We examined how the migration and acculturation experiences of first-generation Latino youth contributed to their psychological well-being. Data came from the Latino Adolescent Migration, Health, and Adaptation (LAMHA) study, which surveyed 281 first-generation Latino immigrant youth, ages 12–19. Using logistic regression, we evaluated how migration stressors (i.e. traumatic events, choice of migration, discrimination, and documentation status) and migration supports (i.e. family and teacher support, acculturation, and personal-motivation) were associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety. We found that migration stressors increased the risk of both depressive symptoms and anxiety. Time in the US and support from family and teachers reduced the risk of depressive symptoms and anxiety. Compared to documented adolescents, undocumented adolescents were at greater risk of anxiety, and children in mixed-status families were at greater risk of anxiety and marginally greater risk of depressive symptoms.

Using data on 459 Latino 9th graders from the LA-SIAA and the NC-SIAA studies, we evaluate the specific educational values and beliefs that motivate the academic achievement of Latino youth and contrast the school experiences of Latino youth in an emerging Latino community, North Carolina, with the school experiences of youth living in a traditional settlement community, Los Angeles. Despite their greater fears of discrimination, we find that Latino youth in North Carolina are more academically motivated than their peers in Los Angeles. This is partially because they are more likely to be immigrants. Being an immigrant, having a stronger sense of ethnic identification, and having a stronger sense of family obligation were each linked to a more positive view of school environments. Therefore, these factors each partially explained the immigrant advantage in academic motivation and helped to counter the harmful effects of discrimination on academic motivation.

Students who repeat a grade prior to high school have a higher risk of dropping out of high school than do students who are continuously promoted. This study tested whether standard theories of dropout—including the participation-identification model and the social capital model—explain this link. Although the presence of variables, including academic achievement and disciplinary problems, reduces the higher probability of retained students dropping out, existing models of dropping out do not adequately explain the markedly higher probability of dropping out for retained students. Regression decomposition reveals differences between promoted and retained students in the importance of resources and illustrates that various resources hold different levels of importance for white, black, and Latino students.

Background Local-level immigration enforcement generates fear and reduces social service use among Hispanic immigrant families but the health impacts are largely unknown. We examine the consequence of 287(g), the foundational enforcement program, for one critical risk factor of child health—food insecurity. Methods We analyze nationally representative data on households with children from pooled cross-sections of the Current Population Survey Food Supplemental Survey. We identify the influence of 287(g) on food insecurity pre-post-policy accounting for metro-area and year fixed-effects. Results We find that 287(g) is associated with a 10 percentage point increase in the food insecurity risk of Mexican non-citizen households with children, the group most vulnerable to 287(g). We find no evidence of spillover effects on the broader Hispanic community. Discussion Our results suggest that local immigration enforcement policies have unintended consequences. Although 287(g) has ended, other federal-local immigration enforcement partnerships persist, which makes these findings highly policy relevant.

Objectives We examine how acculturation experiences such as discrimination and social acceptance influence the daily psychological well-being of Latino youth living in newly emerging and historical receiving immigrant communities. Methods We use data on 557 Latino youth enrolled in high school in Los Angeles or in rural or urban North Carolina. Results Compared to Latino youth in Los Angeles, Latino youth in urban and rural North Carolina experienced higher levels of daily happiness, but also experienced higher levels of daily depressive and anxiety symptoms. Differences in nativity status partially explained location differences in youths’ daily psychological well-being. Discrimination and daily negative ethnic treatment worsened; whereas social acceptance combined with daily positive ethnic treatment and ethnic and family identification improved daily psychological well-being. Conclusions Our analysis contributes to understanding the acculturation experiences of immigrant youth and the roles of social context in shaping adolescent mental health.