Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Acculturation Dissonance, Acculturation Strategy, Depressive Symptoms, and Delinquency in Latina/o Adolescents

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Child & Youth Care Forum Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Two risk factors for negative outcomes in Latina/o youth are acculturation dissonance (i.e., discrepant family cultural orientations) and the endorsement of an assimilation strategy of acculturation (i.e., valuing dominant mainstream culture over culture of origin). Though these have been uniquely studied as risk factors for maladaptive behaviors among Latina/o youth, their interaction in relation to both externalizing and internalizing symptoms has yet to be fully examined.

Objective

The present study examined the unique and interactive effects of acculturation dissonance and assimilation on both depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors among Latina/o adolescents.

Methods

Participants were 135 Latina/o adolescents (ages 14–20) recruited from a charter high school. Students responded to a paper-and-pencil survey assessing demographic information, acculturation strategy, acculturation dissonance, depressive symptoms, and delinquency.

Results

Acculturation dissonance was uniquely associated with depressive symptoms, but interaction effects suggested this association depended on levels of assimilation. At high levels of assimilation, acculturation dissonance was not associated with depressive symptoms, since depressive symptoms were consistently high. In contrast, at low levels of assimilation, acculturation dissonance was positively associated with depressive symptoms. In contrast, acculturation dissonance was uniquely associated with delinquency, and this association did not depend on the level of assimilation.

Conclusions

Dissonant cultural orientations within families of Latina/o youth confer risk for negative outcomes across internalizing and externalizing domains. For youth adopting an assimilation strategy of acculturation, risk for depressive symptoms may be increased. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alegría, M., Sribney, W., Woo, M., Torres, M., & Guarnaccia, P. (2007). Looking beyond nativity: The relation of age of immigration, length of residence, and birth cohorts to the risk of onset of psychiatric disorders for Latina/os. Research in Human Development, 4, 19–47.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bamaca-Colbert, M. Y., Umana-Taylor, A. J., & Gayles, J. G. (2012). A developmental-contextual model of depressive symptoms in Mexican-origin female adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 48(2), 406–421. doi:10.1037/a0025666.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In A. Padilla (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory, models and findings (pp. 9–25). Boulder: Westview.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(6), 697–712. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W., Kim, U., Minde, T., & Mok, D. (1987). Comparative studies of acculturative stress. International Migration Review, 21, 491–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breslau, J., Borges, G., Hagar, Y., Tancredi, D., & Gilman, S. (2009). Immigration to the USA and risk for mood and anxiety disorders: Variation by origin and age at immigration. Psychological Medicine, 39(7), 1117–1127. doi:10.1017/S0033291708004698.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colby, S. L., & Ortman, J. M. (2015). Projections of the size and composition of the US population: 2014–2060: Population estimates and projections. Current Population Reports. Washington DC: US Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p25-1143.pdf.

