Acculturation Stress Magnifies Child Depression Effect of Stressful Life Events for Latinx Youth 3 Years Later

Overview

Journal J Lat Psychol

Date 2024 Jul 15

PMID 39006970

Authors

Ashley A Walsdorf

Margaret OBrien Caughy

Kimberly R Osborne

Carmen R Valdez

Victoria A King

Margaret Tresch Owen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Experiences of stressful life events (SLEs) during childhood are associated with greater risk for youth psychopathology. Although SLEs are reported in greater frequency by Latinx families, Latinx populations remain largely absent in the SLE literature. Furthermore, Latinx populations face added stressors related to socio-political climate, acculturation, and racism and discrimination. The purpose of this study was to explore the intersection between parent-reported SLEs and acculturation (i.e., socio-political climate-related) stressors for Latinx youth. Greater frequency of caregiver reported SLEs were hypothesized to predict higher depressive symptoms in their children three years later, and acculturation stress was hypothesized to amplify these effects.

Method: The community-recruited, low-income sample for this study consisted of 198 Latinx caregivers (98.5% mothers, 77.3% foreign-born) and their children ( = 7.4, 47.5% female). Study hypotheses were tested using MPlus.

Results: Consistent with prior literature, more SLEs reported at age 7 by parents were associated with more child-reported depressive symptoms at age 10 but only among boys. However, for both boys and girls, there was a significant interaction between acculturation stress and family SLEs. Specifically, as the amount of acculturation stress reported at age 7 increased, the negative impact of family SLEs on child-reported depressive symptoms at age 10 was magnified, regardless of gender.

Conclusion: Adding to the literature on SLEs within Latinx families, these results indicate that acculturation and socio-political climate stressors need be considered in discussions of the effects of life stress on Latinx youth and their families.

References

Loria H, Caughy M . Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Low-Income Latino Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Children. J Pediatr. 2017; 192:209-215.e1. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.09.056. View

Kulis S, Marsiglia F, Nieri T . Perceived ethnic discrimination versus acculturation stress: influences on substance use among Latino youth in the Southwest. J Health Soc Behav. 2010; 50(4):443-59. PMC: 2821707. DOI: 10.1177/002214650905000405. View

Zeiders K, Umana-Taylor A, Jahromi L, Updegraff K, White R . Discrimination and Acculturation Stress: A Longitudinal Study of Children's Well-Being from Prenatal Development to 5 Years of Age. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2016; 37(7):557-64. PMC: 5004784. DOI: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000321. View

Appleyard K, Egeland B, van Dulmen M, Sroufe L . When more is not better: the role of cumulative risk in child behavior outcomes. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2005; 46(3):235-45. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00351.x. View

Roche K, Vaquera E, White R, Rivera M . Impacts of Immigration Actions and News and the Psychological Distress of U.S. Latino Parents Raising Adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 2018; 62(5):525-531. PMC: 5930061. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.01.004. View

Alfaro E, Umana-Taylor A, Gonzales-Backen M, Bamaca M, Zeiders K . Latino adolescents' academic success: the role of discrimination, academic motivation, and gender. J Adolesc. 2008; 32(4):941-62. DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.08.007. View

March-Llanes J, Marques-Feixa L, Mezquita L, Fananas L, Moya-Higueras J . Stressful life events during adolescence and risk for externalizing and internalizing psychopathology: a meta-analysis. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017; 26(12):1409-1422. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-017-0996-9. View

Barajas-Gonzalez R, Ayon C, Brabeck K, Rojas-Flores L, Valdez C . An ecological expansion of the adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) framework to include threat and deprivation associated with U.S. immigration policies and enforcement practices: An examination of the Latinx immigrant experience. Soc Sci Med. 2021; 282:114126. PMC: 10409596. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114126. View

Mendoza M, Dmitrieva J, Perreira K, Hurwich-Reiss E, Watamura S . The effects of economic and sociocultural stressors on the well-being of children of Latino immigrants living in poverty. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2017; 23(1):15-26. PMC: 5338689. DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000111. View

10.

McLaughlin K, Green J, Gruber M, Sampson N, Zaslavsky A, Kessler R . Childhood adversities and first onset of psychiatric disorders in a national sample of US adolescents. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2012; 69(11):1151-60. PMC: 3490224. DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.2277. View

11.

Broeren S, Newall C, Dodd H, Locker R, Hudson J . Longitudinal investigation of the role of temperament and stressful life events in childhood anxiety. Dev Psychopathol. 2014; 26(2):437-49. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579413000989. View

12.

. The Effects of Infant Child Care on Infant-Mother Attachment Security: Results of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. Child Dev. 2017; 68(5):860-879. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb01967.x. View

13.

Lima J, Caughy M, Nettles S, OCampo P . Effects of cumulative risk on behavioral and psychological well-being in first grade: moderation by neighborhood context. Soc Sci Med. 2010; 71(8):1447-54. PMC: 2946063. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.06.022. View

14.

Cumba-Aviles E, Lopez-Robledo Y, Caro-Gonzalez W, Rosario-Nieves I . Pilot Validation Study for the Spanish-language CDI-2 among Adolescents from Puerto Rico. Rev Puertorriquena Psicol. 2022; 31(1):110-126. PMC: 9262378. View

15.

Tessner K, Mittal V, Walker E . Longitudinal study of stressful life events and daily stressors among adolescents at high risk for psychotic disorders. Schizophr Bull. 2009; 37(2):432-41. PMC: 3044629. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbp087. View

16.

Willard V, Long A, Phipps S . Life stress versus traumatic stress: The impact of life events on psychological functioning in children with and without serious illness. Psychol Trauma. 2016; 8(1):63-71. PMC: 4714777. DOI: 10.1037/tra0000017. View

17.

Osborne K, Caughy M, Oshri A, Smith E, Owen M . Racism and preparation for bias within African American families. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2020; 27(2):269-279. PMC: 7572795. DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000339. View

18.

Kushner M, Barrios C, Smith V, Dougherty L . Physiological and Behavioral Vulnerability Markers Increase Risk to Early Life Stress in Preschool-Aged Children. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2015; 44(5):859-70. DOI: 10.1007/s10802-015-0087-7. View

19.

McLaughlin K, Sheridan M . Beyond Cumulative Risk: A Dimensional Approach to Childhood Adversity. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2016; 25(4):239-245. PMC: 5070918. DOI: 10.1177/0963721416655883. View

20.

Hatch S, Dohrenwend B . Distribution of traumatic and other stressful life events by race/ethnicity, gender, SES and age: a review of the research. Am J Community Psychol. 2007; 40(3-4):313-32. DOI: 10.1007/s10464-007-9134-z. View