Citation

Corona R, Rodríguez VM, McDonald SE, Velazquez E, Rodríguez A, Fuentes VE. J. Youth Adolesc. 2016; 46(1): 63-77.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 W. Franklin Street, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10964-016-0600-5

PMID

27817098

Abstract

Latina/o college students experience cultural stressors that negatively impact their mental health, which places them at risk for academic problems. We explored whether cultural values buffer the negative effect of cultural stressors on mental health symptoms in a sample of 198 Latina/o college students (70 % female; 43 % first generation college students). Bivariate results revealed significant positive associations between cultural stressors (i.e., acculturative stress, discrimination) and mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depressive, psychological stress), and negative associations between cultural values of familismo, respeto, and religiosity and mental health symptoms. Several cultural values moderated the influence of cultural stressors on mental health symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of helping Latina/o college students remain connected to their families and cultural values as a way of promoting their mental health.

Language: en