Abstract
Stress associated with acculturation and minority status among Hispanic youth is understudied. Using survey data from the Hispanic Stress Inventory–Adolescent Version (HSI-A), we examined psychosocial stress across eight domains including family economic stress and acculturation-gap stress in a national sample of three generations (first, second, and third or higher) of Hispanic adolescents (N = 1,263). Research questions addressed generation differences in frequency of stressor events (i.e., discrimination), appraisal of these events, and mental health symptoms. Results indicated that experiences of different categories of stress were significantly related to generation status. The first generation reported more stressors and greater stress appraisal than the third-generation adolescents. Similar levels of discrimination stress were reported by participants regardless of generation. The second-generation participants reported a greater number of Acculturation Gap Stressors than the third generation, and more delinquent and aggressor behaviors than first-generation participants. An acculturation paradox was found with greater stress exposure and stress appraisals in the first-generation youth, but with lower mental health symptoms than later generations. Family integrity and more traditional family values may buffer the negative impact of greater stressor exposure among immigrants and second-generation youth when compared with third-generation adolescents.
Keywords
For immigrant Hispanics adjusting to the culture and language of the United States can be stressful and have a long-term impact on physical and psychological well-being (Finch, Hummer, Kolody, & Vega, 2001; Flores et al., 2008). Immigrants experience stressors from numerous life transitions including learning new language, culture, dress, cuisine, formal and informal styles of interpersonal relationships, and finding living accommodations. The greater the difference between the host culture and the culture of the newcomer, the more at risk the immigrant is for experiencing acculturative stress. Among the obvious stressors for many immigrants are having to learn a new language, finding steady employment, locating a safe community to live in, establishing a social support system, and maintaining contact with loved ones in the home country while often experiencing isolation and barely surviving economically in this country.
In addition to acculturative stress associated with adapting to a new culture, Hispanic immigrants also experience discrimination (Allison, 1998; Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001), which can influence negative mental health outcomes. Flores et al. (2008) found that among a sample of Mexican-heritage men and women their perceived discrimination predicted depression symptoms among women and poorer overall general health among men.
In addition to the normative stress of being an adolescent (e.g., family/home intergeneration conflict, school and peer-related difficulties, and identity development), Hispanic adolescents also confront stressors related to acculturation to American teen culture if they are immigrants (Colten & Gore, 1991; Rice & Dolgin, 2002). Some of the factors that contribute to acculturative stress are cultural and linguistic barriers as well as poverty, unsafe living conditions, and stress due to being racialized (Córdova & Cervantes, 2010; Dawson & Panchanadeswaran, 2010; Kobus & Reyes, 2000; Rice & Dolgin, 2002). Furthermore, even if the Hispanic adolescent was born in this country, is fluent in English (and Spanish), and knowledgeable of American culture, it does not mean that the teen is free of acculturative stress because adolescents often serve as cultural and linguistic brokers for immigrant parents and other related family members. This experience brings the second-generation Hispanic adolescent into daily contact with adult family members who have not acculturated and who rely on them for navigating through the American system and which brings these American born children into the immigrant experience of the adults around them (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001).Given that Hispanic youth (ages 17 and younger) constitute 23% of the total U.S. population in this age group (Passel, Cohn, & Lopez, 2011); research on the acculturation stress and health of Latino adolescents is vital (Lara, Gamboa, Kahramanian, Morales, & Bautista, 2005).
Studies that have examined the relationship between acculturative stressors and related outcomes in adolescents, however, have produced mixed results (Lara et al., 2005). Some authors have found that more acculturated Hispanic youth have better outcomes (Gonzales, Haan, & Hinton, 2001) while others have found negative outcomes in youth, such as substance use (Gil, Wagner, & Vega, 2000; Okamoto, Ritt-Olson, Soto, Baezconde-Garbanati, & Unger, 2009; Vega & Gil, 1998) and mental health concerns (Hovey, 2000). Research also indicates that exposure to racial/ethnic discrimination constitutes a daily source of stress in Hispanic youth (Romero & Roberts, 2003). Youth report that often the stress they experience is due to discriminatory types of behaviors they encounter from more acculturated and later-generation Latinos as well as from members of other minority groups and majority group peers (Benner & Graham, 2011; Córdova & Cervantes, 2010). Recently, Cervantes, Fisher, Córdova, and Napper (2011) developed a culturally grounded measurement tool to assess stress in Hispanic adolescents. In this large-scale two-phase study, factor analysis was used to identify eight major types of stressors identified by more than 1,600 Hispanic adolescents selected from four geographic sites. The work of Cervantes et al. has produced a measurement tool for assessing chronic stress specifically in Latino youth.
