Immigration-related arrest, parental documentation status, and depressive symptoms among early adolescent Latinos.

OBJECTIVES: Experiencing an immigration-related arrest of a family member adversely impacts youth well-being, yet the role of parental documentation status for exacerbating adverse mental health outcomes following these arrests has not been investigated. METHOD: Using a general population sample of Latino 7th-grade students in an urban public school district in the south-central United States (N = 611), we examined the relationship between an immigration-related arrest of a family member and depressive symptoms as well as the moderating associations of perceived parental documentation status. RESULTS: Using ordinary least squares regression, findings indicate that experiencing or witnessing an immigration-related arrest of a family member is significantly associated with higher rates of depressive symptoms. Moreover, parental citizenship status has a moderating effect; depressive symptoms are magnified among youth who report that both of their parents have undocumented legal status. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that there are significant consequences for youth well-being when a family member is arrested for immigration-related violations. Further, among youth whose parents are both undocumented, there appears to be a compounding effect on mental health. Immigration policies, programs, and schools need to consider the emotional needs of youth who have undocumented parents, particularly in the context of elevated immigration enforcement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental documentation status and academic attitudes and expectations among early adolescent latinos.

Many Latino youth are U.S. citizens but live with parents whose immigration status is unauthorized. The association between parental documentation status and early adolescent academic attitudes and expectations is unclear. Using a general population sample of urban 7th grade students who self-identified as Latino in the South Central U.S. (n = 514), we examine the associations between parental documentation status and youth attitudes about the importance of graduating high school and college and expectations of the likelihood of completing high school and attending college. Findings suggest that parent documentation status is not associated with attitudes toward the importance of high school and college among Latino early adolescents, but it is significantly associated with perceptions of the likelihood of achievement. Thus, parent immigration status may be an educational barrier that needs to be addressed early for Latino youth, as efforts in high school may be too late for some students.

Linking community, parenting, and depressive symptom trajectories: testing resilience models of adolescent agency based on race/ethnicity and gender.

Family stress models illustrate how communities affect youth outcomes through effects on parents and studies consistently show the enduring effects of early community context. The present study takes a different approach identifying human agency during adolescence as a potentially significant promotive factor mediating the relationship between community, parenting, and mental health. While agency is an important part of resilience, its longitudinal effects are unknown, particularly based on gender and race/ethnicity. The purpose of this research was to model the long-term effects of community structural adversity and social resources as predictors of adolescent depressive symptom trajectories via indirect effects of parental happiness, parent-child relationships, and human agency. Latent growth analyses were conducted with 1,796 participants (53% female; 56% White) across four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health spanning adolescence (Wave 1) through adulthood (Wave 4). The results identified agency as an important promotive factor during adolescence with long-term mental health benefits, but only for White and male participants. For these individuals, community social resources and the quality of the parent-child relationship were related to higher levels of agency and more positive mental health trajectories. Although community social resources similarly benefitted parenting and agency among females and non-White participants, there were no significant links between agency and depressive symptoms for these youth. The results suggest that agency remains an important, but poorly understood concept and additional work is necessary to continue unpacking its meaning for diverse groups of youth.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Intimate Partner Violence Among Recent Adults: Mental Health and Race.

Previous research has linked childhood exposure to family dysfunction and violence with long-term health outcomes, including mental health and later exposure to violence. However, fewer studies have modeled depressive symptoms (stemming from childhood adversity) as a key linking variable with later intimate partner violence (IPV) - particularly among diverse youth. The present study investigated (a) the direct effect of adverse childhood events (ACEs) on intimate partner violence, (b) the indirect effect of ACEs on intimate partner violence through depressive symptoms, and (c) the moderation of these associations by race. Method: Data were drawn from 702 participants (80% female) 18 years of age from panel data collected in 2019 from the 18 & Life Project. Participants self-reported adverse childhood experiences, intimate partner violence, and depressive symptoms using multiple items for each measure. Additional demographic variables assessed included gender, race, and sexual orientation. Structural equation modeling using Mplus Version 8 software was used to test hypothesized associations. Results: While results indicate a direct association between ACEs and IPV. Evidence for an indirect link through depressive symptoms was only found for White youth. The findings of this study provide evidence for the persistent long-term influence of ACEs on mental health and relationship experiences in later life. Conclusions: Our results suggest a need for early family and community-level interventions to protect children from exposure to early adverse experiences in order to protect their mental health and ensure successful relationship experiences.

Adolescents' Tsunami Exposure and Mental Health Consequences: Protective Role of Cultural Coping Strategies.

There is a knowledge gap regarding the link between disaster exposure and adolescent mental health problems in developing countries. This study examines the case of Sri Lanka to investigate (a) the immediate and long-term mental health impact of the 2004 tsunami disaster on adolescents and (b) the potential moderating effects of unique cultural and family practices that prevail in Sri Lanka. This study used a random sample of 160 adolescents (ages 12-19) and their mothers who were exposed to the tsunami disaster while living in a southern Sri Lankan village and provided prospective data immediately after the disaster (2005) and three years later (2008). A cross-culturally validated instrument assessed adolescent-mother dyads' tsunami exposure, stressful loss, family cultural rituals and familism, and adolescent mental health. Structural equation modeling analysis showed that exposure and perceptions of tsunami-induced stressful experiences were associated with early and later mental health problems in adolescents. In addition, this study found that unique cultural practices and familism moderated the link between adolescent tsunami exposure, stressful experiences, and levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms. The findings of this study could be utilized to develop prevention and intervention programs that are contextually and culturally valid and empirically supported, which would be more effective for trauma-exposed adolescents in developing countries.

Latino Parents' Perspectives on the Life Trajectories of Mixed-Status Children.

Many immigrant Latino families have one or more U.S. -born children and at least one foreign-born non-citizen child. Contextual theories of human development would argue that these siblings would have very different life trajectories by virtue of their citizenship status or lack thereof. However, researchers and policy-makers know very little about the home environment of mixed-status siblings. Using data from in-depth personal interviews, this study examined parental perceptions of the life trajectories of mixed-status youth. Participants were 18 parents with at least one adolescent between the ages of 10-18 residing at home. Using grounded theory, two broad themes emerged. First, parental perceptions of children's life trajectories based on citizenship and parental concerns' regarding their children's mixed legal status. Within this first theme, parents discussed youth's educational opportunities, job prospects, health care access, and travel restrictions. The second theme was parental concerns' about their children's citizenship status; ambivalence about migrating to the United States; and coping with fear and anxiety. Results of this study highlight the pervasive influence of immigration policies and practices on family dynamics and child development, the risk they posit to youth development and individual family resilience.

Parenting, Pesticides and Adolescent Psychological Adjustment: A Brief Report.

Pesticides used to control insects, such as pyrethroids, are neurotoxicants, yet adolescent researchers often overlook their potential role in adolescent psychological adjustment. This brief report is guided by bioecological theory and considers the possible independent and interactive effects of environmental pyrethroid pesticide exposure for adolescent depressive symptoms. Self-reported adolescent appraisals of the parent-child relationship and depressive symptoms were obtained from a convenience sample of impoverished, predominantly Latino urban youth (n = 44). Exposure to environmental pyrethroids was obtained from wipe samples using a standardized protocol. Parent-adolescent conflict was higher in households with bifenthrin than those without, and adolescent depressive symptoms were elevated in homes where cypermethrin was detected. In addition, the presence of bifenthrin in the home attenuated the protective effects of parental involvement on adolescent depressive symptoms. The current results suggest that adolescent mental health researchers must consider the synergistic combinations of adolescents' environments' physical and social features. Given the endemic presence of pesticides and their neurotoxic function, pesticide exposure may demand specific attention.

Acceptability of dating violence among late adolescents: the role of sports participation, competitive attitudes, and selected dynamics of relationship violence.

This study uses a vignette-based survey design to examine the relationship between both respondent-level and case-level characteristics and the acceptability of violence in dating relationships. Measures of sports participation, competitiveness, and the need to win (respondent characteristics) were administered to 661 male and female late adolescents. Participants also rated the acceptability of violence portrayed in a series of couple interaction vignettes varying along three dimensions: initiator act, recipient reaction, and initator-recipient gender combinations (case characteristics). Results from a multilevel analysis show that with regard to respondent characteristics, only the need to win is related (positively) to the acceptability of dating violence, not sports participation or competitiveness. With regard to case characteristics, recipient reaction has the strongest relationship, suggesting that how a victim of violence reacts may be a more important predictor (negative relationship) of the acceptability of dating violence than the initial act of violence. Overall, case characteristics explain three times more variation in the acceptability of dating violence than respondent characteristics (30% vs. 10%).

