Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Volume 48, Issue 1, 2019, Pages 114-131

Cultural Stress, Emotional well-being, and Health Risk Behaviors among Recent Immigrant Latinx families: The Moderating Role of Perceived Neighborhood Characteristics (Article)

Lorenzo-Blanco E.I.* , Meca A. , Unger J.B. , Szapocznik J. , Cano M.Á. , Des Rosiers S.E. , Schwartz S.J.
  • a Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States
  • b Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, United States
  • c Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
  • d Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, United States
  • e Department of Epidemiology, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, United States
  • f Department of Psychology, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL 33161, United States
  • g Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States

Abstract

Latinx families can experience cultural stressors, which can negatively influence their emotional and behavioral health. Few studies have examined if perceived neighborhood characteristics buffer against or exacerbate the negative effects of cultural stress on adolescent and parent health outcomes. To address this gap in the literature, this study investigated how parent (social cohesion, informal social control, extent of problems) and adolescent (support) perceived neighborhood factors moderated the associations of parent and adolescent cultural stress with parent and adolescent emotional and behavioral well-being. Data came from waves 1 and 3 of a six-wave longitudinal survey with 302 recent immigrant Latinx adolescents (47% female, Mage = 14.51 years) and their parents (74% mothers, Mage = 41.09 years). Results indicated that when parents reported low levels of neighborhood problems, adolescent cultural stress did not predict adolescent health risk behaviors. However, adolescent and parent cultural stress predicted higher levels of adolescents’ sense of hope when parents perceived low levels of neighborhood problems. Furthermore, adolescent and parent cultural stress predicted higher youth depressive symptoms and health risk behaviors when positive neighborhood factors (informal social control, social cohesion) were high. Similarly, adolescent and parent cultural stress predicted lower adolescents’ sense of hope and self-esteem when positive neighborhood factors were high. These findings indicate that efforts to reduce the negative effects of cultural stress on youth emotional and behavioral health may benefit from combating neighborhood problems. Results further indicate that research is needed to clarify unexpected findings. Directions for future research are discussed. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Author Keywords

Ethnic discrimination Latina/o Acculturative stress Neighborhood context Negative context of reception Emotional and behavioral health

Index Keywords

Parents depression longitudinal study Interpersonal Relations demography mental health human Longitudinal Studies statistics and numerical data Stress, Psychological mental stress Residence Characteristics human relation Humans migrant psychology Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants female self concept high risk behavior adult Health Risk Behaviors child parent relation
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85053246359&doi=10.1007%2fs10964-018-0907-5&partnerID=40&md5=c24599abe5de25da2aba3051fef0e959
DOI: 10.1007/s10964-018-0907-5
ISSN: 00472891
Original Language: English