Familial influences on internalizing symptomatology in Latino adolescents: An ecological analysis of parent mental health and acculturation dynamics

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine if family system dynamics (e.g., parent mental health, marriage quality, conflict, and cohesion) that have often been overlooked when studying Latino families play a more important role in predicting adolescent internalizing symptoms than acculturation processes. Data comes from the Latino Acculturation and Health Project, a longitudinal investigation of acculturation in Latino families in North Carolina and Arizona (Smokowski & Bacallao, 2006, 2010). Researchers conducted in-depth, community-based interviews with 258 Latino adolescents and 258 of their parents in metropolitan, small-town, and rural areas. Interviews were conducted at four time points at intervals of approximately 6 months. Parent and adolescent ratings of the adolescent's internalizing symptoms were used as the dependent variable in a longitudinal hierarchical linear model with a rater effects structure. Results showed that parent-adolescent conflict and parent mental health (fear/avoidance of social situations and humiliation sensitivity) were significant predictors of adolescent internalizing symptoms. Acculturation scales were not significant predictors; however, internalizing symptoms decreased with time spent in the United States. Females and adolescents from lower socioeconomic status families reported more internalizing symptoms, while participants who had been in the United States longer reported fewer internalizing symptoms. Implications were discussed.

A Longitudinal Test of the Parent–Adolescent Family Functioning Discrepancy Hypothesis: A Trend toward Increased HIV Risk Behaviors Among Immigrant Hispanic Adolescents

“…Schwartz et al, 2013; Smokowski et al, 2014), and included Hispanic populations (e.g. Córdova, Huang, et al, 2014).…”

“…Fourth, of the limited studies examining the longitudinal effects of family functioning on HIV risk behaviors, few have used both parent and adolescent reports and have used multiple indicators of family functioning (e.g. Schwartz et al, 2013; Smokowski et al, 2014). Fifth, studies that examine parent–adolescent family functioning discrepancies with Hispanic populations are limited (e.g.…”

Familial Influences on Dating Violence Victimization Among Latino Youth

“…Family processes might be particularly salient to TDV victimization risk and protection among Latino youth because of strong cultural beliefs in the centrality and influence of the family, or familismo (Guilamo-Ramos et al, 2009; Leidy et al, 2010; Smokowski et al, 2014). However, whereas several studies have examined relations between family processes and TDV risk in the general U.S. population, very little research has examined these linkages among Latino families.…”

“…Sex differences in prevalence rates for each type of TDV and in associations between family measures and each type of TDV were also examined based on findings that suggest the possibility of sex differences in the etiological pathways leading to TDV among Latino youth (East & Hodoka, 2015; Guilamo-Ramos et al, 2009; Kast et al, 2015). In addition, parent and adolescent acculturation measures, as well as parent emotional distress, were included as covariates based on research suggesting that these variables could influence family dynamics (Hughes & Gullone, 2008; Smokowski, David-Ferdon, & Stroupe, 2009; Smokowski et al, 2014) and might also influence risk for TDV (Gonzalez-Guarda et al, 2014; Hughes & Gullone, 2008; Ramos, Green, Booker, & Nelson, 2011; Sanderson, Coker, Roberts, Tortolero, & Reininger, 2004; Silverman, Decker, & Raj, 2007; Smokowski et al, 2014). …”

Understanding tailored PHN interventions and outcomes of Latina mothers

“…The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 35% of Latina adolescents report feeling sad or hopeless and stop doing typical activities; nearly 47% of Latina adolescent girls report depressive symptoms, and 26% of them seriously considered suicide (Kann et al, ). In addition, high rates of depressive symptoms have been reported for Latina women of childbearing age (Davila, McFall, & Cheng, ; Ertel, Rich‐Edwards, & Koenen, ) and are commonly associated with psychosocial stressors such as low income/poverty (Roy & Raver, ), difficulty with the English language, acculturation gaps between family members (Smokowski et al, ), and discrimination and fear of immigration authorities (Cervantes, Padilla, Napper, & Goldbach, ; Cordova, Ciofu, & Cervantes, ).…”