Poster #175 - Perceived Discrimination, Acculturation and Enculturation on Psychological Well-Being Among Latino Adolescents

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

According to the Pew Research Center (2017) there were 56.5 million Hispanics in the United States in 2015, accounting for 17.6% of the total U.S. population. Foreign-born and enculturated Latino youth who demonstrate a continued orientation to the Spanish language and country of origin culture (Kulins, Marsiglia, & Nieri, 2009) experience significant personal and familial difficulties related to discrimination, socioeconomic status, and political climate around immigration (Smokowski, Bacallao, & Lee Buchanan, 2009). These difficulties contribute to lower self-esteem, increased anxiety, and depression (Smokowski, Bacallao, & Lee Buchanan, 2009). Additionally, U.S.-born and acculturated Latino youth who demonstrate an orientation to the English language and US American culture have more interactions with members of other races and media that may expose them to experiences of racial discrimination and negative stereotypes about their ethnic group (Kulins, Marsiglia, & Nieri, 2009). Thus, enculturation and acculturation may both demonstrate unique relations with psychological well-being among Latino youth. In the current study, we examined relations between discrimination, acculturation, and psychological well-being among Latino adolescents. We hypothesized that adolescents’ experiences of discrimination by peers, teachers and other adults would be related to a decrease in psychological well-being, and that the relationship between perceived discrimination would be different depending on adolescents’ acculturation to the American culture or enculturation to their country of origin.

Participants were 233 self-identified Latino/adolescents (52.4% female; Mage = 13.97 years; SD = 1.77) in the 6th – 12th grade. Of the sample, 91.8% were first generation U.S. citizens and 8.2% immigrants. Adolescents reported on their experiences with perceived discrimination from peers, teachers and other adults, acculturation, and psychological well-being.

Results indicate that psychological well-being was negatively and significantly related to perceived discrimination for both enculturated adolescents (r = - .197, p < .002) and acculturated adolescents (r = -.197, p < .002). Perceived discrimination was not associated with enculturation (r = -.082, p < .122), but perceived discrimination was positively and significantly related to acculturation (r = .256, p < .000). A regression analysis showed that Latino adolescents with high enculturation and high frequency of racial discrimination at school reported lower psychological well-being (β = - .159, p = .028). However, Latino adolescents with high acculturation and high frequency of racial discrimination at school also reported lower psychological well-being (β = .184, p = .019). The results indicate that both the experience of racial discrimination is detrimental to Latino adolescents’ psychological well-being at high levels of acculturation and enculturation. This may suggest that there may be ideal levels of both acculturation and enculturation that can protect Latino adolescents from the effects of racial discrimination.

Authors

• Miriam Ortiz, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Presenting Author

• Fantasy Lozada, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brendesha Tynes, University of Southern California
  Non-Presenting Author