Ethnic identity and mental health symptoms among immigrant youth: A three-wave longitudinal investigation

• In Event: 1-075 - Immigrant Youth Development: Their Psychological Well-Being and Educational Outcomes

Integrative Statement

Research on immigrant youth mental health comes from cross-sectional studies with little attention to developmental trajectories over time as well as diversity within the immigrant youth population in terms gender. While previous research has documented key protective factors at home (McLoyd, 1998) and neighborhood contexts (Rasmussen, Aber, & Bhana, 2004), little attention has been paid to the role of ethnic identification as a protective factor for mental health problems. The present longitudinal study is designed to examine developmental trajectories of internalizing symptoms among a diverse sample of immigrant youth, whether these trajectories vary by gender and generation status, and the degree to which ethnic group identification affects these trajectories. This study will answer the following questions:
What are the patterns of change over time in ethnic identity?
What are the patterns of change over time in mental health?
What is the role of ethnic identity on mental health over time?
Do gender or generation status moderate the relation between ethnic identity and mental health over time?
Does school identification moderate the relation between ethnic identity and mental health over time?

Participants were 345 first-and-second generation adolescents. Data was gathered in three-waves during 10th, 11th and 12th grade of the participants’ high school education.

The private collective self-esteem subscale and the importance to identity subscale of the Collective Self-esteem Scale–Race was used to measure ethnic group identification (CSE-R; Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992). Cronbach’s alpha levels across all three waves were adequate (αw1 = .73; αw2 = .77; αw3 = .79).

Mental health symptoms were assessed by the three subscales of the internalizing component of the Youth Self Report (YSR; Achenbach, 1991). Cronbach’s alpha for each of anxious-depressed, withdrawal and somatic symptoms subscales ranged from .76 to .84.

School identification was measured using the relational engagement subscale of School-Based Supportive Relationships Scale (Suárez-Orozco et al., 2009) with adequate Cronbach’s alphas.

Unconditional means models and unconditional growth models were used to answer questions 1 and 2. Ethnic identity had a quadratic decrease of 0.71 units (p < 0.001), but no linear change. Anxious-depressive symptoms decreased by 0.38 units (p < .0.001), but had a quadratic increase of 0.34 units (p < 0.001). Withdrawn symptoms decreased by 0.34 units (p < 0.001), but increased quadratically by 0.32 units (p < 0.001). Somatic symptoms decreased by 0.43 units (p < 0.001), but increased quadratically by 0.40 units (p < 0.001).
Conditional growth models were used to address questions 4 through 6. Ethnic identity predicted anxious-depressive ( -0.024 units, p < 0.01) and withdrawn symptoms (-0.039 units, p < 0.001). School identification significantly moderated the relation between ethnic identity and anxious-depressive (-0.09 units, p < 0.001) and withdrawn symptoms (-0.05 units, p < 0.05). For those with high school identification, stronger ethnic identity was associated with a steeper decrease in symptoms, while those with low school identification had little change in symptoms regardless of their ethnic identity. Neither generation status nor gender moderated this relation.

Authors

• Esther Sin, New York University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Selcuk Sirin, New York University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Clare Clingain, New York University
  Presenting Author

• Anna Bennet, New York University
  Non-Presenting Author