Dataset Information

Peer Discrimination, Deviant Peer Affiliation, and Latino/a Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms: A Prospective Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

U.S. Latino/a adolescents experience high levels of ethnic discrimination, particularly in new immigrant destinations. Due to the salience of peers during adolescence, this study examined how peer discrimination related directly and indirectly, through deviant peer affiliation, to changes in Latino/a adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Culture-specific moderators hypothesized to buffer discrimination impacts on adolescent symptomology included Spanish language enculturation and adolescents' social ties to relatives in the family's country-of-origin.

Method

The sample of 547 Latino/a adolescent participants from the Caminos al Bienestar study (55.4% female; age M = 12.8, range = 11-16) was selected at random from middle schools in a large, suburban school district in Atlanta, Georgia. Three time points of survey data spaced roughly 6 months apart were collected during 2018 and 2019.

Results

Results from longitudinal structural equation models revealed that peer discrimination was associated indirectly with increased externalizing symptoms, through increases in affiliation with deviant peers (β = 0.05; SE = 0.02; B = 0.02; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.09). We did not observe direct or indirect effects of peer discrimination on changes in internalizing symptoms, and we found no significant protective effects of either Spanish language enculturation or social ties with the country-of-origin.

Conclusions

Ethnic discrimination by peers may lead to deviant peer affiliation and, in turn, increased externalizing behaviors. Future research identifying protective factors that buffer discrimination impacts on deviant peer affiliation is needed to inform the development of interventions that can prevent Latino/a adolescents' externalizing symptoms.

SUBMITTER: Bennett M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9849486 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Peer Discrimination, Deviant Peer Affiliation, and Latino/a Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms: A Prospective Study.

Bennett Morgane M Roche Kathleen M KM Huebner David M DM Lambert Sharon F SF

Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53 20220719 4

<h4>Objective</h4>U.S. Latino/a adolescents experience high levels of ethnic discrimination, particularly in new immigrant destinations. Due to the salience of peers during adolescence, this study examined how peer discrimination related directly and indirectly, through deviant peer affiliation, to changes in Latino/a adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Culture-specific moderators hypothesized to buffer discrimination impacts on adolescent symptomology included Spanish languag ...[more]

PMID: 35853146

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Project description:ImportanceEvidence suggests that living near green space supports mental health, but studies examining the association of green space with early mental health symptoms among children are rare.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between residential green space and early internalizing (eg, anxiety and depression) and externalizing (eg, aggression and rule-breaking) symptoms.Design, setting, and participantsData for this cohort study were drawn from the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes cohort; analysis was conducted from July to October 2023. Children born between 2007 and 2013 with outcome data in early (aged 2-5 years) and/or middle (aged 6-11 years) childhood who resided in 41 states across the US, drawing from clinic, hospital, and community-based cohorts, were included. Cohort sites were eligible if they recruited general population participants and if at least 30 children had outcome and residential address data to measure green space exposure. Nine cohorts with 13 sites met these criteria. Children diagnosed with autism or developmental delay were excluded, and 1 child per family was included.ExposuresGreen space exposure was measured using a biannual (ie, summer and winter) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, a satellite image-based indicator of vegetation density assigned to monthly residential history from birth to outcome assessment.Main outcome and measuresChild internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½ to 5 or 6 to 18. The association between green space and internalizing and externalizing symptoms was modeled with multivariable linear regression using generalized estimating equations, adjusting for birthing parent educational level, age at delivery, child sex, prematurity, and neighborhood socioeconomic vulnerability. Models were estimated separately for early and middle childhood samples.ResultsAmong 2103 children included, 1061 (50.5%) were male; 606 (29.1%) identified as Black, 1094 (52.5%) as White, 248 (11.9%) as multiple races, and 137 (6.6%) as other races. Outcomes were assessed at mean (SD) ages of 4.2 (0.6) years in 1469 children aged 2 to 5 years and 7.8 (1.6) years in 1173 children aged 6 to 11 years. Greater green space exposure was associated with fewer early childhood internalizing symptoms in fully adjusted models (b = -1.29; 95% CI, -1.62 to -0.97). No associations were observed between residential green space and internalizing or externalizing symptoms in middle childhood.Conclusions and relevanceIn this study of residential green space and children's mental health, the association of green space with fewer internalizing symptoms was observed only in early childhood, suggesting a sensitive period for nature exposure. Policies protecting and promoting access to green space may help alleviate early mental health risk.

Dataset Information

Peer Discrimination, Deviant Peer Affiliation, and Latino/a Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms: A Prospective Study.

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Peer Discrimination, Deviant Peer Affiliation, and Latino/a Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms: A Prospective Study.

Similar Datasets

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