This study examined the relationship of acculturation and Central American adolescents' behavioral problems as reported by their parents. Cross-sectional survey data regarding demography, acculturation, and psychosocial functioning was examined among 112 urban adolescent immigrants, aged 12 to 17 years. Analysis indicated that, when parents and adolescents differed in acculturation, parents most frequently rated their adolescent with internalizing symptoms at a clinically elevated level. Parents' education and distress predicted parents' reports of adolescents' psychosocial problems beyond demographic factors, respondents' characteristics, and parents' and adolescents' acculturation. Higher relative acculturation among adolescents, but not parents, was the most robust predictor of parental distress scores, indicating that parental distress mediates the relationship between high relative acculturation of the adolescents and their psychosocial problems as reported by parents. Implications for research and clinicians conducting mental health interventions with Central American populations are briefly discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AchenbachT. M. (1991) Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4–18 and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: Univer. of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
2.
ArroyoW.EraS. (1985) Children traumatized by Centra] American warfare. In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in children. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Pp. 101–120.
3.
BaronR.KennyD. (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
4.
BerwickD.MurphyJ.GoldmanP.WareJ.Jr.BarskyA.WeinsteinM. (1991) Performance of a five-item mental health screening test. Medical Care, 29, 169–176.
5.
BrookR.FinkA.KosecoffJ.LinnL.WatsonW.DaviesA.ClarkV.KambergC.DelbancoT. (1987) Educating physicians and treating patients in the ambulatory setting: Where are we going and how will we know when we arrive?Annals of Internal Medicine, 107, 392–398.
6.
BurnamA.TellesC.HoughR.EscobarJ. (1987) Measurement of acculturation in a community population of Mexican Americans. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9, 105–130.
7.
CohenJ.CohenP. (1983) Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. (2nd ed.) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
8.
De La RosaM.VegaR.RadischM. (2000) The role of acculturation in the substance abuse behavior of African-American and Latino adolescents: Advances, issues, and recommendations. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 32(1), 33–42.
9.
De SantisL.UgarrizD. N. (1995) Potential for intergenerational conflict in Cuban and Haitian immigrant families. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, IX, 354–364.
10.
EpsteinJ.BotvinG.DusenburyL.DiazT.KernerJ. (1996) Validation of an acculturation measure for Hispanic adolescents. Psychological Reports, 79, 1075–1079.
11.
EscobarJ.RandolphE.PuenteG.SpiwakF.AsamenJ.HillM.HoughR. (1983) Post-traumatic stress disorder in Hispanic Vietnam veterans: Clinical phenomenology and sociocultural characteristicsJournal of Nervous and Mental Health, 171, 585–596.
12.
EscobarJ.VegaW. (2000) Mental health and immigration's AAAs: Where are we and where do we go from here?The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 188, 736–740.
13.
FergussonD.LynskeyM.HorwoodL. (1989) The effect of maternal depression on maternal ratings of child behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 21, 245–269.
14.
HernandezM. (1996) Central American families. In McGoldrickM.GiordanoJ. (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy. New York: Guilford. Pp. 214–224.
15.
HoveyJ.KingC. (1996) Acculturative stress, depression, and suicidal ideation among immigrant and second-generation Latino adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1183–1192.
16.
HoveyJ.KingC. (1997) Suicidality among acculturating Mexican-Americans: Current knowledge and directions for research. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 27, 92–103.
17.
LangJ.MunozR.BernalG.SorensonJ. (1982) Quality of life and psychological well-being in a bicultural Latino community. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 4, 433–450.
18.
LeslieL. (1992) The role of informal support networks in the adjustment of Central American immigrant families. Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 243–256.
19.
LockeC.SouthwickK.McCloskeyL.Fernandez-EsquerM. (1996) The psychological and medical sequelae of war in Central American refugee mothers and children. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 150, 822–828.
20.
MarinG.MarinB. V. (1991) Research with Hispanic populations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
21.
McHorneyA.WareE.RogersW.RaczekA.LuJ. (1992) The validity and relative precision of MOS short- and long-form health status scales and Dartmouth COOP charts: Results from the Medical Outcomes Study. Medical Care, 30, 253–265.
22.
De LeonC. MendesMarkidesK. (1988) Depressive symptoms among Mexican Americans: A three-generation study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 127, 150–160.
23.
NajmanJ.WilliamsG.NiklesJ.SpenceS.BorW.O'CallaghanM.Le BrocqueR.AndersonM. (2000) Mother's mental illness and child behavior problems: Cause-effect association or observation bias?Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 592–602.
24.
NicholsonB. (1997) The influence of pre-emigration and post-emigration stressors on mental health: A study of Southeast Asian refugees. Social Work Research, 21, 19–31.
25.
OrtizV.ArceC. (1984) Language orientation and mental health status among persons of Mexican descent. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 6, 127–143.
26.
RoglerL.CortesD.MalgadyR. (1991) Acculturation and mental health status among Hispanics: Convergence and new directions for research. American Psychologist, 46, 585–597.
27.
SzapocznikJ.ScopettaM.KurtinesW.AranaldM. (1978) Theory of measurement and acculturation. Inter-American Journal of Psychology, 12, 113–130.
28.
WareJ.SherbourneC. (1992) The MOS 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36): I. Conceptual framework and item selectionMedical Care, 30, 473–483.
29.
WolfD. (1997) Family secrets: Transnational struggles among children of Filipino immigrants. Sociological Perspectives, 40, 457–482.