Although, the interaction of acculturative stress and behavioral health outcomes in adolescents is not well documented, it is assumed that adolescents will be at least as affected negatively by stressors as adult members of their families. In addition, researchers rarely incorporate generational status into their analysis and this is important because people live in interconnected multigenerational social spheres where the experiences of one generation are known and felt by other members of the family even though they may differ by generational status (Burgos, Schetzina, Dixon, & Mendoza, 2005). It is well known that acculturation is positively related to generational status for adult Hispanics extending from first- through third- and later-generation Hispanics (Perez & Padilla, 2000). While later-generation individuals shift to English language usage and become Americanized, often they continue to experience some of the same stressors (e.g., discrimination) as their immigrant counterparts because of their darker skin color and minority status (Ayers, Kulis, & Marsiglia, 2013; Okamoto et al., 2009). Less is known about the process of acculturative stress with Hispanic adolescents across generations (Flores, Tschann, Dimas, Pasch, & de Groat, 2010).
The present study sought to examine culturally based stress and its related health outcomes in a cross-sectional, multigenerational sample of Hispanic youth. We were specifically interested in whether there were differences across first-, second-, and third-generation Latino adolescent participants in the frequency and appraisal of their reported stress exposure experiences. A related question was whether there were generational differences associated with acculturation stressors and adolescents’ mental health outcomes.
Method
Sample
The present study used survey data from a large study that included the Hispanic Stress Inventory–Adolescent Version (HSI-A; Cervantes et al., 2011). Four data collection sites that represent the diversity of the national Hispanic adolescent population were used in the sampling frame: Los Angeles, Miami, El Paso, and Boston. The total sample of Hispanic adolescents (N = 1,637) ranged in age from 12 to 17. The sample was recruited from middle and high schools and behavioral health clinics. The sampling methodology of random classroom selection of school homerooms was complemented by a sampling method of consecutive admissions into health clinics in three of the sites (Los Angeles, Miami, and El Paso).
All adolescents completed a demographic questionnaire that asked for their country of birth as well as the birth country of their parents, language spoken at home, national origin, educational level of parents, and employment status of parents. Table 1 presents the demographic data broken out by generation level of the adolescents. The first generation denotes adolescents born in another country (n = 193), second-generation individuals were born in the United States and at least one parent was born in another country (n = 874), and third or later-generation comprised adolescents and parents born in the United States with grandparents born in a different country (n = 196).
Summary of Sample Characteristics.
Table 1 shows that the average age of adolescents across the three generations was 14.9 years and that there were slightly fewer males than females across the three generational groups. A higher percentage of first-generation adolescents (42%) were recruited in the Boston area than in the other three sites, and the largest percentage of second (41%) and third and later-generation (43.9%) adolescents were from the Los Angeles area. As for national origin, Mexican-heritage adolescents constituted the largest subgroup across all generations, except in the first generation, where 31.8% of the respondents were of Dominican background compared with Mexican/Mexican Americans (29.7%). Of note is also the language shift from Spanish only to English only across the three generations (2.7% English in the first generation, 20.1% in the second generation, and 63.6% in the third generation. Finally, the educational level of the parents (high school graduation or GED [General Educational Development] equivalent) increased from the first through the third generation (51.4% > 53.7% > 72.4%).
Procedure
Site coordinators contacted and made arrangements with participating schools and clinics. Each school was provided an orientation to the study and a classroom teacher roster was provided to the research team by each participating school. These rosters were then separated by grade level, and all 6th- to 12th-grade homeroom classrooms were assigned a consecutive number and then randomly selected within grade level using the SPSS Randomizer program. Once selected, each classroom teacher was provided a more detailed orientation by the site data coordinators and an informed parental consent form was distributed to each potential adolescent participant. Once all consent forms were returned, the data site coordinator scheduled the group data administration. This procedure was used for all school-based data collection.
