Profiles of Acculturation & Cultural Stress Among College-Attending Emerging Adults

• In Event: Understanding Cultural Processes Among Hispanic/Latinx Youth

Abstract

Among Hispanic/Latinx emerging adulthood, the transition to adulthood may be one of particularly high risk (Arbona & Jimenez, 2014). Increasingly, researchers have turned to cultural stress, or stressors rooted in the widespread framing of Hispanics/Latinx as a threat to the US and the need to balance one’s heritage and US culture (Salas-Wright & Schwartz, 2019), as a mechanism underlying health disparities. As a whole, cultural stress has been shown to compromise mental health across a variety of indicators (e.g., Schwartz et al., 2015). Moreover, studies (e.g., Meca et al., 2029) have found that the harmful effects of cultural stressors may be offset, to some extent, by cultural assets such as ones’ acculturative orientation or the extent to which an individual retains their cultural heritage and/or adopts the receiving society’s culture (Berry, 2017). That said, the bulk of this research has utilized a variable-centered approach, ignoring the fact that neither cultural stressor nor acculturation operate within vacuums.

Seeking to address this gap, the current study utilized a sample of 778 Hispanic college students (75.8% female, Mage=21.13 years, SD=7.88) to identify unique configurations of cultural stress and acculturation. Additionally, we examined whether psychosocial functioning across profile membership. Latent profile analysis supported a 4-profile solution (see Table 1): Bicultural/Low Cultural Stress (i.e., high heritage and U.S. practices/ identification, low cultural stress), Detached/High Acculturative Stress (i.e., low heritage and U.S. practices/identification, high bicultural stress and negative context of reception), Heritage Rejection/Low Cultural Stress (i.e., low heritage practices/identification and cultural stress), and Separated/High Cultural Stress (i.e., low U.S. practices/identification, high cultural stress). As indicated in Table 2, the Bicultural and Low Cultural Stress profile was associated with the highest levels of positive psychosocial functioning, followed by the Heritage Rejection/Low Cultural Stress profile.

Findings from the current study complement and extend existing research. To begin with, the identification of a single bicultural profile, marked by low cultural stress, may indicate that a lack of cultural stress represents a prerequisite for establishment of a bicultural approach (Juang & Cookston, 2009). Not surprisingly, this profile was associated with highest psychosocial functioning. Moreover, despite the fact that Berry’s model has been criticized for including a marginalization/detached orientation (Del Pilar & Udasco, 2004), the Detached and High Acculturative Stress profile was the second largest profile extracted. That said, in departure from Berry’s (1980) assimilation orientation, we identified a profile that was defined by its rejection of heritage culture than by its endorsement of U.S. culture. Given the fact this profile was second only to the Bicultural and Low Cultural Stress in terms of psychosocial functioning, this unique configuration may represent individuals who place little centrality on their cultural identity. Finally, whereas the rejection of both heritage and U.S. cultural streams may stem from challenges with straddling both cultural streams, acculturative stress paired with discrimination, may results in a more separate cultural orientation. As a whole, these findings point to important directions in our understanding of the unique configurations of both cultural stress and assets.

Authors

• Alan Meca, University of Texas at San Antonio
  Presenting Author

• Bethany Cruz, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Angela R. Laird

• Jacqueline Lucero, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Zenetta Hinojosa, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Hannah Sheikh

• Seth J. Schwartz

• Colleen Ward, Victoria University of Wellington

• Ágnes Szabó, Victoria University of Wellington

• Jaimee Stuart