Cultural stress and critical consciousness among Latinx adolescents.

Abstract

To examine how cultural stressors (ethnic-racial discrimination, immigration-related threat, and COVID-19 stress) influence critical reflection, motivation, and action among Latinx adolescents and whether parental preparation for bias moderates these relations. One hundred thirty-five Latinx adolescents (Mage = 16, 59.3% female, 85.2% U.S.-born) completed online surveys at two time points, 6 months apart. Immigration-related threat was associated with greater Time 1 (T1) critical reflection (β = .31, p < .05) and Time 2 (T2) critical motivation (β = .24, p < .01). Preparation for bias moderated the relation between immigration-related threat and T1 critical action (β = .18, p < .01). COVID-19 stress was associated with greater T1 critical motivation (β = .24, p < .01) and T2 critical action (β = .18, p = .01). Cultural stressors may alert Latinx youth to systemic injustices in the United States, and combined with parental messages, may empower youth to address inequities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).