Associations Between Cultural Stress and Normative Stress and Daily Depressive Symptoms Among Hispanic College Students: Mediated by Parent-Child Communication

Abstract

The prevalence of internalizing symptoms among Hispanic college students is increasing at alarming rates and cultural stress is increasingly being studied as a contributor to these adverse outcomes. Despite the emerging literature examining the impact of cultural stress on Hispanic student mental health, few studies have examined the role of parent-child communication as a mediator in these associations. This study examined the associations of cultural stress and normative stress with daily depressive symptoms, mediated by parent-child communication, among 214 Hispanic college students surveyed during the 2021 to 2022 school year. Parent-child communication mediated the association between cultural stress and daily depressive symptoms (p = .02), but not between normative stress and daily depressive symptoms (p = .09). Encouraging parental communication among Hispanic college students may be a promising approach to addressing the impact of cultural stress on depressive symptoms.