Empirical studies of stress among Mexican adolescents of immigrant status are limited. Given the paucity of information in this area, the purpose of this study was to identify the stressors and level of perceived stress among immigrant Mexican adolescents and to assess gender differences among the identfied perceived stressors. In the study, 244 recent immigrant Mexican adolescents in five schools in the Los Angeles, California area were administered the Background Information Scale and the Hispanic Children Stress Inventory. The results revealed high levels of perceived stress with respect to family, language and ethnic items. Striking gender differences among items were also reported. Multivariate analyses also revealed that gender and perceived English language proficiency were significantly related to higher stress scores.
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