Measures
Participants completed the 63-item version of HSI-A (Cervantes et al., 2011). For each stressor, the participant was asked whether they had experienced the stressor (yes/no). If participants reported experiencing a stressor, she or he was asked to rate the appraised stressfulness of the event on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = not at all worried/tense; 2 = a little worried/tense; 3 = moderately worried/tense; 4 = very worried/tense; 5 = extremely worried tense). Where participants reported they had not experienced a stressor, the appraisal score was coded to 1 (not at all worried/tense). The HSI-A assesses participants on eight subscales, with acceptable alphas above .70 on most scales (for a further description, see Cervantes et al., 2011). The eight subscales of the HSI-A were as follows: Family Economic Stress (13 items) that ask about family financial burdens, including difficulty in paying bills, Acculturation Gap Stress (10 items) that assess intercultural and intergenerational conflict, Culture and Educational Stress (10 items) these items inquire about culture-school difficulties including racial tension and home-school cultural gaps, Immigration-Related Stress (8 items) concerns personal stress due to immigration, Community and Gang-Related Stress (9 items) these items ask about personal experiences with violence and absence of feeling safe in the community because of gang activity, Discrimination Stress (6 items) ask about personal experiences with bullying, racism and disrespect at school, Family, Drug/Legal Stress (4 items) that have to do with family members involved in violence, drug use or other criminal activity, and Family Immigration Stress (3 items) that ask about stress due to legal problems experienced by family members when immigrating.
Participants also completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR) portion of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). The YSR consists of 112 problem items and the respondent is asked to indicate using a 3-point Likert-type scale (0 = absent, 1 = occurs sometimes, 2 = occurs often) how often they have experienced the problem during the past 6 months. The YSR total score was calculated, as well as the Internalizing (e.g., Anxious/Depressed) and Externalizing (e.g., Aggression and Rule-Breaking) scales.
Analysis Plan
A MANCOVA was conducted to examine whether the numbers of stress experienced, appraisal of stressors, and mental health outcomes differed by generation (first, second, third, or later). Prior to the analysis, dependent variables were assessed for normality. The majority of the variables were nonnormally distributed, and variables with a skewness or kurtosis value greater than two were log-transformed. For ease of interpretation, raw scores (not log-transformed values) are presented in text and tables. Gender was included as a covariate to control for possible differences in reports of stress and mental health symptoms. Contingent on a significant multivariate effect of generation, univariate tests were conducted. For variables where the assumption of homogeneity of variance was violated, Welch’s F was used. When univariate tests were significant, post hoc tests were performed using a Sidak correction to control for Type I error.
Results
Prior to conducting statistical tests for significant difference in frequency of stressors, commonalities in the 10 most frequently reported stressors for the three generations were examined descriptively. The most prevalent stressors are shown in Table 2. All three generations commonly reported forgetting Spanish words (45.3%, 56.6%, and 41.3%, respectively), having to do too many chores (44.3%, 47.9%, and 43.2%), parents being overprotective (42.7%, 49.5%, 41.0%), and parents struggling to pay bills (36.1%, 31.5%, 30.4%). Compared with the nonimmigrant second and third generations, the first-generation participants more commonly reported immigrant-related stressors, such as having to leave people behind in their home country (56.5%), the difficulty of leaving family, friends, and neighborhood (42.3%), and having to start over after immigrating (41.5%). The first- and second-generation participants reported that their parents expected them to maintain traditional customs and values (38.0% and 30.5%, respectively), whereas this was not a top stressor for the third-generation respondents. The second- and third-generation participants commonly reported having been involved in a physical fight (35.6% and 40.6%). Only the third-generation adolescents reported having a family member with a drug problem (26.6%) among the 10 most frequently reported stress events.
The 10 Most Commonly Reported Stressors by Generation (% Endorsed).
Number of Stressors
The results of the MANCOVA revealed a significant multivariate main effect of generation for the total number of HSI-A stressors experienced, Wilks’s λ = .64, F(42, 1444) = 8.58, p < .001, partial η2 = .20, after controlling for participant gender.
