Discrimination, Self-Esteem, and Mental Health Across Ethnic Groups of Second-Generation Immigrant Adolescents
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Discrimination, Self-Esteem, and Mental Health Across Ethnic Groups of Second-Generation Immigrant Adolescents Adriana Espinosa 1 Received: 15 July 2020 / Revised: 28 October 2020 / Accepted: 28 October 2020 # W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute 2020
Abstract The relation between discrimination and higher depression by way of reductions in self-esteem has been documented among some racial and ethnic minority populations. Yet, the extent to which the results extend to general forms of discrimination as well as multiple second-generation immigrant ethnic groups remains underexamined. This article assessed the mediating role of selfesteem in the relation between general forms of perceived discrimination and depression symptoms among second-generation immigrant adolescents and assessed the extent to which the relations were invariant across ethnic sub-groups. Analyses were based on data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study over two periods spanning adolescence (N = 4288; Mage = 14 and 17). The mediating role of self-esteem was tested via path analysis for the full sample, and multiple-group path analyses compared these results across White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and other (multiracial) immigrants. Indirect effects were obtained via 5000 bootstrapped replications. In the full sample, the relation between discrimination and depression was mediated by selfesteem with approximately 30% of the total effect mediated. Said mediated relation was only confirmed among White and Asian sub-groups, with 27% and 49% of the total effects mediated, respectively. The results suggest that the process by which discrimination relates to mental health may vary between immigrant racial/ethnic sub-groups. In addition, the results highlight the value of considering broader categorizations of perceived discrimination beyond race or ethnicity to understand complexities associated with intersecting marginalized identities among this population. Keywords Perceived discrimination . Racial and ethnic minority immigrants . Second-generation immigrants . Depression
Second-generation immigrants constitute the fastest growing population in the United States (US) and within the next few decades are projected to be the main source of growth for the US labor force [1, 2]. In spite of their vital contribution to the growth of the US economy, studies indicate that secondgeneration immigrants face significantly higher risks of mood disorders than first-generation counterparts [3–6]. For example, the prevalence of major depressive disorders among second-generation US immigrants is approximately 19%, which is higher than that of first-generation US immigrants (15%) [6]. This pattern, whereby the risk of psychological illness increases by immigrant generation, has been observed in other studies and across a wide range of mood and other mental health disorders [3–7]. These mental health disparities between first- and second-generation US immigrants have
* Adriana Espinosa [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, The City College
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