Bicultural stress, coping, and psychological functioning among Mexican-descent and White college students.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigates associations between bicultural stress, coping, and responses to stress (RTS) in relation to depressive symptoms and self-esteem for Mexican-descent and non-Latinx White college students. METHOD: With a sample of 268 Mexican-descent and non-Latinx White college students, two multiple-mediation path models and two moderation models are examined. RESULTS: The hypothesized mediation models were both supported indicating higher bicultural stress is associated with higher reporting of engaged and disengaged forms of coping and RTS. Engaged coping was associated with mental health resiliency while disengaged coping and RTS contributed to vulnerability. Disengaged and secondary engaged coping were mediators in the depressive symptoms and self-esteem models. In terms of moderation, disengaged coping and RTS were both moderators in the bicultural stress-depressive symptoms relationships. CONCLUSIONS: College students' reactions to bicultural stress may either promote mental health resiliency through engaged strategies or increase vulnerability through disengaged coping and involuntary RTS.

Social cognitive predictors of Mexican American college students' academic and life satisfaction.

In this study, we used Lent's (2004) social cognitive model of well being to examine the academic and life satisfaction of 457 Mexican American college students attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Using structural equation modeling, results indicated that the model provided a good fit to the data. Specifically, we found positive relations from positive affect to enculturation, acculturation, college self-efficacy, academic satisfaction, and life satisfaction; from enculturation to college self-efficacy; from acculturation to college self-efficacy and college outcome expectations; from college self-efficacy to college outcome expectations, academic goal progress, academic satisfaction, and life satisfaction; from college outcome expectations to academic satisfaction; from academic goal progress to academic and life satisfaction; and from academic satisfaction to life satisfaction. Findings indicated the model was invariant across gender groups, and overall, 38% and 14% of the variance in academic satisfaction and life satisfaction, respectively, were explained by the predictor variables. Implications for research and practice are discussed.