Depressive symptoms, family cohesion, and acculturation gap conflicts among Latinx emerging adults living in the United States

Abstract

Objective This study examined associations of family cohesion and acculturation gap conflicts with depressive symptoms, as well as the moderation effect of family cohesion on the association between acculturation gap conflicts and depressive symptoms among Latinx emerging adults. Background In addition to normative developmental stressors (e.g., making long‐term career decisions), many Latinx emerging adults face additional sociocultural stressors (acculturative stress, ethnic discrimination) that put them at risk of experiencing adverse psychological outcomes. However, acculturation gap conflicts have not been examined much in this population. Method Data from a cross‐sectional survey were collected from 200 participants from Arizona (n = 99) and Florida (n = 101). Hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses were conducted to examine the association between acculturation gap conflicts and depressive symptoms and the moderating effects of family cohesion of that respective association. Results Higher family cohesion was associated with lower depressive symptoms. Conversely, higher acculturation gap conflicts were associated with higher depressive symptoms. Moderation analyses indicated that family cohesion moderated the association between acculturation gap conflicts and depressive symptoms. Conclusion This study adds to the limited literature on acculturation gap conflicts among Latinx emerging adults and advances our understanding of the role of family cohesion as a modifiable moderator. Implications It is critical to identify culturally relevant and modifiable determinants that can have beneficial or adverse associations with the mental health of Latinx emerging adults. Findings from this study have the potential to inform intervention for mental health targeting Latinx emerging adults.

A comparison of mental health of student and not student emerging adults living in Ecuador

“…We found poorer MH in the students than the non-students, although effect sizes were small (g from − 0.25 to − 0.24) and scores on risk did not show statistically significant group differences despite the large group sizes. These results are similar to those found in two studies conducted in France 16,17 and the USA with a Latinx population 18 , but different to those found in some other studies conducted in developed countries [12][13][14] where the MH of the students was better than non-students. However, those studies reported results after analysing large national surveys and clearly larger and more representative samples of the population.…”

“…The authors claim that the better MH of the students might be the result of increased MH literacy in the students' population contributing to better identification of MH issues 13 and also because they have better access to MH services 14 . On the other side, some studies indicate that student status is associated with poorer MH [15][16][17][18][19] , but just three studies [16][17][18] Measures. Sociodemographic, lifestyle and MH-related characteristics, apart from the status as student or non-student, basic demographic items were gender, age, housing status, financial issues, parenting and caregiver responsibilities.…”

Cultural stressors, youth coping, and mother–adolescent conflict.

“…The relations under study may operate differently within father–adolescent dyads (Wheeler et al, 2015) and within established immigration destinations (Pasch et al, 2006). Other important moderators to consider include parent and youth gender (Liu et al, 2011; Schofield et al, 2008), family cohesion and familial coping (Rahman et al, 2023; Santiago et al, 2021), and parent ethnic identity socialization and youth ethnic identity (Brittian et al, 2013; Stein et al, 2022). Finally, broader oppressive systems may elicit joint experiences of cultural stress within families, either through direct or vicarious exposure as experiences are shared within the family (Martin Romero & Stein, 2023).…”

Dyadic bicultural competence: A new way of conceptualizing patterns of cultural competence in close relationships

“…Increased exploration of dyadic bicultural competence can have clinical implications beyond clarifying associations between patterns of individual cultural competence and relationship quality. Cultural gaps in close relationships have been associated with symptoms of psychopathology (e.g., depression; Rahman et al, 2022), although much of this work has focused on gaps in dominant cultural competence, rather than gaps in heritage cultural competence or examining both jointly. Examining dyadic bicultural competence, rather than mismatches in cultural competence, may be helpful in identifying patterns of matches or mismatches in cultural competence that may be associated with negative individual psychological outcomes.…”