Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Acculturation and Aggression in Latino Adolescents: Modeling Longitudinal Trajectories from the Latino Acculturation and Health Project

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Child Psychiatry and Human Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examines how multiple indicators of adolescent and parent acculturation relate to longitudinal trajectories of Latino adolescent aggression. The hierarchical linear modeling analysis is based on a final sample of 256 adolescents paired with one parent. Of the adolescents, 66% were born outside of the United States and the remaining 34% were US-born. Families lived in two sites: 38% lived in North Carolina and 62% lived in Arizona. The overall trajectory of Latino adolescent aggression displays a statistically significant negative trend best characterized by a quadratic curve. We delineate significant risk factors related to aggression levels, and show that gender, age, parent-reported acculturation conflicts, and adolescent-reported parent-adolescent conflicts are associated with higher levels of adolescent aggression. We discuss the study limitations, implications of the findings, and fertile ground for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006) Youth risk behavior surveillance-United States, 2005. Surveillance Summaries. MMWR 2006:55 (No. SS-5). Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5505.pdf

  2. Kaufman P, Chen X, Choy SP, Peter K, Ruddy SA, Miller AK et al (2001) Indicators of school crime and safety: 2001 (NCES 2002–113 or NCJ-190075). US Department of Education and US Department of Justice, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  3. Redfield R, Linton R, Herskovits M (1936) Memorandum for the study of acculturation. Am Anthropol 38:149–152. doi:10.1525/aa.1936.38.1.02a00330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Smith EP, Guerra NG (2006) Introduction. In: Guerra NG, Smith EP (eds) Preventing youth violence in a multicultural society. American Psychological Association, Washington, pp 3–14

    Google Scholar 

  5. Berry JW (1998) Acculturation stress. In: Balls Organista P, Chun KM, Marin G (eds) Readings in ethnic psychology. Routledge, New York, pp 117–122

    Google Scholar 

  6. Castro FG, Coe K, Gutierres S, Saenz D (1996) Designing health promotion programs for Latinos. In: Kato PM, Mann T (eds) Handbook of diversity issues in health psychology. Plenum, New York, pp 319–346

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  7. Cabassa LJ (2003) Measuring acculturation: where we are and where we need to go. Hisp J Behav Sci 25:127–146. doi:10.1177/0739986303025002001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Dahlberg LL, Krug EG (2002) Violence: a global public health problem. In: Krug EG, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, Zwi AB, Lozano R (eds) World report on violence and health. World Health Organization, Geneva, pp 1–21

    Google Scholar 

  9. Dinh KT, Roosa MW, Tein JY, Lopez VA (2002) The relationship between acculturation and problem behavior proneness in a Hispanic youth sample: a longitudinal mediation model. J Abnorm Child Psychol 30:295–309. doi:10.1023/A:1015111014775

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Gonzales NA, Deardorff J, Formoso D, Barr A, Barrera M (2006) Family mediators of the relation between acculturation and adolescent mental health. Fam Relat 55:318–330. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00405.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Smokowski PR, Bacallao ML (2006) Acculturation and aggression in Latino adolescents: a structural model focusing on cultural risk factors and assets. J Abnorm Child Psychol 34:657–671. doi:10.1007/s10802-006-9049-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Vega WA, Gil AG, Warheit G, Zimmerman R, Apospori E (1993) Acculturation and delinquent behavior among Cuban American adolescents: toward an empirical model. Am J Community Psychol 21:113–125. doi:10.1007/BF00938210

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Vega WA, Khoury E, Zimmerman R, Gil AG, Warheit G (1995) Cultural conflicts and problem behaviors of Latino adolescents in home and school environments. J Community Psychol 23:167–179. doi:10.1002/1520-6629(199504)23:2<167::AID-JCOP2290230207>3.0.CO;2-O

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Bird H, Canino G, Davies M, Duarte C, Febo V, Ramirez R et al (2006) A study of disruptive behavior disorders in Puerto Rican youth: I. Background, design, and survey methods. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 45:1032–1041. doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000227879.65651.cf

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Bird HR, Davies M, Duarte CS (2006) A study of disruptive behavior disorders in Puerto Rican youth: II. Baseline prevalence, comorbidity, and correlates in two sites. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 45:1042–1053. doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000227878.58027.3d

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Smokowski PR, David-Ferdon C, Stroupe N (2009) Acculturation, youth violence, and suicidal behavior in minority adolescents: a review of the empirical literature. J Prim Prev (forthcoming)

  17. Brook JS, Whiteman M, Balka EB, Win T, Gursen MD (1998) African American and Puerto Rican drug use: a longitudinal study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36:1260–1268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Bui H, Thongniramol O (2005) Immigration and self-reported delinquency: the interplay of immigration, generations, gender, race, and ethnicity. J Crim Justice 28:71–80

