Immigrant Adolescents Research Articles

Cascades linking school achievement and engagement to the acculturation of immigrant-origin youth

ABSTRACT Low academic achievement has been shown to lead to higher disengagement from school, the main acculturative arena for immigrant-origin youth. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that their disengagement from school will lead over time to lower involvement with the national culture and higher involvement with the ethnic culture. To test this hypothesis, we examined developmental cascades linking academic achievement to school engagement and spreading to national and ethnic acculturation, in a three-wave longitudinal study of immigrant adolescents in Greece. Cross-lagged analyses revealed that lower academic achievement cascaded over time to decreases in school engagement, which in turn cascaded to decreases in national, and increases in ethnic, involvement. School engagement fully longitudinally mediated the effects of academic achievement on both national and ethnic involvement. All cross-lagged effects in the reverse direction were non-significant. The results highlight the importance of schools in immigrant-origin youth’s involvement with the national culture.

Assessing Quality of Life in First- and Second-Generation Immigrant Children and Adolescents; Highlights from the DIATROFI Food Aid and Healthy Nutrition Promotion Program.

To compare first- and second-immigrant pediatric populations with a non-immigrant pediatric population in terms of quality-of-life metrics, a cross-sectional analysis using data from the DIATROFI Program was implemented. In total, n = 2277 students (mean age: 9(4) years) from public schools in Greece participating in the 2020-2021 school year were analyzed. The students' immigration status (first-generation/second-generation) was defined as per the standard definition. The students' health related-quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed using a parental-perceived quality of life questionnaire. The sample included 4.8% first-generation and 21.2% second-generation immigrant students. Compared with non-immigrants, the first-generation immigrant students were more likely to have poor HRQoL (odds ratio (OR) = 2.82; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 11.75, 4.53), physical (OR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.18, 3.10), social (OR = 1.94; 95%CI = 1.16, 3.22) and school function (OR = 2.52; 95%CI = 1.54, 4.13). Similar results were observed for second-generation immigrant students regarding HRQoL (OR = 1.68; 95%CI = 1.28, 2.21), physical (OR = 1.60; 95%CI = 1.23, 2.10) and school function (OR = 2.09; 95%CI = 1.58, 2.77). Children with one parent having a country of origin different that the country of residence had elevated odds of having poor emotional health (OR = 1.19; 95%CI = 0.87, 1.64). The family's affluency level was interrelated with the connection of poor HRQoL and immigration status. The immigrant students have a poorer quality of life depending on their immigration generation and irrespective of their socioeconomic background.

Access and Use of Preventive Health Care by Adolescents in Immigrant Families: An Integrative Review

More than 25% of American adolescents live in immigrant families. This cohort of adolescents is a minority group with amplified health challenges. The purpose of this study was to provide an integrative review of quantitative research on the access and use of primary and preventive health care by adolescents in immigrant families. Searches yielded 460 reports, 54 of them satisfied criteria for full-text review, and four publications met inclusion criteria. Research, albeit very limited, revealed that adolescents in immigrant families have poor access to and use of preventive health care. Lack of primary health care may prevent identification of health risks in immigrant adolescents and lead them to perceive that preventive health care is unnecessary. Researchers are challenged to develop and test health promotion interventions tailored for these adolescents. Study recruitment outside of high schools, the typical setting, is critical to advance knowledge and improve access for this vulnerable population.

Digital Ethnic Enclaves: Mate Preferences and Platform Choices Among Chinese Immigrant Online Daters in Vancouver

In light of the growing racialized immigrant population in Canada and advances in dating technologies, this study examines Chinese immigrants' partner preferences and mate selection processes through the lens of online dating. We draw on in-depth interviews with 31 Chinese immigrants who have used online dating services in Metro Vancouver to search for different-sex partners. Chinese immigrant online daters show strong preferences for dating Chinese. They emphasize permanent residency status and similarity in age at arrival when evaluating potential partners. Given their preferences, Chinese immigrants strategically choose the dating platforms they primarily use. Men exhibit higher selectivity in their preferences and choices of platforms. Notably, platforms catering to Chinese users create "digital ethnic enclaves" where Chinese immigrant daters congregate. The findings illuminate the intersection of race, gender, immigrant status, and age at arrival in shaping divergent experiences of mate selection and immigrant assimilation in the digital era.