With respect to the frequency with which participants experienced stressors, the results showed a significant effect for generation on the total number of stressors experienced, Acculturation Gap stress, Culture and Educational stress, Immigration-related stress and Family Immigration stress (Table 3). Post hoc comparisons indicated that the first generation experienced a significantly greater number of stressors overall compared with third-generation participants. The second-generation adolescents did not differ significantly from the first and third generations in stressor exposure. In terms of Culture and Educational, Immigration-Related and Family Immigration stress the first generation experienced more stressors than the second and third generation, and the second generation significantly more than the third generation. The Acculturation Gap stressors results indicated that the second generation reported a greater number of these stressors than the third generation. Surprisingly, the first generation did not differ significantly from the other groups in terms of Acculturation Gap stressors.
Summary of Means and Standard Deviations for Number of Stressors Experienced by Generational Group.
Note. Standard deviations appear in parentheses below means. Means within rows with differing subscripts are significantly different at least at the p < .05 level, using Sidak-corrected post hoc comparisons.
p < .05. **p < .01. ***p< .001.
There was a significant effect of generation on the number Community and Gang Violence stressors experienced, however, there were no significant differences on the post hoc tests suggesting that adolescents regardless of generation are exposed to drugs and related gang activity in the local neighborhoods. There were no significant generational differences in Family Economic stress. This finding was not surprising given that 30% to 36% of all respondents reported that their family struggled to pay their bills. There were also no significant differences between the groups in the number of Discrimination-related and Family- and Drug-related stressors. The absence of a generational difference indicates that all adolescents, regardless of generation, perceived discrimination against them or other Latinos and that all groups are exposed to the same levels of family-related drug use and other legal problems
Stress Appraisal
Table 4 presents the mean raw scores of the three generations on each of the eight HSI-A appraisal subscales and the YSR total, internalizing and externalizing scales. Examination of HSI-A total appraisal scores revealed that there was a significant effect of generation on mean total HSI-A appraisal score after controlling for gender. Post hoc comparisons indicated that the first-generation participants reported higher appraisal scores than the third-generation participants.
Summary of Means (M) and Standard Deviations (SD) for Appraisal Scores on the Hispanic Stress Inventory–Adolescent (HSI-A) and Scores the Youth Self-Report (YSR).
Note. Standard deviations appear in parentheses below means. Means within rows with differing subscripts are significantly different at least at the p < .05 level, using Sidak-corrected post hoc comparisons.
p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
Consistent with the frequency of stressors analysis, the first-generation adolescents found Immigration-Related and Family Immigration Stress to be more stressful than second and third-generation participants. The second generation rated concerns about family immigration to be more stressful than third-generation participants. However, these two groups did not differ in appraisals of stress related to their own immigration status. The generational groups also differed significantly on the Culture and Educational Stress appraisal score. The first generation had higher appraisal scores than the third-generation participants. There were no significant differences between the three generational groups on Community and Gang Violence, Family Economic Stress, Acculturation Gap Stress, Discrimination Stress, or Family- and Drug-Related Stress.
Mental Health
With respect to the mental health outcomes, there was a significant effect of generation on the total YSR score after controlling for gender. More specifically, the generations did not differ in Internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety), but did differ significantly in Externalizing symptoms. Post hoc comparisons indicated that the second generation reported significantly more aggression and delinquent behaviors than the first generation. The third-generation participants did not significantly differ from the other two groups.
Table 5 presents a correlation matrix of HSI-A composite scores and scores on Total YSR and Internalizing and Externalizing by generation. For all three generations, the mean total stress appraisal score and the number of stressors experienced were strongly and positively correlated with psychopathology. For all three generations, HSI-A mean total appraisal scores were more strongly correlated with the YSR Internalizing subscale (.45 < r < .60) than the Externalizing subscale (.32 < r < .42). The relationships among the HSI-A and YSR Internalizing and Externalizing subscales were similar regardless of generation, with the exception of the association between HSI-A total appraisal score and Internalizing. There was a stronger positive correlation for the first generation compared with the third generation (Z = 2.04, p = .04), indicating that for more recent immigrants’ experiences of acculturation-related stress are more closely related to symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Summary of Intercorrelations of the Hispanic Stress Inventory–Adolescent Version (HSI-A) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR).
p < .001.
