only, multiracial Hispanic, or multiracial non-Hispanic were conducted. Regression analyses were conducted using SUDAAN for the complex sampling to test for differences in health behaviors (i.e., smoking, exercise, substance abuse, and suicide risk) among the three ethnicity/race groups.

RESULTS

Each health behavior scale yielded significant between-group differences according to ethnic/racial identity: Hispanic/Latino adolescents scored significantly lower than both multiracial groups on the measure of cigarette smoking, lower than multiracial Hispanic adolescents on the substance abuse scale, and lower than multiracial non-Hispanic adolescents on the measure of exercise. The multiracial Hispanic group was also at marginally increased risk for suicide compared to the Hispanic/Latino group.

CONCLUSIONS

The results support the hypothesis that multiracial Hispanic adolescents have more behavioral health problems than monoracial Hispanic adolescents. The second hypothesis--that multiracial Hispanic adolescents are more similar to multiracial non-Hispanic adolescents--was also supported. The implications of these findings for the classification of Hispanic adolescents in terms of ethnicity and race in relation to health behaviors are discussed.

Perspectives and research on the positive and negative implications of having multiple racial identities

Much attention has been directed toward understanding the impact having a multiracial background has on psychological well-being and adjustment. Past psychological research has focused on the challenges multiracial individuals confront in defining a racial identity. The implication is that these challenges lead to outcomes that are psychologically detrimental. However, evidence to support this assertion is mixed. The authors review qualitative and quantitative empirical research examining multiracial individuals' identity development, depression, problem behaviors, peer relationships, school performance, and self-esteem, finding support for detrimental outcomes only in studies sampling clinical populations. Studies on nonclinical samples find that multiracial individuals tend to be just as well-adjusted as their monoracial peers on most psychological outcomes. Earlier assertions of maladjustment may have been due to reliance on qualitative research that sampled clinical populations. Other implications and future research are discussed.

Health and behavior risks of adolescents with mixed-race identity

OBJECTIVES

This study compared the health and risk status of adolescents who identify with 1 race with those identifying with more than 1 race.

METHODS

Data are derived from self-reports of race, using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which provides a large representative national sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12. Respondents could report more than 1 race.

RESULTS

Mixed-race adolescents showed higher risk when compared with single-race adolescents on general health questions, school experience, smoking and drinking, and other risk variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents who self-identify as more than 1 race are at higher health and behavior risks. The findings are compatible with interpreting the elevated risk of mixed race as associated with stress.

The influence of cultural and racial identification on the psychosocial adjustment of inner-city African American children in school

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship and combined influence of racial identity and Africentric values on African American children's psychosocial adjustment. Participants were 104 (53 males, 51 females) African American fourth-grade students attending an inner-city public school in a northeastern city. Child and teacher ratings were used to assess the relationship between racial identity, Africentric values, and several indices of child psychosocial adjustment, including child behavior control, school interest, and teacher perceptions of child strengths and problems in the classroom. Child self-esteem and the effects of gender and cohort were used as covariates in several analyses in the study. Overall, findings from the study supported the usefulness of combining racial identity and Africentric values into a single model of ethnic identification for African American children. Implications for risk prevention and enhancement of psychosocial functioning among African American children are discussed.

Does incomplete growth and development predispose teenagers to preterm delivery? A template for research

Pregnant teenagers are in better physical condition, suffer from fewer chronic diseases, and engage in fewer health-risky behaviors than socioeconomically similar pregnant adults, but give birth to a disproportionately large number of preterm infants. This systematic review of the adolescent pregnancy literature defines the unique risks associated with being young and pregnant by examining how the physical and psychosocial changes that are characteristic of puberty and adolescence interact with traditional risk factors for preterm delivery. The need for age-specific interventions is discussed and recommendations for future research are made.

Relationship satisfaction of Mexican American and non-Hispanic white American interethnic couples: issues of acculturation and clinical intervention

Despite the increasing prevalence of interethnic marriages, remarkably little empirical literature exists for guiding clinical interventions offered to these couples. This study compared the marriages of 72 couples with one Mexican-American partner and one non-Hispanic White American partner, 75 Mexican-American couples, and 66 non-Hispanic White couples. Overall, the interethnic couples were more similar to non-Hispanic White couples than they were to Mexican-American couples across multiple domains, with the latter group indicating modestly higher levels of relationship distress. Among interethnic couples, Mexican-American wives' level of acculturation related significantly to both their own marital- and parental-role orientation and to distress in their relationships with children, as well as to their husbands' marital distress regarding child rearing and the couple's interactions regarding finances. Implications for clinical interventions with Mexican- and White-American interethnic couples are discussed.