Longitudinal Changes Among Latino/a Immigrant Parental Acculturation and Extra-Familial Immigration-Related Stress

Abstract

Foreign-born Latino/a immigrants currently make up 12.9% of the total U.S. population. Latino/a immigrants continue to be exposed to widespread health and mental health care disparities. Scholarship focused on the needs of Latino/a immigrants continues to be characterized by multiple gaps. Latino/a immigrants and their families, particularly those with low family annual incomes, are exposed to multiple types of immigration-related stress. However, little is known about how immigration-related stress impacts couples. The objective of this investigation was to examine the interrelationship among acculturation and immigration-related stress as reported by a group of Latino/a immigrant parents who participated in a cultural adaptation parenting study. Data were provided by 78 two-parent families. The statistical approach consisted of latent growth curve analyses to examine rates of change over time. Findings indicated a potential protective role of biculturalism among Latino/a immigrant couples. Research, clinical, and policy implications are discussed.

Mexican-Heritage Ethnic Identity: HowCocoServes as Context for Ethnic Socialization

“…However, Coco depicted multiple subtle themes around U.S. immigration, politics, and policy (Attig, 2019). Research has noted that bicultural positionality can serve as a protective factor against some of the negative effects of discrimination and stress for Latinx immigrant families (Whitehead et al, 2020). This film offered Mexican-heritage participants a rich cultural representation with which to identify, critique, appreciate, and discuss how they see themselves, not only in the direct content of the film, but within these larger sociopolitical contexts.…”

Psychosocial Stress and Problems toward Infertility: A Pilot Study of Differences between Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Infertile Couples in Toronto, Canada

“…Immigrants are often negatively stereotyped, and these stereotypes have negative consequences for their psychosocial well-being. Immigration-related stress has been connected with low family annual incomes (Whitehead et al, 2020). Crossman (2013) reported that a gap existed in low-income rates between immigrants and those born in Canada, and this gap has risen greatly over the past 30 years.…”

“…They found that those parents encountered many immigration-related stressors. Some of the stressors were hard to deal with, which might impact their capacity to have another child (Whitehead, Parra-Cardona, Wampler, Bowles, & Klein, 2020).…”

The impact of Strong Families, Strong Communities on relationship functioning in low‐income African American and Hispanic individuals: Findings from a federally funded randomized control trial

“…Racial and/or ethnic minority status further exacerbates consequences associated with poverty (Murray et al, 2021) that can negatively impact individuals and their families. Such consequences include overexposure to the criminal justice and child welfare systems, low levels of education and employment, stigma and discrimination, and documentation issues (i.e., irregular documentation status), and when these families do seek help, there is a lack of diverse and culturally sensitive providers (Lavner et al, 2018; Visvanathan et al, 2014; Whitehead et al, 2020). In this context, African American and Hispanics, the two largest minority groups in the U.S., are at risk of relationship distress and they report lower rates of relationship functioning (Kelly & Floyd, 2006; Owen et al, 2012; Whitehead et al, 2020; Williamson et al, 2016).…”