The Role of Bicultural Adaptation, Familism, and Family Conflict in Mexican American Adolescents’ Cortisol Reactivity

• In Event: 1-186 - Latina(o) Adolescents’ Cortisol Responses to Psychosocial Stress: Experimental and Field Approaches

Integrative Statement

There is increasing evidence of the sensitivity of biological processes to a wide range of social experiences and contexts (Adam, Klimes-Dougan, & Gunnar, 2007; Del Giudice, Ellis, & Shirtcliff, 2011), and emerging research is discovering biological adaptation to various dimensions of culture (Busse, Yim, Campos, & Marshburn, 2017; Causadias, 2013). However, scarce research has examined stress responsivity among Latino youths, and no studies have focused on the role of acculturation in shaping cortisol stress response in this population. This study examined associations between patterns of dual cultural adaptation and stress-sensitive neurobiological processes, specifically the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, among Mexican American youths who were born and raised in the United States by predominantly immigrant parents. The study aims broadly to examine whether culturally-linked processes of adaptation “get under the skin” to shape and mold biological systems (Boyce & Ellis, 2005; Del Giudice et al., 2011). In so doing, this research also seeks to answer two questions about adaptive calibration of stress responsivity that have long been of central interest in research on cultural adaptation: (1) whether and how acculturation to United States mainstream culture shapes adaptive functioning among racial/ethnic minorities, and (2) whether bicultural individuals (high on both Mexican and Anglo orientation) have an adaptive advantage compared to other acculturating individuals.

The sample included 264 youths from a longitudinal birth cohort study of Mexican American families in California, called the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), that were assessed every 1 to 2 years since birth. This study focused on assessments at ages 12 and 14 years to examine whether Mexican and Anglo cultural orientations of youth at age 12, and their interaction, predict cortisol response to an adapted Trier Social Stress Test at age 14. We also conducted follow-up mediation analyses to examine whether family conflict or youth familism values explained variations in cortisol reactivity and recovery associated with the youths’ cultural orientation.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) with Mplus (Version 8; Muthén, & Muthén, 1998-2017) and a piecewise growth curve modeling approach was used to model cortisol levels across the four saliva samples collected during the Trier Social Stress Test protocol. Piecewise growth curve modeling allowed us to separately examine the effects of cultural orientation on three distinct HPA indices (i.e., peak cortisol levels, reactivity and recovery phases).

Analyses testing the interactive effects of Anglo and Mexican orientation, summarized in Table 1, showed significant associations with cortisol responsivity – including the reactivity slope, peak levels, and recovery – but these associations were not mediated by family conflict nor familism values. As depicted in Figure 1, findings revealed that bicultural youth (high on both Anglo and Mexican orientations) showed an expected pattern of high cortisol responsivity, which may be adaptive in the context of a strong acute stressor, whereas individuals endorsing only high levels of Anglo orientation had a blunted cortisol response. Findings are discussed in relation to research on biculturalism, and the trade-offs and potential recalibration of a contextually-responsive HPA for acculturating adolescents.

Authors

• Nancy Gonzales, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Megan Johnson, University of California - Berkeley
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth A Shirtcliff, Iowa State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jenn Yunn-Tein, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brenda Eskenazi, University of California - Berkeley
  Non-Presenting Author

• Julianna Deardorff, University of California, Berkeley
  Non-Presenting Author