Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Volume 43, Issue 12, 2014, Pages 2054-2068

Bicultural Stress, Identity Formation, and Alcohol Expectancies and Misuse in Hispanic Adolescents: A Developmental Approach (Article)

Oshri A.* , Schwartz S.J. , Unger J.B. , Kwon J.A. , Des Rosiers S.E. , Baezconde-Garbanati L. , Lorenzo-Blanco E.I. , Córdova D. , Soto D.W. , Lizzi K.M. , Villamar J.A. , Szapocznik J.
  • a Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, 208 Family Science Center (House A), 403 Sanford Dr., Athens, GA 30602, United States
  • b Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
  • c Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • d Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, 208 Family Science Center (House A), 403 Sanford Dr., Athens, GA 30602, United States
  • e Department of Psychology, Barry University, Miami, FL, United States
  • f Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • g Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States
  • h School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
  • i Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • j Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
  • k Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
  • l Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States

Abstract

Hispanic immigrant youth engage in increased health risk behaviors, such as alcohol misuse, due in part to being confronted with acculturative stress in addition to facing major normative developmental challenges, such as identity consolidation (Berry et al. in Appl Psychol 55:303–332, 2006). Using a developmental psychopathology framework, in the present study we examined the effect of bicultural stress on alcohol misuse among immigrated Hispanic adolescents, indirectly through trajectories of identity formation and alcohol expectancies. Our sample consisted of 302 recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents (53 % male; Mage = 14.5 at baseline) who were interviewed every 6 months for 3 years. Bivariate growth curve modeling was used to examine the influence of initial early bicultural stress on later alcohol misuse via change in identity development (i.e., coherence and confusion) and subsequent growth in cognitive alcohol expectancies. Findings revealed that initial levels and growth of identity coherence were not significantly associated with either bicultural stress or tension reduction (TR) alcohol expectancies. Multiple mediation analyses indicated that the effect of bicultural stress at time 1 on the frequency of being drunk at time 6 was mediated via high initial levels of identity confusion, followed by growth in risky TR expectancies (T4–T6). A developmental approach to the genesis of alcohol use problems in immigrant youth is discussed. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

Bicultural stress Hispanic immigrant adolescents Identity development Alcohol use

Index Keywords

Models, Psychological longitudinal study psychological model Alcohol Drinking drinking behavior Social Identification human adolescent development Longitudinal Studies Stress, Psychological mental stress ethnology Hispanic Americans interview United States Florida Humans migrant psychology Hispanic Adolescent Interviews as Topic male Emigrants and Immigrants Acculturation female cultural factor high risk behavior Risk-Taking Adolescent Behavior Models, Statistical statistical model Alcoholic Intoxication alcohol intoxication Los Angeles social behavior etiology
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84911869106&doi=10.1007%2fs10964-014-0171-2&partnerID=40&md5=5214dab9700ba114db305d0e2d676b98
DOI: 10.1007/s10964-014-0171-2
ISSN: 00472891
Cited by: 17
Original Language: English