Exploring the Relationship of Acculturative Stress and Anxiety Symptoms in Latino Youth
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Exploring the Relationship of Acculturative Stress and Anxiety Symptoms in Latino Youth Victoria A. Schlaudt1,2 · Lourdes Suarez‑Morales1 · Ryan A. Black1 Accepted: 31 August 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Background Previous literature suggests that acculturative stress is related to anxiety in Latino youth. However, the cognitive mechanisms by which acculturative stress relates to anxiety symptoms in this population are unknown. Objective The purpose of the current study was to understand how mindfulness and negative automatic thoughts may be related to acculturative stress and anxiety in Latino youth. In particular, this study examined if mindfulness moderated several pathways including the relationship of acculturative stress to automatic thoughts, automatic thoughts to anxiety, acculturative stress to anxiety, and the indirect effect of acculturative stress on anxiety through negative automatic thoughts (moderated mediation). Method In a sample of 272 middle school-aged, first and second-generation immigrant, Latino participants, acculturative stress, negative automatic thoughts, mindfulness, and anxiety symptoms were measured and examined using PROCESS. Results Results revealed that mindfulness buffered the relationship of acculturative stress to automatic thoughts; however, mindfulness exacerbated the relationship of acculturative stress to anxiety. Further, a significant moderated mediation effect was found in that mindfulness weakened the relationship of acculturative stress to anxiety symptoms indirectly through automatic thoughts. Conclusion Overall, the current study helps to clarify the roles of automatic thoughts and mindfulness in the relationship of acculturative stress and anxiety. It provides preliminary evidence that dispositional mindfulness is associated with less acculturative stress and negative automatic thoughts in Latino youth. Keywords Acculturative stress · Anxiety · Mindfulness · Automatic thoughts · Latino youth
For participants in the current study, we have utilized the demographic term ’Latino’, and to refer to participants in other articles, we have utilized the term provided within each study. * Victoria A. Schlaudt [email protected] 1
College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA
2
Present Address: Department of Psychology, The University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Child & Youth Care Forum
Introduction Latino youth represent the fastest growing segment of the population in the United States, and literature suggests that they have an increased risk for experiencing anxiety symptoms and disorders. Specifically, the United States is home to 17.1 million Latino children and adolescents aged 17 or younger (Passel et al. 2011). The current population estimate of Latino youth represents a 39% increase in this group in the past decade (Passel et al. 2011). Additionally, more than half of Latino youth in the United States have at least one paren
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