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This study evaluated the relationship between acculturative stress, symptoms of internalizing mental health problems, and academic performance in a sample of 94 Latino middle school students. Students reported on symptoms indicative of depression and anxiety related problems and acculturative stress. Teachers reported on students' academic behavior and performance. Acculturative stress and symptoms of internalizing mental health problems were found to have a significant inverse association with students' academic performance. Implications for the development of culturally responsive interventions that address mental health problems and acculturative stress are discussed.

The psychometric properties of the Coping With Acculturative Stress in American Schools (CASAS-A) scale were examined using a sample of 148 Latino middle school students. CASAS-A is a self-report scale designed to identify students in need of culturally responsive social-emotional interventions due to having high levels of school-related acculturative stress. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), analyses of internal consistency, correlations with related measures, and group differences among Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs were examined. The CFA results indicate that the data fit the hypothesized factor structure. The results also support adequate levels of reliability and validity. In addition, significant group differences were found between Latino ELLs and non-ELLs, with Latino ELLs reporting higher levels of acculturative stress in CASAS-A. Implications for future research, as well as recommendations for practitioners who implement culturally responsive interventions, are discussed.

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