The association between acculturative stress and rule-breaking behaviors among Latinx adolescents in rural areas: A moderated mediation analysis.

Abstract

Objectives: The present study examined the association between acculturative stress and rule-breaking behaviors, with depressive symptoms as the mediator, and emotion regulation and parental behavioral involvement (i.e., time spent in shared activities between parents and adolescents) as the moderators among Latinx adolescents in rural areas. Method: Using a sample of Latinx adolescents (N = 193; M age = 15.90; 54.4% female) recruited from rural areas, a moderated mediation model was tested. Results: Findings showed that the mediational pathways connecting acculturative stress, depressive symptoms, and rulebreaking behaviors were moderated by emotion regulation and parental behavioral involvement. Specifically, higher levels of acculturative stress were associated with higher levels of rule-breaking behaviors through elevated depressive symptoms only among adolescents who reported low levels of both emotion regulation and parental behavioral involvement. Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of considering multiple contextual factors in understanding the development of internalizing and externalizing behaviors among Latinx adolescents in rural areas. The findings suggest intervention programs may target parental behavioral involvement and emotion regulation to help adolescents cope with acculturative stress and perhaps other minority stressors. Public Significance StatementOur findings suggest that parental behavioral involvement (i.e., time spent in shared activities between parents and adolescents) and adolescents' emotion regulation may protect Latinx adolescents in rural areas from negative adjustment outcomes in the context of acculturative stress. Among adolescents who lack emotion regulation skills, parental behavioral involvement may compensate for poor emotion regulation, and buffer against the negative influence of acculturative stress.