Longitudinal profiles of acculturation and developmental outcomes among Mexican‐origin adolescents from immigrant families

Abstract

Prior studies investigating the association between acculturation and adolescent adjustment have often focused on specific acculturation domains rather than examining these domains collectively in a profile typology. Here, we investigate stability and change patterns in Mexican American adolescent acculturation profiles over time, using a two-wave longitudinal dataset spanning 5 years. Using latent profile analysis, three adolescent acculturation profiles were identified at Waves 1 and 2: integrated; moderately integrated; and moderately assimilated. Using latent transition analysis, four acculturation transition profiles were identified across time: stable integrated; stable moderately integrated; progressive; and regressive. Over half of all adolescents were identified as belonging to the stable integrated and stable moderately integrated transition profiles. Adolescents classified in the stable integrated profile reported the highest levels of adjustment (academic competence and socioemotional well-being) relative to those with other transition profiles. Findings

Migrant youths: Typical aspects of development during the adolescent years, specific challenges of growing up somewhere else, and some things we need to understand better

“…Those young migrants who made the poor-to-rich transition often meet stronger challenges facing the developmental tasks of their period of the lifespan than do majority youths in the receiving country. Several studies in this Issue focused on the mastery of, for example, academic demands and the educational career (e.g., Wang et al, 2021;Yan et al, 2021) as well as on the domain of establishing peer relations (Chavez et al, 2021;Karataş et al, 2021). However, we did not learn about how migrant youths approach the domain of romantic relations.…”

“…Even though ethnic identity and acculturation orientations can be distinguished conceptually, a strong affinity of both concepts catches the eye. In fact, in their study of first and second-generation adolescents of Mexican heritage in the US Yan et al (2021) included scales of ethnic identity in their measure of acculturation. As expected by the authors, adolescents showing a strong integration profile scored higher on different aspects of academic competence and well-being (cross-sectional), as did those who were characterized by a stable (high) integration profile (longitudinal).…”

“…It is a particular merit of this Issue to have brought together studies that shed light on the many and varied conditions of development of adolescents who experienced migration themselves or are children of migrant parents. The different host contexts where this research has been conducted are a case in point including countries such as the United States (Patel et al 2021;Yan et al, 2021), Chile (Chávez et al, 2021), Sweden (Gyberg, Svensson, Wängqvist, & Syed, 2021), the UK (Cavdar, McKeown, & Rose, 2021), Germany, Israel (Benbow, Aumann, Paizan, & Titzmann, 2021), Turkey (Akgül, Klimstra, & Çok, 2021;Karataş, Crocetti, Schwartz, & Rubini, 2021), and China (Wang, Chen, & Gong, 2021).…”

Latinx Adolescents' Assets, Risks, and Developmental Pathways: A Decade in Review and Looking Ahead

“…Acculturation results in a dimming of these positive outcomes over time (Lorenzo-Blanco et al, 2016;Marks et al, 2014). Although findings concerning the relation between immigration and acculturation are mixed, positive outcomes are more consistent for behavioral (e.g., school truancy, alcohol and drug use, and early pregnancy) than for educational outcomes (Marks et al, 2014, but see Yan et al, 2021). Marks et al (2014) proposed that because most studies on the immigrant paradox treat immigrants as a group and use cross-sectional designs, we need longitudinal studies on within-and betweengeneration of immigration variations and consider the complexity of the immigration context.…”

The impact of migration on child and adolescent development: Diversity in migration pathways and experiences

“…In the last decade (2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019), the US population increased by 18.9 million, this growth was mainly driven by ethnic minorities, whereas the White population registered a small but negative trend (Pew Research Center, 2020). In their research, Yan et al (2021) focus on Mexican-origin adolescents from immigrant families. By using a person-oriented two-wave longitudinal study spanning 5 years, they distinguish acculturation profiles based on multiple dimensions (integrated, moderately integrated, and moderately assimilated) at each wave.…”