  • Elder, J. P., Broyles, S. L., Brennan, J. J., Zuniga de Nuncio, M. L., & Nader, P. R. (2005). Acculturation, parent-child acculturation differential, and chronic disease risk factors in a Mexican-American population. Journal of Immigrant Health, 7(1), 1–9. doi:10.1007/s10903-005-1385-x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ennis, S. R., Rios-Vargas, M., & Albert, N. G. (2011). The Hispanic population: 2010. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Woodward, L. J., & Horwood, L. J. (1999). Childhood peer relationship problems and young people’s involvement with deviant peers in adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27(5), 357–369. doi:10.1023/A:1021923917494.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fosados, R., McClain, A., Ritt-Olson, A., Sussman, S., Soto, D., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., & Unger, J. B. (2007). The influence of acculturation on drug and alcohol use in a sample of adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 32(12), 2990–3004.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia Coll, C., & Marks, A. K. (2011). The immigrant paradox in children and adolescents: Is becoming American a developmental risk?. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gfoerer, J. C., & Tan, L. L. (2003). Substance use among foreign-born youths in the United States: Does the length of residence matter? American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1892–1895.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, N. A., Deardorff, J., Formoso, D., Barr, A., & Barrera, M., Jr. (2006). Family mediators of the relation between acculturation and adolescent mental health. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 55(3), 318–330. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00405.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenman, E., & Xie, Y. (2008). Is assimilation theory dead? The effect of assimilation on adolescent well-being. Social Science Research, 37, 109–137.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gunlicks-Stoessel, M., Mufson, L., Cullen, K. R., & Klimes-Dougan, B. (2013). A pilot study of depressed adolescents’ cortisol patterns during parent–adolescent conflict and response to interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-A). Journal of Affective Disorders, 150(3), 1125–1128. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.05.037.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. Y., Chen, Q., Li, J., Huang, X., & Moon, U. J. (2009). Parent–child acculturation, parenting, and adolescent depressive symptoms in Chinese immigrant families. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(3), 426–437. doi:10.1037/a0016019.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, A. S., McCabe, K. M., Yeh, M., Garland, A. F., Wood, P. A., & Hough, R. L. (2005). The acculturation gap-distress hypothesis among high-risk Mexican American families. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 367–375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Le, T. N., & Stockdale, G. (2008). Acculturative dissonance, ethnic identity, and youth violence. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14(1), 1–9. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.14.1.1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzo-Blanco, E., Unger, J. B., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., Ritt-Olson, A., & Soto, D. (2012). Acculturation, enculturation, and symptoms of depression in Hispanic youth: The roles of gender, Hispanic cultural values, and family functioning. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(10), 1350–1365. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9774-7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Marsiglia, F. F., & Waller, M. (2002). Language preference and drug use among Southwestern Mexican American school students. Children and Schools, 24, 145–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, A. L., & Ford, J. A. (2001). Drinking patterns among Hispanic adolescents: Results from a national household survey. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 62, 448–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (1996). Immigrant America (2nd ed.). Berkely: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubens, S. L., Fite, P. J., Gabrielli, J., Evans, S. C., Hendrickson, M. L., & Pederson, C. A. (2013). Examining relations between negative life events, time spent in the United States, language use, and mental health outcomes in Latina/o adolescents. Child and Youth Care Forum, 42(5), 389–402. doi:10.1007/s10566-013-9205-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sam, D. L., & Vitra, E. (2003). Intergenerational value discrepancies in immigrant and host-national families and their impact on psychological adaptation. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 213–231.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saulsberry, A., Corden, M. E., Taylor-Crawford, K., Crawford, T. J., Johnson, M., Froemel, J., & Van Voorhees, B. W. (2013). Chicago urban resiliency building (CURB): An internet-based depression-prevention intervention for urban African-American and Latina/o adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(1), 150–160. doi:10.1007/s10826-012-9627-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. J., Unger, J. B., Zamboanga, B. L., & Szapocznik, J. (2010). Rethinking the concept of acculturation: Implications for theory and research. American Psychologist, 65(4), 237–251. doi:10.1037/a0019330.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. J., Des Rosiers, S., Huang, S., Zamboanga, B. L., Unger, J. B., Knight, G. P., & Szapocznik, J. (2013). Developmental trajectories of acculturation in Hispanic adolescents: Associations with family functioning and adolescent risk behavior. Child Development, 84(4), 1355–1372.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Suárez-Orozco, C., Rhodes, J., & Milburn, M. (2009). Unraveling the immigrant paradox academic engagement and disengagement among recently arrived immigrant youth. Youth and Society, 41, 151–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szalacha, L. A., Erkut, S., Coll, C. G., Alarcón, O., Fields, J. P., & Ceder, I. (2003). Discrimination and puerto rican children’s and adolescents’ mental health. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9(2), 141–155. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.9.2.141.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Szapocznik, J., & Kurtines, W. M. (1993). Family psychology and cultural diversity: Opportunities for theory, research, and application. American Psychologist, 48(4), 400–407. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.42.1.37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szapocznik, J., Santisteban, D., Kurtines, W., Perez-Vidal, A., & Hervis, O. (1984). Bicultural effectiveness training: A treatment intervention for enhancing intercultural adjustment in Cuban American families. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 6(4), 317–344. doi:10.1177/07399863840064001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telzer, E. H. (2010). Expanding the acculturation gap-distress model: An integrative review of research. Human Development, 53(6), 313–340. doi:10.1159/000322476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tseng, V., & Fuligni, A. J. (2000). Parent-adolescent language use and relationships among immigrant families with east asian, filipino and latin american backgrounds. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62(2), 465–476. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00465.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Updegraff, K. A. (2007). Latina/o adolescents’ mental health: Exploring the interrelations among discrimination, ethnic identity, cultural orientation, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Journal of Adolescence, 30(4), 549–567. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.08.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Unger, J. B., Cruz, T. B., Rohrbach, L. A., Ribisl, K. M., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., Chen, X., Trinidad, D. R., & Johnson, C. A. (2000). English language use as a risk factor for smoking initiation among Hispanic and Asian American adolescents: Evidence for mediation by tobacco-related beliefs and social norms. Health Psychology, 19(5), 403–410. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.19.5.403.

  • Unger, J. B., Gallaher, P., Shakib, S., Ritt-Olson, A., Palmer, P. H., & Johnson, C. A. (2002). The AHIMSA acculturation scale: A new measure of acculturation for adolescents in a multicultural society. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 22(3), 225–251. doi:10.1177/02731602022003001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vega, W. A., & Sribney, W. M. (2008). Latina/o population demographics, risk factors, and depression: A case study of the Mexican American prevalence and services survey. In S. A. Aguilar-Gaxiola & P. Thomas (Eds.), Depression in Latina/os: Assessment, treatment, and prevention (pp. 29–52). New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Vega, W. A., Sribney, W. M., Gaxiola, Aguilar-, & Kolody, B. (2004). 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans: Nativity, social assimilation, and age determinants. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192, 532–541.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Warheit, G. J., Vega, W. A., Khoury, E. L., Gil, A. G., & Elfenbein, P. R. (1996). A comparative analysis of cigarette, alcohol, and illicit drug use among an ethnically diverse sample of Hispanic, African American, and non-Hispanic White adolescents. Journal of Drug Issues, 26, 901–922.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, S. R., & Kim, S. Y. (2008). A person-centered approach to studying the linkages among parent-child differences in cultural orientation, supportive parenting, and adolescent depressive symptoms in Chinese American families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(1), 36–49. doi:10.1007/s10964-007-9221-3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. L., & Berry, J. W. (1991). Primary prevention of acculturative stress among refugees: Application of psychological theory and practice. American Psychologist, 46, 632–641.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Sonia Rubens

    Present address: Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA, 70148, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, 2006 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Ave., Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA

    Andrew L. Frazer, Moneika DiPierro & Paula J. Fite

  2. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Sonia Rubens

  3. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Sonia Rubens

  4. School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

    Michelle Johnson-Motoyama

Authors
  1. Andrew L. Frazer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sonia Rubens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michelle Johnson-Motoyama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Moneika DiPierro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Paula J. Fite
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew L. Frazer.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Frazer, A.L., Rubens, S., Johnson-Motoyama, M. et al. Acculturation Dissonance, Acculturation Strategy, Depressive Symptoms, and Delinquency in Latina/o Adolescents. Child Youth Care Forum 46, 19–33 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-016-9367-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-016-9367-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation