Culture and Educational Stress and Internalizing Symptoms Among Latino Adolescents: The Role of Ethnic Identity

ABSTRACT

Discrimination experienced by Latino youth in school has been explored in past research although the interrelatedness of culture and educational stress—the stress due to Hispanic culture not being acknowledged in school and racial tensions in school—has been less studied. The current study examines the effect of this stress on internalizing symptoms among 58 low-income Latino adolescents (M_age =13.31, 53% male) and tests whether ethnic identity moderates this association. Results show that culture and educational stress is associated with worse mental health. Further, a significant ethnic identity X stress interaction was found for somatic problems showing that youth high in ethnic identity exploration reported more somatic problems in the face of high culture and educational stress. Hence, youth who are more actively exploring their identity may be more vulnerable to the damaging context of culture and educational stress. Implications for multicultural consultation are discussed.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Children Adapting to Stress and Adversity (CASA) lab for their assistance with data collection and management, the school that partnered with us on this research, and the students who participated.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephanie A. Torres

Stephanie A. Torres, MA, is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Loyola University Chicago. Currently, her research work focuses on risk and resilience factors among Latino youth and the impact of immigration-related stress on mental health within Latino communities.

Catherine DeCarlo Santiago, PhD, is an assistant professor in clinical psychology at Loyola University Chicago. She studies how children and families respond to stress and trauma as well as evaluates interventions designed to improve functioning and promote resilience.

Note: The authors report that, to the best of their knowledge, neither they nor their affiliated institutions have financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could influence or bias the opinions, decisions, or work presented in this article.