Fronteras en Casa: Immigration Conflict, Acculturation Gaps and Psychological Well-being Within Latinx families

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Immigration is a stressful event that can create acculturation discordances, a lack of cohesion, and family conflict between Latinx youth and their parents. Such parent-youth discrepancies have been linked to detrimental outcomes for youth and warrant further investigation of how distinct immigration and acculturation-related stressors relate to youth well-being. Study 1 examined how discordance in ethnic-racial identity exploration within Latinx parent-adolescent dyads related to youth depressive symptoms via family cohesion. Greater family cohesion was related to lower adolescent depressive symptoms. ERI exploration gaps at both waves were indirectly related to adolescent depressive symptoms via family cohesion. Study 2 aimed to develop and test new scales measuring immigration-related parent-child conflict and interparental conflict in Latinx newly arrived families. General parent-child conflict was correlated with lower general efficacy and increased youth depressive symptoms, whereas immigration-related parent-child conflict was correlated with worse general health and decreased school engagement. Study 3 examined whether the acculturative process (i.e., identity, acculturation gap, cultural values and orientation) was associated with Latinx adolescents’ feelings of unfairness related to filial obligations. Mainstream cultural values and acculturation gap conflicts were related to adolescents’ perceptions of filial obligations as unfair. Adolescents who showed higher familism reported lower feelings of unfairness. Overall, findings suggest that parent-youth acculturation discordances may be detrimental to family dynamics, and in turn youth psychological well-being. The discussant, an expert in Latinx families, will elaborate on the need for more effective measurement tools and intervention programs to ameliorate sources of stress for Latinx youth and their families.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chair

• Jessica P. Montoro, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Discussant

• Linda C. Halgunseth, Michigan State University

Individual Presentations

• Parent-adolescent dissimilarity in ethnic-racial identity exploration: Implications for adolescent family cohesion and depressive symptoms - Presenting Author: Jessica P. Montoro, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Author: Stephanie Miller-Tejada, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Author: Fernanda L. Cross, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Non-Presenting Author: Deborah Rivas-Drake, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Assessing immigration-related family conflict: Initial scale development and testing - Presenting Author: Farin Bakhtiari, California State University, Fresno; Non-Presenting Author: Aprile D Benner, University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Author: Karen Limón, University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Salas, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• That is Not Fair!: Predictors of Latinx adolescents’ perception of filial obligation fairness - Presenting Author: Puja Patel, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Non-Presenting Author: Gabriela Livas Stein, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Non-Presenting Author: Laura M. Gonzalez, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Non-Presenting Author: Andrew Supple, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Non-Presenting Author: Lisa Kiang, Wake Forest University