Examining Childhood/Early Adolescence Acculturation Patterns and Psychological Stress in Emerging Adulthood Among Puerto Rican Youth

• In Event: Acculturation and Cultural Values

Abstract

Acculturation – the process of integrating two or more distinct cultures – can be challenging process yielding psychological stress and negative mental health outcomes among Latinxs(Cervantes et al., 2019). However, conceptual and methodological limitations have limited our understanding of how acculturation may impact health. Latinx acculturation research has mostly used single indicators (e.g. language use) or dimensions (e.g. practices) to assess acculturation among adolescents of Mexican heritage. Although informative, little is known about how these findings may extend to other Latinx subgroups with different sociopolitical histories in the US and who may have differential risk and protective factors (Alegria et al., 2008). The absence of a developmental approach is also of note, as evidence suggests that early acculturation experiences in childhood may influence health in adolescence or adulthood, yet few studies have examined acculturation in childhood and young adulthood (Nieri et al., 2011; Syed & Mitchell, 2013). A developmental and multidimensional examination of acculturation from childhood through young adulthood could help clarify how early acculturation processes may relate to later psychological stress among Latinx youth.
The scarce research examining developmental and multidimensional acculturation among Latinx adolescents have utilized clustering statistical methods (such as latent class analysis) to uncover subgroups of participants exhibiting similar patterns behaviors over time based on their responses (Schwartz & Zamboanga, 2008). For example, a study among Latinx youth (14 to 17 years) suggests that participants exhibiting increasing bicultural practices or high/increasing Latinx values over a two-year period had better mental health outcomes than participants showing stable acculturation patterns (Schwartz et al., 2015). Another longitudinal study followed Mexican-origin youth from 10 to 16 years old, and found that decreasing Latinx values and practices, but not ethnic pride, was linked to higher risk of substance use (Cruz et al., 2017). Thus, longitudinal studies using clustering statistical approaches provide more comprehensive information about how acculturation impacts mental health (Schwartz & Zamboanga, 2008).
To better understand the how developmental trajectories of acculturation impact psychological stress, this study examines acculturation patterns during childhood/early adolescence and young adulthood and its impact on psychological stress in young adulthood among Puerto Rican youth. Hypothesis: Changes towards or high Latinx endorsement acculturation patterns from childhood/early adolescence to young adulthood will be associated with less psychological stress in young adulthood. Sample: Data from the Boricua Youth Study, an ongoing longitudinal, population-based community cohort of Puerto Rican children/early adolescents from two sites who were followed through young adulthood was analyzed. Measures: Acculturation was assessed using adapted versions of the Cultural Life Style Inventory (CLSI) (Mendoza, 1989). Psychological Stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983). Data Analysis: A latent class analysis was conducted to empirically extract different patterns of acculturation across 3 separate timepoints during childhood/early adolescence (C/EA). The class memberships from the 3 timepoints were combined to create a longitudinal acculturation trajectory in C/EA. We plan to test if the C/EA acculturation trajectory and acculturation in young adulthood is related to psychological stress in young adulthood. Preliminary findings and implications will be discussed.

Authors

• Marjorine Henriquez-Castillo, New York State Psychiatric Institute
  Presenting Author

• Cristiane Duarte, New York State Psychiatric Institute
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lillian Polanco-Roman, The New School for Social Research
  Non-Presenting Author