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Psychological Distress among Latina/o College Students: the Roles of Self-Concealment and Psychological Inflexibility

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Abstract

There is a dire need to understand behavioral health outcomes in U.S. Latina/o individuals. Following the psychological flexibility model of behavior change, the present cross-sectional study investigated the role of self-concealment in a range of distress variables in a U.S. Latina/o college sample. Participants (N = 83, 76 % female, range = 17–50 years old) completed self-report measures online. Results revealed a direct effect of self-concealment on depression and large indirect effects of self-concealment on general distress, somatization, and anxiety through psychological inflexibility. These findings suggest that maladaptive cognitive and emotion regulation processes in general, and psychological inflexibility in particular, contribute to distress in the present Latina/o sample. Future research should examine whether psychological inflexibility and self-concealment predict onset, recurrence, and/or maintenance of psychological distress among Latina/o individuals over time.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA

    Hadrian Mendoza, Bradley L. Goodnight, Nicole E. Caporino & Akihiko Masuda

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  1. Hadrian Mendoza
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  2. Bradley L. Goodnight
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  4. Akihiko Masuda
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Correspondence to Akihiko Masuda.

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Mendoza, H., Goodnight, B.L., Caporino, N.E. et al. Psychological Distress among Latina/o College Students: the Roles of Self-Concealment and Psychological Inflexibility. Curr Psychol 37, 172–179 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-016-9500-9

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