Predictors of Self-Esteem Among Mexican Immigrant Adolescents: An Examination of Well-Being Through a Biopsychosocial Perspective

Abstract

Relatively few studies have examined the construct of self-esteem among Mexican immigrant adolescents in the United States, and most studies have focused on the independent influence of variables as opposed to adopting an ecological perspective. The present study examined individual, familial, and societal predictors associated with the self-esteem of Mexican immigrant youth. This study also examined the moderator effects of bilingualism, family cohesion, and parent-adolescent conflict on the relationship between perceived societal discrimination and Mexican immigrant adolescents’ self-esteem. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted drawing data from Wave 2 of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS). The sample consisted of 575 Mexican immigrant adolescents. The results indicated that academic achievement, bilingualism, and family cohesion were positively associated with self-esteem, while parent-adolescent conflict and societal discrimination were negatively associated with self-esteem. Additionally, both bilingualism and parent-adolescent conflict moderated the relationship between perceived societal discrimination and self-esteem. The findings of this study suggest that in order to protect the self-esteem of Mexican immigrant adolescents, social work practitioners need to target individual, familial, and societal context factors associated with self-esteem. Specifically, family cohesion appears to be most salient to the self-esteem of Latino adolescents. Bilingualism also protects Mexican immigrant youth from the harmful effects of societal discrimination. It is also crucial to identify sources of parent-adolescent conflict among Mexican immigrant families and work to resolve them.