Bicultural Stress and Bullying Behaviors Among Immigrant Origin Youth: The Promise of Developmental Assets

Abstract

Bicultural stress, adolescents’ appraisal of intergenerational conflict and discrimination from peers, can strain youths’ capacity for functional coping and positive adaptation. Conversely, internal assets (IAs; i.e., positive identity and social competencies) promote thriving and resilience. We assessed associations between bicultural stress and past 30-day bullying victimization and perpetration and the protective effects of IAs among Hispanic and Somali youth. Results of multilevel mixed effects models indicate that bicultural stress was associated with higher frequency of past 30-day bullying victimization (β = 2.14, SE = 0.26) and perpetration (β = .79, SE = 0.17) however, youth with high IAs had the lowest frequency of bullying behaviors even at elevated levels of bicultural stress ( p’s < .001; adjusting for family functioning, parent/caregiver reported SES, marital status, and number of children). Results underscore the promise of fostering immigrant origin youths’ positive identity and social competencies to facilitate healthy developmental and well-being over the life course.