    Google Scholar 

  19. Buriel R, Calzada S, Vasquez R (1982) The relationship of traditional Mexican American culture to adjustment and delinquency among three generations of Mexican American male adolescents. Hisp J Behav Sci 4:41–55. doi:10.1177/07399863820041003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Samaniego RY, Gonzales NA (1999) Multiple mediators of the effects of acculturation status on delinquency for Mexican American adolescents. Am J Community Psychol 27:189–210. doi:10.1023/A:1022883601126

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Sommers I, Fagan J, Baskin D (1993) Sociocultural influences on the explanation of delinquency for Puerto Rican youths. Hisp J Behav Sci 15:36–62. doi:10.1177/07399863930151002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Carvajal SC, Hanson CE, Romero AJ, Coyle KK (2002) Behavioural risk factors and protective factors in adolescents: a comparison of Latino and non-Latino whites. Ethn Health 7:181–193. doi:10.1080/1355785022000042015

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Caetano R, Schafer J, Cunradi CB (2000) Intimate partner violence, acculturation and alcohol consumption among Hispanic couples in the United States. J Interpers Violence 15:30–45. doi:10.1177/088626000015001003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Markides K, Krause N, Mendes De Leon CF (1988) Acculturation and alcohol consumption among Mexican Americans: a three-generation study. Am J Public Health 78:1178–1181. doi:10.2105/AJPH.78.9.1178

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Rogler LH, Cortes RS, Malgady RG (1991) Acculturation and mental health status among Hispanics. Am Psychol 46:585–597. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.46.6.585

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Gil A, Wagner E, Vega W (2000) Acculturation, familism, and alcohol use among Latino adolescent males: longitudinal relations. J Community Psychol 28:443–458. doi:10.1002/1520-6629(200007)28:4<443::AID-JCOP6>3.0.CO;2-A

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Gil AG, Vega WA, Dimas JM (1994) Acculturative stress and personal adjustment among Hispanic adolescent boys. J Community Psychol 22:43–54. doi:10.1002/1520-6629(199401)22:1<43::AID-JCOP2290220106>3.0.CO;2-T

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Vega WA, Gil A, Warheit G, Apospori E, Zimmerman R (1993) The relationship of drug use to suicide ideation and attempts among African American, Hispanic, and white non-Hispanic male adolescents. Suicide Life Threat Behav 23:110–119

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Decker MR, Raj A, Silverman JG (2007) Sexual violence against adolescent girls: influences of immigration and acculturation. Violence Against Women 13:498–513. doi:10.1177/1077801207300654

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Silverman JG, Decker MR, Raj A (2007) Immigration-based disparities in adolescent girls’ vulnerability to dating violence. Matern Child Health J 11:37–43. doi:10.1007/s10995-006-0130-y

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Hovey JD (1998) Acculturative stress, depression, and suicidal ideation among Mexican–American adolescents: implications for the development of suicide prevention programs in schools. Psychol Rep 83:249–250. doi:10.2466/PR0.83.5.249-250

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Hovey JD, King CA (1996) Acculturative stress, depression, and suicidal ideation among immigrant and second-generation Latino adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 35:1183–1192. doi:10.1097/00004583-199609000-00016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Brown B, Benedict WR (2004) Bullets, blades, and being afraid in Hispanic high schools: an exploratory study of the presence of weapons and fear of weapons-related victimization among high school students in a border town. Crime Delinq 50:372–394. doi:10.1177/0011128703254916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Olvera RL (2001) Suicidal ideation in Hispanic and mixed ancestry adolescents. Suicide Life Threat Behav 31:416–427. doi:10.1521/suli.31.4.416.22049

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Rasmussen K, Negy C, Carlson R, Burns J (1997) Suicide ideation and acculturation among low socioeconomic status Mexican American adolescents. J Early Adolesc 17:390–407. doi:10.1177/0272431697017004003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Sanderson M, Coker AL, Roberts RE, Tortolero SR, Reininger BM (2004) Acculturation, ethnic identity, and dating violence among Latino ninth-grade students. Prev Med 39:373–383. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.01.034

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Swanson JW, Linksey AO, Quintero-Salinas R, Pumariega A, Holzer CE (1992) A binational school survey of depressive symptoms, drug use, and suicidal ideation. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 31:669–678. doi:10.1097/00004583-199207000-00014

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Ng B (1996) Characteristics of 61 Mexican American adolescents who attempted suicide. Hisp J Behav Sci 18:3–12. doi:10.1177/07399863960181001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Yu SM, Huang ZJ, Schwalberg RH, Overpeck M, Kogan MD (2003) Acculturation and the health and well-being of US immigrant adolescents. J Adolesc Health 33:479–488. doi:10.1016/S1054-139X(03)00210-6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Smokowski PR, Rose R, Bacallao, ML (2008) Acculturation and Latino family processes: how parent-adolescent acculturation gaps influence family dynamics. Fam Relat 57(3):295–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Guo S, Hussey D (1999) Analyzing longitudinal rating data: a three-level hierarchical linear model. Soc Work Res 23:258–269

