Parent experiences of discrimination and young child wellbeing in Latino immigrant families

• In Event: 2-072 - Migration and Immigration, Acculturation and Related Stress: Influence on Children’s Wellbeing

Integrative Statement

Background: Discrimination is a pervasive stressor; a growing body of work attests to the detrimental impact of discrimination on health and mental health (Carter, Lau, Johnson, & Kirkins, 2017; Williams and Mohammad, 2009). Emerging research suggests that the negative effects of discrimination extend beyond the individual experiencing discrimination, its impact spilling over to the children of those experiencing discrimination (Heard-Garris, Cale, Camaj, Hamati & Dominguez, 2018). For example, father’s experiences of discrimination have been found to exacerbate the link between discrimination and depression among Mexican-origin adolescents (Park et al., 2017). Parental experiences of discrimination have also been linked to child internalizing and externalizing symptoms, explained in part by affected parental mental health (Tran, 2014). This study aims to further probe the links between parental experiences of discrimination and child well-being, by testing a potential indirect link via parenting practices. Guided by the family stress model, we hypothesize that parental report of discrimination will be negatively associated with child well-being, and that this link will be partially explained by the negative impact of discrimination on parenting.

Methods: This study uses data from Mexican- (MA) and Dominican-origin (DA) families who participated in a multi-method longitudinal study examining the early childhood development of Latino children in New York City. Seven hundred and fifty families were recruited from pre-kindergarten (pre-k) and kindergarten (K) classrooms across New York City drawn from 24 public schools. This study received IRB approval and was conducted in accordance with APA guidelines regarding informed consent of adults and informed assent of children. All children were 4 or 5 years old (M =4.43, SD =.59) at the time of enrollment (Time 1), and they were re-assessed approximately 12 months later (Time 2).

Results: Preliminary data analyses indicate that parental experiences of discrimination are associated concurrently and longitudinally (12 months later) with child internalizing and externalizing symptoms during early childhood. Parental experiences of discrimination are also positively associated with both verbal and physical punishment. Next steps include conducting multiple imputation and testing whether parental discrimination impacts children indirectly via greater verbal and/or physical punishment. Tests for moderation by social support will also be conducted.

Conclusions: This study adds to the literature linking parental experiences of discrimination and child well-being, by testing potential indirect pathways via parenting in a large Latino immigrant sample. Findings support the relevance of initiatives to challenge discrimination, especially given the rise in anti-Latino, anti-immigrant rhetoric in the wake of the 2016 presidential election.

Authors

• Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez, NYU School of Medicine
  Presenting Author

• Sabrina Cheng, NYU School of Medicine, Department of Population Health
  Non-Presenting Author

• Heliana Linares Torres, NYU School of Medicine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Annlady Jorge, NYU School of Medicine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Cirielle Colino, NYU School of Medicine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jonathan Epstein, NYU School of Medicine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Esther Calzada, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author