Family contextual influences on bicultural competence development among U.S. Mexican-origin youths

Contextualizing Bicultural Competence Across Youths' Adaptation From High School to College: Prospective Associations With Mental Health and Substance Use

Bicultural competence, the ability to navigate bicultural demands, is a salient developmental competency for youth of color linked with positive adjustment. This study investigated how discrimination experiences informed developmental trajectories of behavioral and affective bicultural competence across youth's adaptation from high school to college, and how these biculturalism trajectories predicted later adjustment (i.e., internalizing symptoms and binge drinking). Data were collected between 2016 through 2020 and included 206 U.S. Latino youth (Mage=17.59, 64% female, 85% Mexican origin, 11% first and 62% second generation immigrants). Linear latent growth analyses revealed that youth who experienced greater time-varying discrimination demonstrated lower concurrent behavioral and affective bicultural competence. Higher behavioral bicultural competence intercepts were associated with fewer internalizing symptoms in the third college year. No other significant associations emerged for internalizing symptoms or binge drinking. These findings have implications for mental health equity among Latino youth during a critical period of psychopathology onset.

Linguistic, affective, parental, and educational contributions to the bicultural identity development of Balkan minority adolescents

This study investigated linguistic, affective, parental, and educational contributions to bicultural identity, in two samples of younger (13- to 14-year-old; N = 95) and older (16- to 17-year-old; N = 67) bilingual adolescents, who were immigrants or belonged to ethnic minority communities in the Balkans. While bicultural identity level was not differentiated as a function of age group, there was an age-related shift in its predictors. Bicultural identity level was significantly predicted by perceived educators' attitudes toward linguistic/cultural diversity in the younger adolescent group, but by personal affective states (motivation and attitudes) toward the mainstream language in the older adolescent group. Implications of the findings are discussed regarding educational and family practices that would facilitate biculturalism in minority adolescents.

Bicultural competence and academic adjustment across Latino youth adaptation from high school to college

This study investigated the association between bicultural competence and academic adjustment (i.e., engagement, efficacy, achievement) among 193 Latino youth (65.3% female; 89.1% U.S.-born) followed from their senior high school year (M_age  = 17.58 years, SD = 0.53) to their fifth college semester (2016-2019). Latent growth analyses revealed that youth's overall bicultural competence trajectory was moderately high and stable across this period. Youth who maintained or increased bicultural competence levels over time (slopes) demonstrated greater self-efficacy. Youth with greater high school bicultural competence (intercepts) demonstrated higher engagement but lower achievement. No other associations emerged. This study highlights that the promoting influence of bicultural competence may not extend to all indicators of academic adjustment but may depend upon the contexts and demands they navigate.

Filial responsibility, bicultural competence, and socioemotional well-being among Latina college students

OBJECTIVE

Filial responsibility includes instrumental and expressive caregiving. Research on the perceptions of filial responsibility has examined perceived unfairness-the perception of the lack of equity and mutuality in the distribution of such tasks. Previous research on filial responsibility among Latinx young adults is inconsistent and limited but has indicated that examining dimensions of filial responsibility is key to understanding its impact on socioemotional outcomes. Furthermore, it is important to consider how dimensions of bicultural competence (comfort, facility, and advantages perceived in navigating two cultural contexts), moderate these relations. The current study examined filial responsibility and socioemotional well-being among Latina college students. We also examined the moderating role of dimensions of bicultural competence.

METHOD

Latina college students (N = 312, Mage = 19.12, SD = 1.15) provided self-reports on filial responsibility, bicultural competence, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Stepwise regression and moderation analyses were conducted to examine the aims of the study.

RESULTS

For filial responsibility, we found that expressive caregiving related to more depressive symptoms. Instrumental caregiving is related to higher self-esteem. Perceived unfairness was related to more depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem. Although the global measure of bicultural competence was not a significant moderator, certain dimensions of bicultural competence moderated these relations. Bicultural facility amplified the relations between expressive caregiving and depressive symptoms. Bicultural comfort amplified the relation between perceived unfairness and depressive symptoms. Bicultural comfort and advantages amplified the relations between perceived unfairness and self-esteem.

CONCLUSION

The study has implications for improving the socioemotional well-being of Latina college students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Biculturalism and adjustment among U.S. Latinos: A review of four decades of empirical findings

Incorporating both heritage (e.g., Latino) and national (e.g., American) cultural systems into our sense of self (i.e., bicultural identity) and developing the ability to successfully respond to demands associated with each of these systems (i.e., bicultural competence) have been theorized to be central to the development and positive adjustment of U.S. Latinos, a group that represents a large segment of the country's population. In this comprehensive review, we examined empirical research on biculturalism among U.S. Latinos spanning four decades (1980-2020), with a focus on synthesizing the field's understanding of antecedents and consequents associated with biculturalism and identifying directions for future research. Our review of 152 empirical articles revealed that this literature was characterized by multiple approaches to the conceptualization (i.e., dual-cultural adaptation, dual-cultural identity, bicultural identity integration, and bicultural competence) and subsequent operationalization of biculturalism. Although each conceptualization has different implications for the conclusions that can be drawn regarding an aspect or facet of biculturalism and potential influence on adjustment, a significant majority (78%) of studies, across conceptualizations, provided evidence supporting a positive association between biculturalism and Latinos' adjustment. In addition, a relatively small body of qualitative work was identified, and findings largely informed potential antecedents of biculturalism. We review this literature with attention to: the aspects of biculturalism that are associated with Latinos' adjustment (i.e., psychosocial and physical health), how sample characteristics may limit the generalizability of this work, and important directions for future research both in terms of conceptualization and study design.