Cultural Stress Profiles: Describing Different Typologies of Migration Related and Cultural Stressors among Hispanic or Latino Youth

Abstract

Youth of immigrant origin vary across their families’ migration history (e.g., country of heritage, reasons for migration, etc.) and in the communities in which they reside. As such, these youth are often faced with different cultural and immigrant stressors. Although prior research documented the detrimental impact of cultural and immigrant stressors, variable-centered approaches fail to account for the fact that these stressors often co-occur. Addressing this gap, the current study identified typologies of cultural stressors in Hispanic/Latino adolescents using latent profile analysis. Cultural stress profiles were derived using socio-political stress, language brokering, in-group identity threats, and within-group discrimination as indicators. The study was conducted in two sites (Los Angeles and Miami; total N = 306) during Spring and Summer 2020. A four-profile solution was identified: Low Cultural Stress (n = 94, 30.7%), Sociopolitical and Language Brokering Stress (n = 147, 48%), Sociopolitical and In-group Identity Threat Stress (n = 48, 15.7%), and Higher Stress (n = 17, 5.6%). Results indicate that profiles with stress were characterized by worse mental health symptoms, reporting higher means of depression, stress, and lower self-esteem, as well as by higher heritage cultural orientation compared to the low stress profile. Interventions designed to mitigate the deleterious effects of cultural stressors would benefit from adopting an individualized, tailored approach that addresses youth’s stress profile membership.

Typologies of cultural stressors and assets: Exploring differential associations with prosocial behaviors and depressive symptoms among Latino/a young adults.

“…This is consistent with prior work showing that profiles with higher levels of cultural stressors, compared to low levels, were associated with higher ethnic/racial identity (Zeledon et al, 2023). It is possible that a close connection to ethnic/racial identity, particularly among those who have lived in the United States longer, might heighten perception and awareness of discrimination when it occurs (Cavanaugh et al, 2018; Zeledon et al, 2023); however, this association might also be reciprocal such that experiences with cultural stressors might drive ethnic/racial identity development and connection with family (Cheon & Yip, 2019; Spencer et al, 1997). Longitudinal research is needed to explicate the interactive relations between cultural stressors and assets across young adulthood.…”

Cultural Identity and the Academic, Social, and Psychological Adjustment of Adolescents with Immigration Background

“…Life satisfaction was unrelated to the school’s diversity climate. This is not to say that adolescents with immigrant background did not experience discrimination, microaggressions, or acculturation stress, which have repeatedly been shown to threaten well-being (Meca, Cruz, Lucero, et al, 2023 ; Schmitt et al, 2014 ; Zeledon et al, 2023 ). However, their on average strong heritage identification (see Table 3 ) could have buffered against such negative experiences (Litam & Oh, 2022 ; Oh et al, 2023 ; Shamloo et al, 2023 ).…”

“…A multidimensional approach that takes into account the developmental process (e.g., exploration, resolution), centrality of dimensions, or cultural practices might yield different findings. Likewise, it is unfortunate that experiences that threaten self-esteem and subjective well-being, such as discrimination, microaggression, and acculturation stress (Zeledon et al, 2023 ), were not assessed. This limited the analysis of potential buffering functions of heritage identification.…”

Online xenophobia and mental health among Venezuelan migrant youth in Colombia: The interplay with “in-person” discrimination.

“…This seems to suggest that, when considering online xenophobia and offline experiences of discrimination, both are important risk factors of comparable magnitude. This is a critical finding for migration-related cultural stress and crisis migration researchers, as work within these paradigms has tended to focus on in-person experiences while overlooking experiences occurring in the online realm (e.g., Montero-Zamora et al, 2023; Salas-Wright & Schwartz, 2019; Salas-Wright et al, 2021; Schwartz et al, 2022; Zeledon et al, 2023).…”