Bicultural Competence, Gender, and Psychosocial Functioning Among Latinx Early Adolescents

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Abstract

Bicultural competence, the ability to navigate two cultures, is an important developmental process for Latinx adolescents (LaFromboise et al., 1993). Past work suggests that bicultural competence positively predicts psychosocial functioning among Latinx young adults (Nguyen & Benet-Martinez, 2013); however, more research is needed to identify the benefits of distinct dimensions of bicultural competence during early adolescence. The current study focuses on bicultural comfort, feelings associated with navigating two cultural contexts, and bicultural facility, perceived ability to respond to behavioral demands within two cultural contexts (Basilio et al., 2014). The study explored how these distinct dimensions are associated with Latinx adolescents’ academic functioning (i.e., academic grades and efficacy) and mental health indices (i.e., depressive symptoms and risky behaviors). The study also explored the role of gender, as prior work has documented that girls are more likely to be bicultural than boys (Love & Buriel, 1997), but that boys’ development may be more impacted by bicultural competence than girls’ (Piña-Watson et al., 2015).

Data for the current study were collected at three middle schools in the Southwest using online surveys administered in English. Participants (N = 206; Mage = 12.39 years, SD = 0.15; 52.7% girls; 96.3% U.S. born) were of Latin American descent with most self-identifying as Mexican American (45.6%). Bicultural competence was assessed using two 9-item subscales (bicultural comfort, α = .86; bicultural facility, α = .87; Basilio et al., 2014). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 21-item CES-D (Radloff, 1997; α = .89). Risky behaviors were assessed using the 24-item Risky Behavior Measure (Eccles & Barber, 1990; α = .86). We controlled for participant age, maternal education, and adolescents’ acculturation and enculturation (ARSMA-II; Cuéllar et al., 1995). To test study hypotheses regarding associations between bicultural competence dimensions and outcomes we conducted path analyses in Mplus v8.2 (Muthén, 2018). Moderation was tested using interaction terms between bicultural comfort/facility and gender; significant interactions were probed by switching out the reference group (e.g., girls, boys).

Path analyses revealed that bicultural facility predicted higher academic-self efficacy (Table 1, Model 1), and better grades for both boys and girls (Table 1, Model 2). For depressive symptoms and risky behaviors, biculturalism interacted with gender. Specifically, bicultural comfort predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms (see Figure 1) and fewer risky behaviors (Table 1, Model 4) for boys (b = -5.11, SE = 1.09, p = 0.00; b = -0.08, SE = 0.03, p = 0.02, respectively), but not for girls (b = -1.30, SE = 1.19, p = 0.27; b = 0.01, SE = 0.04, p = 0.88, respectively).

Findings align with theory and empirical work suggesting that bicultural competence is beneficial for Latinx adolescents. Specifically, bicultural adolescents reported higher academic functioning and bicultural Latinx boys reported better mental health. These findings suggest that dimensions of bicultural competence may benefit Latinx early adolescents differentially by outcome and gender. These findings are important as we consider the long-term well-being of Latinx youth as they navigate cultural adaptation processes.

Authors

• Selena Carbajal, University of Arizona
  Presenting Author

• Melissa Y Delgado, University of Arizona
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rajni L. Nair, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Katharine Zeiders, University of Arizona
  Non-Presenting Author