A review of online social networking profiles by adolescents: implications for future research and intervention.

This study explored content posted and interactions taking place on adolescent online social networking profiles. Although "blogging" continues to soar in popularity, with over half of teenagers online participating in some form, little research has comprehensively explored blog communication within the context of adolescent development. Content was qualitatively coded from 100 randomly selected profiles authored by adolescents between the ages of 16 and 18. Rich thematic elements were identified including family and social issues, risk behaviors, disclosure of personally identifiable information, and frequent peer interaction. Results indicate adolescent blogs frequently contain appropriate images, positive comments about parents and peers, athletics, a variety of risk behaviors, and sexual and profane language. In addition, school type was examined (public versus private, religious) as a potential factor in understanding the differences in content posted by adolescents; however, no significant differences were found. Implications for parental monitoring and intervention are discussed as well as direction for future research. Adolescents' online profiles contain a wealth of intimate, candid, and publicly available information on a wide range of social issues pertinent to adolescence that contribute to the understanding of adolescent development and well-being.

Stress and Alcohol, Cigarette, and Marijuana Use Among Latino Adolescents in Families with Undocumented Immigrants.

Families in which one or more members are undocumented immigrants experience unique hardships. Yet, little is known about stress and substance use among adolescents growing up in these families. The present study examined associations between two sources of adolescent stress (i.e., low parental involvement due to contextual constraints and family economic insecurity) and lifetime alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among adolescents in families with undocumented members. The sample was comprised of 102 adolescents (10-18 years old) and one of his or her parents. Participants responded a survey in English or Spanish. Adolescent lifetime use of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana was 51%, 32.4%, and 37.3%, respectively. Chi-Square analyses found no significant gender differences in lifetime substance use. Logistic regression models showed that adolescent stress due to hindered parental involvement increased the odds of both lifetime cigarette and marijuana use after controlling for gender, age, linguistic acculturation, familism, parental control, and negative peer affiliation. Being a girl increased the odds of lifetime alcohol use. Family economic stress was not associated with lifetime substance use. Results suggest that hindered parental involvement might be a stressor and a risk factor for cigarette and marijuana use among adolescents growing up in families with undocumented members. Because parents in these families are likely to be undocumented, policies that allow immigrants to apply for legal status could improve parents' working conditions and facilitate parental involvement; in turn, such policies could decrease the risk for adolescent substance use among children of Latino immigrants.

Body mass index, self-esteem and weight contentment from adolescence to young adulthood and women's risk for sexually transmitted disease.

UNLABELLED: Background Women's risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were examined in terms of adolescent and young adult weight status, self-esteem trajectories and weight contentment using two waves of a nationally representative dataset. METHODS: Using Waves 1 and 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, body mass index (BMI), self-esteem and weight contentment were examined during adolescence and young adulthood to assess the likelihood of STDs among 4000 young adult single women. RESULTS: Change in BMI, specifically weight loss between adolescence and young adulthood, significantly increased women's risk for STDs. Continuously low self-esteem during adolescence and young adulthood significantly increased women's risk for STDs. When women's contentment with their weight decreased from adolescence to young adulthood, women's risk for STDs was greater. Regardless of other variables, Black women were more likely to have an STD. CONCLUSIONS: RESULTS suggest that women's self-perception is important in reducing sexual risk; specifically, patterns of self-esteem, BMI and weight contentment across developmental periods should be a critical focus of research and practice related to adolescent and young adult sexual health. There are many known benefits to fostering self-esteem during adolescence and findings from this study add STD prevention among young women to this list. RESULTS emphasise the needed prevention during adolescence to address self-perspective and self-esteem for the long-term sexual well-being of young women.

Consideration of forgiveness to enhance the health status of older male prisoners confronting spiritual, social, or emotional vulnerability.

