Discrimination and depressive symptoms in sexual minority Latinx youth: Moderation by religious importance and attendance.

Relative to heterosexual peers, sexual minority youth experience significant mental health disparities. This is partly due to prejudicial encounters (e.g., discrimination, victimization) because of their sexual minority status, and potential intersecting and compounding prejudicial experiences related to their ethnic minority status. However, even though religiosity has been identified as a protective factor in the general literature and may be especially relevant for youth in Latinx families, few studies have examined whether religiosity serves as a buffer of the relations between discrimination-related stress and mental health in sexual minority Latinx youth. Thus, the aims were to examine (a) whether ethnic and sexuality discrimination have additive or multiplicative effects on depressive symptoms, and (b) whether own or family religiosity (defined by religious importance and attendance) moderates the relations between discrimination and depressive symptoms. Sample included 377 youth (Mage = 20.29, SD = 2.61, age range 14-24). Results did not support an interaction between ethnic and sexuality discrimination, nor between own religiosity and ethnic discrimination, in predicting depressive symptoms. There were significant interactions between family religiosity and discrimination (ethnic and sexuality), in which family religiosity was negatively associated with depressive symptoms only at average and low levels of discrimination. There was a significant interaction between own religiosity and sexuality discrimination, in which own religiosity was negatively associated with depressive symptoms only at the low level of sexuality discrimination. Findings highlight the importance of examining the intersection of religion, sexuality, and Latinx minority status in relation to mental health outcome. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent Financial Socialization Scale: Development and preliminary validation.

A theoretically grounded, validated measure of parent financial socialization is needed. This article describes the development and validation process of three new scales: the Parent Financial Modeling Scale (eight items), the Parent-Child Financial Discussion Scale (nine items), and the Experiential Learning of Finances Scale (three items). These may be treated as subscales of a multidimensional latent construct: the Parent Financial Socialization Scale (20 items). The three scales measure the three primary methods of family financial socialization. The scales are designed to be retrospective, with target participants being U.S. emerging adults (age 18-30). A rigorous development process was undertaken: an initial pool of items was generated, expert assessments were collected, cognitive interviews were conducted, and (following preliminary data collection) preliminary item reduction analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted. Final data were collected from a diverse (51.7% female, 47.6% male; 31.6% White, 22.0% Black, 19.8% Latinx, 14.6% Asian; 50.4% no parent with college degree, 47.4% parent with college degree) sample of 4,182 U.S. emerging adults. During validation, item reduction analysis, CFA, reliability tests, measurement invariance tests, and construct validity tests were conducted. The scales demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity, and invariance was established across sex, race, and parents' education level. These scales are unique in their ability to capture nuance and will allow for comparisons across studies. They will enhance the quality of family financial socialization research, expand the questions that can be answered, and allow for the development of programming that is effective for a wide range of families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Are Developmental Assets Protective Against Suicidal Behavior? Differential Associations by Sexual Orientation.

Sexual orientation disparities in suicide behavior are well-documented. Yet, few studies have examined how developmental assets - key values, self-perceptions, skills, relationships, and opportunities that have been identified as the building blocks of positive youth development - are associated with suicide behaviors, particularly among sexual minority youth. This study examined concurrent associations between young people's developmental assets and suicidal behavior by sexual orientation using a large sample of 116,925 in-school U.S. adolescents (ages 11 to 19, M = 14.74, SD = 1.78). Most of the sample identified as only heterosexual (90.2%); 5% identified as mostly heterosexual, 3.5% as bisexual, 0.6% as mostly lesbian/gay, and 0.7% as only lesbian/gay. Most participants identified as White, non-Latina/o (62.6%) and as cisgender female (50.3%) or cisgender male (47.8%). Compared to only heterosexual adolescents, youth with all other sexual orientations reported lower levels of internal and external developmental assets except for non-sports extracurricular activity participation and social justice values. Identifying as a racial/ethnic minority, particularly for only heterosexual adolescents, and specifically as Latina/o for sexual minority adolescents was associated with greater risk for suicidal behavior. Further, identifying as a gender minority exacerbated risk for suicidal behavior. Relatedly, when youth reported feeling unsafe with their family, or in their school or neighborhood, they were at greater risk for suicidal behavior, regardless of sexual orientation. Feeling hopeful was associated with lower risk for suicidal behavior for all youth. Regardless of sexual orientation, planning and decision-making skills were associated with lower risk and social-emotional skills were associated with heightened risk for suicidal behavior. School boundaries and social justice values were associated with lower risk for suicidal behavior among bisexual adolescents; there were no additional protective assets for mostly/only lesbian/gay adolescents. In conclusion, sexual orientation disparities exist in the lives of adolescents for several internal and external developmental assets. Disparities in suicidal behavior by sexual orientation, however, were largely unexplained by differential associations between developmental assets and suicidal behavior.

Young adults' psychological and physiological reactions to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Elections present unique opportunities to study how sociopolitical events influence individual processes. The current study examined 286 young adults' mood and diurnal cortisol responses to the 2016 U.S. presidential election in real-time: two days before the election, election night, and two days after the election of Donald Trump, with the goal of understanding whether (and the extent to which) the election influenced young adults' affective and biological states. Utilizing piecewise trajectory analyses, we observed high, and increasing, negative affect leading up to the election across all participants. Young adults who had negative perceptions of Trump's ability to fulfill the role of president and/or were part of a non-dominant social group (i.e., women, ethnic/racial minority young adults) reported increased signs of stress before the election and on election night. After the election, we observed a general "recovery" in self-reported mood; however, diurnal cortisol indicators suggested that there was an increase in biological stress among some groups. Overall, findings underscore the role of macro-level factors in individuals' health and well-being via more proximal attitudes and physiological functioning.

