Mental Health Among Puerto Rican Adolescents Living in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The present study examined how different family level (family financial stress, family violence) and individual (food insecurity, gender, race) determinants of health were associated with mental health among Puerto Rican adolescents living in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: A sample consisting of 119 Puerto Rican adolescents, aged 13 to 17, was collected via Qualtrics Panels between November 2020 and January 2021. We examined the association between family financial stress experienced during the pandemic and psychological distress. We also evaluated whether the association between family financial stress and psychological distress was moderated by family violence, food insecurity, and the participant's gender and race. RESULTS: Findings showed that food insecurity positively predicted psychological distress. Results also showed that participants' race moderated the association between family financial stress and psychological distress. Specifically, we found that while there was a significant positive association between family financial stress and psychological distress among Puerto Rican adolescents who identified as a racial minority, this association was nonsignificant among White Puerto Rican adolescents. CONCLUSION: Our research highlights the significant role of COVID-19 related family financial stress and food insecurity on Puerto Rican adolescents' poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conceptualizing Puerto Rican migration to the United States.

Migration to the United States is an intricate part of Puerto Rican life ever since Puerto Rico became a colony of the United States in 1898. Our review of literature on Puerto Rican migration to the United States reveals that this migration is primarily associated with cycles of economic turmoil that result from over a century of U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico. We also discuss how the pre- and post-migration context Puerto Ricans face influence their mental health. Emerging theory suggests that Puerto Rican migration to the United States should be conceptualized as colonial migration. Within this framework, researchers argue that U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico not only creates the conditions that help explain why Puerto Ricans migrate to the United States but also the circumstances they encounter upon migration.