Participants in this study included 261 men, aged 45 and older, residing within state-managed correctional facilities in Oklahoma. Path analysis was used to examine an integrated mediation model. Spiritual ambivalence, loneliness, and depressive affect had direct negative associations with forgiveness, controlling for age, race, education, and type of crime. Forgiveness also maintained a direct positive association with perceived health status, whereas depressive affect maintained a direct negative association with perceived health status. In addition, a significant indirect effect of depressive affect on perceived health through forgiveness emerged. Overall, the model explained 38% of the variance in forgiveness and 23% in perceived health. Greater spiritual ambivalence, loneliness, and depressive affect diminish forgiveness among older male prisoners, yet higher levels of forgiveness, are associated with greater perceived health.

Do parent-child acculturation gaps affect early adolescent Latino alcohol use? A study of the probability and extent of use.

The literature has been mixed regarding how parent-child relationships are affected by the acculturation process and how this process relates to alcohol use among Latino youth. The mixed results may be due to, at least, two factors: First, staggered migration in which one or both parents arrive to the new country and then send for the children may lead to faster acculturation in parents than in children for some families. Second, acculturation may have different effects depending on which aspects of alcohol use are being examined. This study addresses the first factor by testing for a curvilinear trend in the acculturation-alcohol use relationship and the second by modeling past year alcohol use as a zero inflated negative binomial distribution. Additionally, this study examined the unique and mediation effects of parent-child acculturation discrepancies (gap), mother involvement in children's schooling, father involvement in children's schooling, and effective parenting on youth alcohol use during the last 12 months, measured as the probability of using and the extent of use. Direct paths from parent-child acculturation discrepancy to alcohol use, and mediated paths through mother involvement, father involvement, and effective parenting were also tested. Only father involvement fully mediated the path from parent-child acculturation discrepancies to the probability of alcohol use. None of the variables examined mediated the path from parent-child acculturation discrepancies to the extent of alcohol use. Effective parenting was unrelated to acculturation discrepancies; however, it maintained a significant direct effect on the probability of youth alcohol use and the extent of use after controlling for mother and father involvement. Implications for prevention strategies are discussed.

Prisoner health and valuation of life, loneliness, and depressed mood.

OBJECTIVE: To examine valuation of life, loneliness, and depressed mood as mediating the association between age and race/ethnicity and health outcomes among older adult male prisoners. METHODS: Survey of 261 male prisoners ages 45-80 from 8 Oklahoma correctional facilities. RESULTS: African American prisoners report fewer health conditions than White prisoners - a finding mediated by significantly greater valuation of life, less loneliness, and lower depressed mood among African American prisoners. Older prisoners reported more health conditions than younger prisoners independent of other study variables. CONCLUSION: Results suggest improving inmates' internal states will reduce incidence of illness and disease among older male offenders and associated healthcare costs.

Early socioeconomic disadvantage and young adult sexual health.

OBJECTIVE: To test a longitudinal and multilevel model predicting young adult risky sexual behaviors and sexually transmitted infections. METHODS: Data from 14,058 participants in 3 waves were used to link community and family disadvantage, adolescent adjustment problems, and risky sexual behaviors with STIs. RESULTS: Community-level disadvantage, being African American, and being female remained predictors of sexual behaviors and STIs whereas adolescent adjustment mediated the effect of several family characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates how individual-, family-, and community-level characteristics and vulnerabilities contribute to young adult sexual risk and STI prevalence. Findings indicate specific individual characteristics and childhood experiences that should be specific targets of STI prevention efforts.

Risk of comorbid health impairment among older male inmates.

This investigation originated from a pilot survey of 261 state prison inmates, aged 45 to 82, in Oklahoma. Logistic regression analyses were computed to assess the relationship of sociodemographic characteristics, physical and mental health, and lifestyle behaviors to comorbid health impairment. (odds ratio (OR) = 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.13, 1.77]), smoking (OR = 2.82, 95% CI [1.10, 7.30]), and church attendance (OR = 1.23, 95% CI [1.00, 1.50]) were associated with increased odds of comorbid health impairment. Perceived health (OR = 0.38, 95% CI [0.23, 0.66]), mobility (OR = 0.25, 95% CI [0.09, 0.70]), and physical exercise (OR = 0.56, 95% CI [0.35, 0.88]), were associated with reduced odds of comorbid health impairment. Education, smoking, and church attendance represent key indicators of comorbid health impairment, whereas perceived health, mobility, and physical exercise are more likely to reduce multiple health impairments.