Discussion
While previous studies with immigrant adults have examined aspects of acculturation- and immigrant-related stressors and their impact on psychological well-being (Flores et al., 2008), most studies with immigrant and later-generation youth have emphasized the relationship between exposure to perceived discrimination and substance abuse (Flores et al., 2010; Kulis & Marsiglia, 2009). The process of acculturation is thought to have varying impact on health and mental health and some studies have argued that with additional time spent in the United States (i.e., with progressive generational status), general health status and mental health well-being decrease (Finch et al., 2001; Vega, Sribney, Miskimen, Escobar, & Aguilar-Gaxiola, 2006). This acculturation “paradox” has guided the thinking of researchers in recent years (Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006). At the same time, the research on adolescent development, mental health and wellness has been limited by the lack of operational definitions of acculturation and psychosocial stress (Cervantes et al., 2011). The present study addressed some of these concerns by examining empirically derived acculturation stressors across eight domains.
Our results clearly demonstrate that depending on generational status, Hispanic adolescents vary in terms of the number and type of stressor events they experience. While the first-generation adolescents in this sample reported higher levels of overall stress exposure, they also appraised personal and family-related immigration stress to be much higher than the more acculturated, second and third-generation youth. Importantly, no significant differences were found in the exposure to or appraisal of stressors related to perceived discrimination across the three generations of adolescents. A similar finding has also been reported by Benner and Graham (2011) and Umaña-Taylor and Updegraff (2007), who also reported that educational outcomes and depressive symptoms were positively correlated with perceived discrimination. Collectively, these findings begin to help explain the pervasive impact of discrimination on physical health and mental health well-being of Latino adolescents. That is, Latino youth regardless of their generational status perceive discrimination as oppressive and in turn many adolescents respond negatively to such oppression. Furthermore, our findings suggest that traditional family values among the first generation may buffer the negative effects of stress exposure as they reported significantly lower externalizing behavioral problems when compared with their second- and third-generation counterparts. It may also be the case that the way in which this buffering effect operates for immigrant parents and their children is that regardless of discrimination they still see their life in the United States as markedly better than their circumstances in their country of origin. This dual frame of reference serves as an enabling quality that gives immigrants higher expectations and feelings of optimism that are not lessened because of prejudice or discrimination (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001). However, this immigrant optimism may be nonexistent in third- or later-generation individuals who only see the social inequalities when they compare themselves with the majority group.
Further research is needed to explore the development of programs and policies that can assist immigrant and later-generation Hispanic adolescents develop positive and healthy coping approaches to dealing with discrimination. School policies that deter discrimination against other students and help faculty become more cognizant of the presence of discriminatory school practices are sorely needed. Further research is also needed to determine the long-term impact of stress exposure on mental health status among samples of Hispanic youth and determine factors that heighten the risk for development of psychological symptoms among youth. Present studies point to the disproportionate prevalence of depression (Flores et al., 2010; Umaña-Taylor & Updegraff, 2007), substance abuse (Okamoto et al., 2009) and suicidality among female Hispanic adolescents (Cowell, Gross, McNaughton, Ailey, & Fogg, 2005; Zayas, Hausmann-Stabile, & Kuhlberg, 2011), yet there is little empirical understanding about the role of HSI-A type stressors on the trajectory of mental health well-being among adolescents and strategies that can be particularly effective for Hispanic youth.
The present study has implications for mental health practitioners who work with Hispanic adolescents. Screening, assessment, and treatment plans must account for generational factors. Immigration-related stress, for example, must be evaluated in a culturally competent manner with interventions aimed at assisting youth and families in coping with these stressors and assisting families to access available social, health and career choice resources. Furthermore, in light of the pervasive impact of discrimination stress among all generations of youth in this study, clinicians must address this form of bullying within the school setting and assist students in developing safe havens wherever possible.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Grant No. 2R44MH073180-02 to Richard C. Cervantes.