    Google Scholar 

  42. Raudenbush SW, Bryk AS (2002) Hierarchical linear models: applications and data analysis methods, 2nd edn. Sage, Newbury Park

    Google Scholar 

  43. Snijders TAB, Bosker RJ (1999) Multilevel analysis: an introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  44. Szapocznik J, Kurtines W, Fernandez T (1980) Biculturalism involvement and adjustment in Hispanic–American youths. Int J Intercult Relat 4:353–365. doi:10.1016/0147-1767(80)90010-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Robin AL, Foster SL (1989) Negotiating parent-adolescent conflict: a behavioral-family systems approach. Guilford, New York

    Google Scholar 

  46. Vega WA, Alderete E, Kolody B, Aguilar-Gaxiola S (1998) Illicit drug use among Mexicans and Mexican Americans in California: the effects of gender and acculturation. Addiction 93:1839–1850. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.1998.931218399.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Achenbach TM, Rescorla LA (2001) Manual for ASEBA school-age forms and profiles. University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth & Families, Burlington

    Google Scholar 

  48. Schafer JL (1997) Analysis of incomplete multivariate data. Chapman Hall/CRC, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  49. Graham JW, Olchowski AE, Gilreath TD (2007) How many imputations are really needed? Some practical clarifications of multiple imputation theory. Prev Sci 8:206–213. doi:10.1007/s11121-007-0070-9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Von Hippel PT (2007) Regression with missing Ys: an improved strategy for analyzing multiply imputed data. Sociol Methodol 37:83–117. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9531.2007.00180.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Bacallao ML, Smokowski PR (2005) Entre dos mundos (between two worlds) bicultural skills training and Latino immigrant families. J Prim Prev 26:485–509. doi:10.1007/s10935-005-0008-6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Gonzales NA, Knight GP, Morgan-Lopez A, Saenz D, Sirolli A (2002) Acculturation and the mental health of Latino youths: an integration and critique of the literature. In: Contreras JM, Kerns KA, Neal-Barnett AM (eds) Latino children and families in the United States. Greenwood, Westport

    Google Scholar 

  53. LaFromboise T, Coleman HL, Gerton J (1993) Psychological impact of biculturalism: evidence and theory. Psychol Bull 114:395–412. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.114.3.395

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Coatsworth JD, Maldonido-Molina M, Pantin H, Szapocznik J (2005) A person-centered and ecological investigation of acculturation strategies in Hispanic immigrant youth. J Community Psychol 33:157–174. doi:10.1002/jcop.20046

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Bacallao ML, Smokowski PR (2009) Obstacles to getting ahead: how assimilation mechanisms impact Mexican immigrant families. J Health Soc Policy (forthcoming)

  56. Smokowski PR, Bacallao ML (2007) Acculturation, internalizing mental health symptoms, and self-esteem: cultural experiences of Latino adolescents in North Carolina. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 37:273–292. doi:10.1007/s10578-006-0035-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Coatsworth JD, Pantin H, Szapocznik J (2002) Familias unidas: a family-centered ecodevelopmental intervention to reduce risk for problem behavior among Hispanic adolescents. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 5:113–132. doi:10.1023/A:1015420503275

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Szapocznik J, Santisteban D, Kurtines W, Perez-Vidal A, Hervis O (1986) Bicultural effectiveness training (BET): an experimental test of an intervention modality for families experiencing intergenerational/intercultural conflict. Hisp J Behav Sci 8:303–330. doi:10.1177/07399863860084001

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Flavio Marsiglia and Monica Parsai, MSW for their work collecting data in Arizona and Melissa Chalot, MPH for project management. Special thanks go to the Latino families who participated in this study. This study was supported by grants from the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (R49/CCR42172-02) and from the Centers for Disease Control’s Office of the Director (1K01 CE000496-01).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 325 Pittsboro Street, CB 3550, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3550, USA

    Paul Richard Smokowski & Roderick A. Rose

  2. Department of Social Work, University of North Carolina – Greensboro, 257 Stone Building, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC, 27402-6170, USA

    Martica Bacallao

Authors
  1. Paul Richard Smokowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Roderick A. Rose
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Martica Bacallao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul Richard Smokowski.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Smokowski, P.R., Rose, R.A. & Bacallao, M. Acculturation and Aggression in Latino Adolescents: Modeling Longitudinal Trajectories from the Latino Acculturation and Health Project. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 40, 589–608 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-009-0146-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-009-0146-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation