The Phenotypic, Psychological, and Social Interplays of Skin Color and Developmental Outcomes among Mexican-origin Adolescents: Dismantling Systems of Racism and Oppression during Adolescence: Dismantling Systems of Racism and Oppression during Adolescence.

Mexican-origin children from immigrant families are impacted by various systemic oppressions in life. The study seeks to examine how adolescents' developmental outcomes are associated with specific phenotypic, psychological, and social features of skin color, as manifested by skin tone, skin color satisfaction, and foreigner stress. By taking a holistic approach, we examine both positive and negative adjustment outcomes, including delinquency, resilience, and effortful control. Participants were 604 Mexican-origin adolescents aged between 11.08 and 15.29 (Mage = 12.91, SD = 0.92) with at least one immigrant parent. The findings highlight the harm of foreigner stress and the benefit of skin color satisfaction in Mexican-origin adolescents' development of delinquency, resilience, and effortful control, especially for those with a darker skin color.

Associations between religiosity and perinatal anxiety symptoms among women of Mexican descent.

BACKGROUND: Over half of pregnant women experience anxiety symptoms, however perinatal mental health disparities exist. Women of Mexican descent exhibit higher levels of anxiety symptoms which may be linked to sociocultural stressors. However, little is known about culturally relevant factors that may protect against anxiety in this fast-growing population, such as religiosity, an important facet of Mexican culture. METHODS: Pregnant women of Mexican descent (n = 197) were recruited from a local community clinic and followed into the postpartum period. Women completed surveys assessing religiosity, acculturation, acculturative stress, and anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: Higher levels of religiosity were associated with lower levels of anxiety symptoms throughout pregnancy, but not postpartum (b = -1.01, p = .002). Additionally, religiosity significantly buffered the relationship between acculturative stress and anxiety symptoms during early (R2 = .13, b = -.12, p = .041), mid- (R2 = .19, b = -.19, p < .001) and late pregnancy (R2 = .14, b = -.13, p = .023), and at six weeks postpartum (R2 = .08, b = -.12, R2 = .08, p = .016). LIMITATIONS: The study was limited to women of Mexican descent and it is possible that other immigrant groups may exhibit different patterns of religiosity and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that religiosity may be protective against maternal anxiety among women of Mexican descent, which has important implications for culturally relevant perinatal interventions and treatments.