This paper presents a comparative analysis of the effects of acculturation and acculturative stress on the self‐esteem of Hispanic/Latino adolescents. The study is comparative in that it focuses on variations among both immigrant and native‐born Hispanics. The data were derived from a longitudinal study of adolescents (n = 6,760) being conducted in Miami, Florida. The sample for this paper (n = 4,296) consisted of all the adolescents of Hispanic heritage. A complex patterning of acculturative strains was found for US.‐and foreign‐born adolescents. Acculturation strains and family pride have more powerful effects on self‐esteem as acculturation increases among the foreign born, but the opposite is true for the U.S. born. The proportion of variance explained by the acculturation strains and family pride is greater for the U.S.‐born adolescents (range = 21% to 29%) than for those who are foreign born (range = 15% to 19%). The findings indicate that much of the research on this subject has failed to reflect the differential processes of psychosocial adjustment faced by immigrant and nonimmigrant adolescents. There are differences in the types of strains reported, as well as in the effects of the strains on self‐esteem. Low acculturation adolescents who are U.S. born have an especially problematic profile of strain, whereas bicultural adolescents born in the United States appear to have the best profile. The results suggest a need to advance from simple linear explanations to multifactorial stress models that will increase our understanding of the acculturative process.
Utilizing the concept of race-based traumatic stress, this study tested whether posttraumatic stress symptoms explain the process by which perceived discrimination is related to health risk behaviors among Mexican American adolescents. One hundred ten participants were recruited from a large health maintenance organization in Northern California. Mediational analyses indicated that adolescents who perceived more discrimination reported worse posttraumatic stress symptoms, controlling for covariates. In turn, adolescents who experienced heightened posttraumatic stress symptoms reported more alcohol use, more other drug use, involvement in more fights, and more sexual partners. Perceived discrimination was also directly related to involvement in more fights. Results provide support for the notion of race-based traumatic stress, specifically, that perceived discrimination may be traumatizing for Mexican American adolescents. Counseling psychologists and counselors in schools and community settings should assess Mexican American adolescents for the effects of discrimination and provide appropriate interventions to reduce its negative emotional impact.
This study provided a test of the minority status stress model by examining whether perceived discrimination would directly affect health outcomes even when perceived stress was taken into account among 215 Mexican-origin adults. Perceived discrimination predicted depression and poorer general health, and marginally predicted health symptoms, when perceived stress was taken into account. Perceived stress predicted depression and poorer general health while controlling for the effects of perceived discrimination. The influence of perceived discrimination on general health was greater for men than women, and the effect of perceived stress on depression was greater for women than men. Results provide evidence that discrimination is a source of chronic stress above and beyond perceived stress, and the accumulation of these two sources of stress is detrimental to mental and physical health. Findings suggest that mental health and health practitioners need to assess for the effects of discrimination as a stressor along with perceived stress.
Clinical depression is frequently unrecognized, even in health care settings. This study (a) reports high levels of major depressive episodes (MDEs) and depressive symptoms in a public sector women's clinic, (b) compares computerized voice recognition with live interviews, and (c) compares Spanish and English versions of the depression-screening instruments. Patients (N = 104) completed face-to-face interviews and/or computerized voice recognition interviews in counterbalanced order; 38% scored positive for current MDE, and 67% scored positive for lifetime MDE. The mean score on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) was 22.1 (SD = 12.1), with 68% scoring 16 or above. No differences were found on either measure between English and Spanish speakers. Overall agreement between computer and live interviews was as follows: kappa = .82 for both current and lifetime MDE and r = .89 for CES-D scores. Kappas between the MDE Screener developed for this study and the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders were .75 for live interviews and .81 for the computerized version. Depression screening with computerized voice recognition methods yielded results comparable with those of live interviews in both English and Spanish.
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