Acculturation, Gender, Depression, and Cigarette Smoking Among U.S. Hispanic Youth: The Mediating Role of Perceived Discrimination

Abstract

Hispanic youth are at risk for experiencing depressive symptoms and smoking cigarettes, and risk for depressive symptoms and cigarette use increase as Hispanic youth acculturate to U.S. culture. The mechanism by which acculturation leads to symptoms of depression and cigarette smoking is not well understood. The present study examined whether perceived discrimination explained the associations of acculturation with depressive symptoms and cigarette smoking among 1,124 Hispanic youth (54% female). Youth in Southern California completed surveys in 9th–11th grade. Separate analyses by gender showed that perceived discrimination explained the relationship between acculturation and depressive symptoms for girls only. There was also evidence that discrimination explained the relationship between acculturation and cigarette smoking among girls, but the effect was only marginally significant. Acculturation was associated with depressive symptoms and smoking among girls only. Perceived discrimination predicted depressive symptoms in both genders, and discrimination was positively associated with cigarette smoking for girls but not boys. These results support the notion that, although Hispanic boys and girls experience acculturation and discrimination, their mental health and smoking behaviors are differentially affected by these experiences. Moreover, the results indicate that acculturation, gender, and discrimination are important factors to consider when addressing Hispanic youth’s mental health and substance use behaviors.

Ethnic Microaggressions and the Depressive and Somatic Symptoms of Latino and Asian American Adolescents

“…However, discrimination research among adolescents most consistently has found associations with internalizing problems. Among Latino adolescents, perceived discrimination is associated cross-sectionally with more depressive symptoms (Behnke et al 2011;Huynh and Fuligni 2010;Lorenzo-Blanco et al 2011) and somatic symptoms (Huynh and Fuligni 2010). There is also evidence of longitudinal associations between discrimination and more depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem among both Asian and Latino high school adolescents (Greene et al 2006) and more anxiety and depression among Latino middle school adolescents (Berkel et al 2010).…”

Parent–Child Cultural Value Gaps and Depressive Symptoms Among Mexican American Youth

“…Thus, how gender impacts the likelihood of experiencing a cultural value gap has not been fully elucidated. Moreover, Latina girls are more likely to report depressive symptoms than boys (Lorenzo-Blanco et al 2011). Therefore, their greater risk may be in part associated with greater cultural gaps or greater impact associated with the gap.…”

A Longitudinal Analysis of Hispanic Youth Acculturation and Cigarette Smoking: The Roles of Gender, Culture, Family, and Discrimination

“…Hispanic youth experience discrimination, and boys report more discriminatory experiences than girls (Lorenzo-Blanco et al, 2011). Moreover, acculturation has been linked with more frequent discrimination in boys and girls (Kam, Cleveland, & Hecht, 2010), and discrimination links with elevated smoking in Hispanic boys (Wiehe, Aalsma, Liu, & Fortenberry, 2010) and girls (Lorenzo-Blanco et al, 2011).…”