Weight status continuity and change from adolescence to young adulthood: examining disease and health risk conditions.

This study examined weight status during adolescence and young adulthood, and young adult health condition diagnosis. Data are from 10,439 African-American, Hispanic, and white men and women participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health during Waves 1 (adolescence: ages 12-19) and 3 (young adulthood: ages 19-26). Categories were created differentiating individuals based on their weight status during adolescence and young adulthood: (i) obese during adolescence and young adulthood (i.e., continuously obese), (ii) obese during adolescence only, (iii) obese during young adulthood only, and (iv) never obese. Multilevel random intercept regression models were used to examine the impact of obesity category, sex, and race/ethnicity on young adult asthma, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Continuous obesity increased the likelihood for young adult disease and health risk conditions compared to individuals who were never obese. Obesity isolated to adolescence (Wave 1) increased the likelihood for high cholesterol and high blood pressure, whereas obesity isolated to young adulthood (Wave 3) also increased the likelihood for diabetes--all increases were relative to nonobese weight status during both periods. Associations varied in direction and degree when sex and race/ethnicity were considered. Findings clarify some of the mixed understandings regarding the associations between age of onset and stability of obesity, and health outcomes with important public health implications. Although results indicate obesity isolated to a single developmental period does have health repercussions, obesity experienced continuously during adolescence and young adulthood greatly intensified risk across all health conditions.

Parental health and adolescent obesity in the context of community disadvantage.

This study examined whether parental physical health, including obesity, is associated with adolescent obesity considering the context and level of community disadvantage using survey data from 13,907 adolescents (12-18 years of age) and their parent(s) from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health as well as 1990 census tract data. Poor parental health, particularly obesity, is associated with adolescent obesity, even in disadvantaged contexts; however, community disadvantage moderates this relationship suggesting parental health factors are less salient in terms of adolescent obesity when community disadvantage is extreme. Strategies to reduce adolescent obesity should consider level of community disadvantage to determine whether efforts should target the community or family-level.

Breakfast consumption in adolescence and young adulthood: parental presence, community context, and obesity.

BACKGROUND: Breakfast consumption is often examined when researching adolescent dietary intakes and overall health. However, fewer studies have examined the relationship between breakfast and obesity, particularly over time and in relation to weight outcomes in young adulthood. In addition, little is known about contextual factors influencing the likelihood of adolescents consuming breakfast on a regular basis. OBJECTIVE: The present study assessed individuals' breakfast consumption patterns and obesity status during adolescence and young adulthood. Analyses included the context in which breakfast consumption took place, specifically community and family factors. DESIGN: Participants' breakfast consumption patterns and obesity status were assessed at two developmental time points--adolescence (Wave 2) and young adulthood (Wave 3). Community disadvantage, family poverty, race, sex, and a parent's morning presence in the home, were examined for association with breakfast consumption. SUBJECTS/SETTING: Data used in this study (n=7,788) were derived from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative study of adolescents. Data were collected as follows: Wave 1 (September 1994 to April 1995), Wave 2 (April 1996 to August 1996), and Wave 3 (August 2001 to April 2002). The final sample ranged in age from 12 to 19 years during Wave 2 and 18 to 26 years during Wave 3. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Multilevel random intercept regression models were used to examine the association between community, parental, and individual predictors on adolescent and young adult weight outcomes. RESULTS: Adolescent regular breakfast consumption significantly predicted young adult regular breakfast consumption (P<0.001) and an important factor associated with adolescents eating breakfast was having at least one parent home in the morning. Regular consumption during both developmental periods provided considerable protection from obesity during adolescence and young adulthood (ie, chronic obesity). Residing in disadvantaged communities decreased the odds adolescents would eat breakfast during adolescence and increased their chances for chronic obesity. African Americans were less likely to eat breakfast during adolescence and young adulthood, while also being at greater risk for chronic obesity compared to whites. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that low-income youth in disadvantaged communities, especially African Americans, should be specifically targeted for nutrition interventions related to breakfast consumption. In addition, parental promotion of breakfast at home and/or engagement with schools to develop or strengthen school-based breakfast programs may be a powerful addition to nutrition interventions for youth at risk for lifelong struggles with obesity and other nutrition-related problems.