Ethnic identity and acculturation in Hispanic early adolescents: mediated relationships to academic grades, prosocial behaviors, and externalizing symptoms

This study examined acculturative stress and self-esteem as mediators of the association of ethnic identity and acculturation with psychosocial outcomes. The study sample consisted of 347 Hispanic adolescents in a "new" immigrant-receiving community in the Midwest. The authors expected acculturation to influence psychosocial adjustment through acculturative stress and ethnic identity to influence psychosocial adjustment through self-esteem. Results indicated that relationships of ethnic identity to academic grades and to externalizing symptoms were mediated by self-esteem and that both U.S. and Hispanic acculturation orientations were directly associated with prosocial behavior. The relationships of U.S. cultural orientation to academic grades and to behavior problems were mediated through acculturative stress and self-esteem. Implications of these findings for the study of Hispanics in more monocultural receiving communities are discussed

Immigration Debate and Its Relationship to the Ethnic Identity Development and Well-Being of Latino and White Youth

This study collected data from 422 seventh- and eighth-grade adolescents in 2005 and 391 seventh- and eighth-grade adolescents in 2006 in a medium-sized Midwestern community as part of a larger longitudinal study. The 2006 data collection occurred at the height of the national debate about immigration policy and practice. The fortuitous timing of the data collection allowed the authors to compare the responses of seventh- and eighth-grade Latino adolescents surveyed in 2005 with seventh- and eighth-grade students surveyed in 2006 to examine how the debate related to adolescent ethnic identity development and well-being. Using multiple regression analyses the study found evidence that the debate moved eighth-grade Latino students from the undifferentiated stage of ethnic identity development to the exploration stage. Furthermore, it was found that the debate was related to increased levels of acculturative stress and general stress among first-generation eighth-grade Latino students

Acculturation and Substance Use Among Hispanic Early Adolescents: Investigating the Mediating Roles of Acculturative Stress and Self-Esteem

We examined the extent to which Hispanic orientation and American orientation are associated with substance use (cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana) both directly and indirectly through acculturative stress and self-esteem. Participants were 347 Hispanic early adolescents (50.7% male; mean age = 12.57, SD = 0.92, range 11-15) from two middle schools in western Michigan. Findings showed that self-esteem emerged as the most consistent predictor of likelihood and extent of substance use. Ethnic identity was positively related to risk for substance use, and acculturative stress and self-esteem mediated the relationships of Hispanic cultural orientation to alcohol use. Self-esteem was the most important protective factor against substance use, and as such, we conclude that prevention programs designed to address precocious substance use that incorporate a self-esteem building component could prove useful among Hispanic early adolescents residing in monocultural contexts within the United States

The Multidimensionality of Prosocial Behaviors and Evidence of Measurement Equivalence in Mexican American and European American Early Adolescents

There is growing recognition of the need to examine distinct forms of prosocial behaviors and to conduct research on prosocial behaviors among ethnic minorities. Middle school students (mean age=12.67 years; 54% girls; European American, n=290; Mexican American, n=152) completed a multidimensional measure of prosocial behavior and measures of parental monitoring, externalizing behaviors, and religiosity. Results yield supportive evidence that anonymous, dire, emotional, compliant, public, and altruism are different forms of prosocial behaviors. Moreover, the measure of prosocial behaviors shows measurement equivalence properties across ethnicity and gender. The discussion focuses on the multidimensional nature of prosocial behaviors and implications for future research on prosocial behaviors

Do Alcohol Expectancy Outcomes and Valuations Mediate Peer Influences and Lifetime Alcohol Use Among Early Adolescents?

Building on the theory of reasoned action (I. Ajzen & M. Fishbein, 1973, 1980; M. Fishbein & I. Ajzen, 1975) and expectancy theory, the authors examined the mediating role of alcohol expectancies in adolescent drinking behaviors by testing whether alcohol expectancy outcomes and valuations (the extent to which these outcomes are perceived as good or bad) mediate the association between peer influences and lifetime alcohol use. Early adolescents (N = 904) from 2 public middle schools in western Michigan completed a battery of questionnaires. Overall, results showed that alcohol expectancies and valuations partially mediated the relations between peer influences (peer use and peer approval) and lifetime alcohol use. The findings suggest that associating with peers who are perceived as using alcohol and approving of drinking may influence adolescents' alcohol expectancies. The authors briefly discuss future research directions and implications for prevention