Profiles of minority stressors and identity centrality among sexual minority Latinx youth.

Few studies have examined how the amalgamation of minority stressors for youth with multiple marginalized identities is associated with well-being. Additionally, among youth with multiple marginalized identities, identity centrality may clarify the associations between specific types of minority stressors (i.e., bias-based peer victimization, perceived discrimination) and adjustment. This study sought to identify intersectional profiles of perceived peer victimization, perceived discrimination, and identity centrality, specific to either Latinx ethnicity or sexual minority identity in the United States. Demographic characteristics associated with each profile (i.e., age, socioeconomic status, gender nonconformity, survey language, gender, rurality) were examined, as well as associations between profiles and grade point average, self-esteem, and depression. In a sample of 219 in-school Latinx sexual minority youth (47% secondary, 53% postsecondary; Mage = 19 years, SD = 2.3), four profiles of intersectional minority stress (perceived victimization, discrimination) and identity centrality were identified: (a) low stress, low centrality; (b) low stress, high centrality; (c) moderate stress, moderate centrality, and (d) high stress, moderate centrality. Men, youth who were relatively older, socioeconomically advantaged, gender nonconforming, and those living in urban areas had higher probabilities of membership in profiles with moderate and high stress. Compared to the low stress, low centrality profile, profiles with higher levels of intersectional stress were associated with maladjustment, whereas the profile characterized by low stress, high centrality had higher levels of self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record

Sexual minority youth of color: A content analysis and critical review of the literature.

This study analyzed the content of 125 unique reports published since 1990 that have examined the health and well-being-as well as the interpersonal and contextual experiences-of sexual minority youth of color (SMYoC). One-half of reports sampled only young men, 73% were noncomparative samples of sexual minority youth, and 68% of samples included multiple racial-ethnic groups (i.e., 32% of samples were mono-racial/ethnic). Most reports focused on health-related outcomes (i.e., sexual and mental health, substance use), while substantially fewer attended to normative developmental processes (i.e., identity development) or contextual and interpersonal relationships (i.e., family, school, community, or violence). Few reports intentionally examined how intersecting oppressions and privileges related to sexual orientation and race-ethnicity contributed to outcomes of interest. Findings suggest that research with SMYoC has been framed by a lingering deficit perspective, rather than emphasizing normative developmental processes or cultural strengths. The findings highlight areas for future research focused on minority stress, coping, and resilience of SMYoC.

Family context, Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' parenting knowledge, and children's subsequent developmental outcomes.

This study examined parenting knowledge among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (N = 191; Mage = 16.26 years), family contextual factors associated with adolescents' parenting knowledge, and toddlers' (Mage = 2.01 years) subsequent developmental outcomes. Data came from home interviews and direct child assessments. Adolescents both underestimated and overestimated children's developmental timing, and showed differences in their knowledge of specific developmental domains. Instrumental support from mother figures was positively linked to adolescents' knowledge accuracy, whereas emotional support was negatively related to adolescents' knowledge confidence. Furthermore, whereas mother figures' autonomy granting was positively linked to knowledge confidence, psychological control was associated with less accurate adolescent parenting knowledge. Toddlers of adolescents with more accurate knowledge showed positive developmental functioning. Intervention implications are discussed.

Impact of Arizona's SB 1070 immigration law on utilization of health care and public assistance among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their mother figures.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the impact of Arizona's "Supporting Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act" (SB 1070, enacted July 29, 2010) on the utilization of preventive health care and public assistance among Mexican-origin families. METHODS: Data came from 142 adolescent mothers and 137 mother figures who participated in a quasi-experimental, ongoing longitudinal study of the health and development of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their infants (4 waves; March 2007-December 2011). We used general estimating equations to determine whether utilization of preventive health care and public assistance differed before versus after SB 1070's enactment. RESULTS: Adolescents reported declines in use of public assistance and were less likely to take their baby to the doctor; compared with older adolescents, younger adolescents were less likely to use preventive health care after SB 1070. Mother figures were less likely to use public assistance after SB 1070 if they were born in the United States and if their post-SB 1070 interview was closer to the law's enactment. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that immigration policies such as SB 1070 may contribute to decreases in use of preventive health care and public assistance among high-risk populations.

Gay-Straight Alliances, Social Justice Involvement, and School Victimization of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Youth: Implications for School Well-Being and Plans to Vote.

Few studies have investigated school-based, positive development for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) youth, despite knowledge of their heightened negative school experiences compared to heterosexual youth (e.g., school victimization). This study examines associations among participation in Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)-related social justice activities, GSA presence, and GSA membership with victimization based on sexual orientation and school-based well-being (i.e., school safety, school belongingness, grade point average [GPA]) and future plans to vote. Using data from the Preventing School Harassment Study, a survey of 230 LGBQ students in 7th through 12th grades, the study finds that participation in GSA-related social justice activities and the presence of a GSA are positively associated with school belongingness and GPA. GSA membership is also positively associated with school belongingness. However, moderation analyses suggest that the positive benefits of GSA-related social justice involvement and the presence of a GSA dissipate at high levels of school victimization. Implications for schools are discussed.