Exploring the tactical mobilities and everyday activity of immigrant adolescents in a Canadian suburban city

ABSTRACT The concentration of immigrants in suburban neighborhoods and cities should motivate research into the mobility experiences of racialized and immigrant youth in the suburbs. While intentionally turning our attention to racialized suburban adolescents, we might also look to consider how activities and travel are embodied, reproduced, and embedded with the environment, the social, and the material. Drawing from an ethnographic study about non-school activities and travel of adolescents ages 13–19 years in the suburban city of Mississauga, Canada, we highlight mobility experiences that are mediated by socio-material structures and embedded within micro and macro power relations. Attention is given to visible and invisible negotiation tactics employed by participants to navigate and access and/or exit four types of data-emergent childhood places: physical, mobile, digital, and representational. Participants indicated awareness of systemic surveillance and a parental preference to construct and preserve the innocent child. In response, participants strategically employ mundane daily practices, technologies, and peer-networks to access, widen and obscure the social, spatial (virtually and otherwise) and temporal scope of everyday life.

Changes in Smoking Prevalence from Adolescence to Adulthood among Asian Americans: Evidence of Selective Acculturation across Gender

It is well established that immigrant adolescents have lower smoking rates than their native-born counterparts. Although smoking rates among immigrants have been theorized to increase with U.S. acculturation, this hypothesis has seldom been tested using longitudinal data spanning multiple developmental stages. The authors address this limitation using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to model age-based smoking trajectories by gender and nativity status among Asian Americans (ages 10–33 years), adjusting for a range of control covariates. Trajectory analyses indicate that the gap between immigrants and natives generally increases as individuals age, but this process varies by gender, with immigrant women exhibiting a significantly less steep smoking growth trajectory ( b = −.011, p < .001) compared with native-born men (and all other nativity-gender combinations), whereas immigrant men show no significant smoking trajectory slope difference compared with native men. In summary, results suggest a gendered acculturation process for smoking behavior among Asian Americans.

Supplemental Material for Trajectories of Depression for Latino Immigrant Adolescents: The Influence of Individual, Family, and Sociocultural Factors

Supplemental Material for Trajectories of Depression for Latino Immigrant Adolescents: The Influence of Individual, Family, and Sociocultural Factors

An Integrated Model for Working with At-Risk Youth—An Emphasis on Girls from Ethiopia

Immigration is a complicated and lengthy transition, and the integration process in the destination country encompasses changes at the individual, community, and societal levels. Immigration signifies a shift in geographic location and an intercultural transition that comprises significant transformations and upheavals in diverse life areas. A combination of the immigration and adolescence crises forms the basis for mental stress and relegation to the fringes of society. Namely, the fusion between physical, social, and cultural changes surrounding the migration process and the distinct signs of puberty make immigrant adolescents a viable population at risk. The number of at-risk youth of Ethiopian origin is substantial concerning the percentage of the Ethiopian community in Israel. Immigration and the challenges of integration affect their assimilation into society and force them to deal with various difficulties in addition to the changes of puberty. The study emphasizes that, unlike otherpopulations, boys and particularly girls of Ethiopian descent lack diverse integration models. Hence, they tend to feel alienation, deprivation, detachment, discrimination, and racism. Therefore, the paper’s purpose is to outline possible ways of dealing with the feeling of alienation and lack of trust in the system. The distress of girls of Ethiopian descent created panic and led to the establishment of a defined intervention plan. The study describes the program’s goals and its various aspects. It focuses on the intervention model, its characteristics, the intervention process, and its implementation. Moreover, it provides tools to effectively deal with the problems of integration and the difficulties of adolescence.

Trajectories of depression for Latino immigrant adolescents: The influence of individual, family, and sociocultural factors.

Latino immigrant adolescents represent a high-risk group for developing depression. Such risk for depression becomes more salient in emerging destination contexts (e.g., Oregon) where immigrant youth face considerably more stressors compared to traditional contexts (e.g., Texas, New York, and California). However, no study to date has considered how depression unfolds over time among Latino immigrant youth in emerging contexts. Using data from a three-wave prospective longitudinal design across 3 years, we employed latent growth curve (LGC) modeling to assess depression trajectories among 217 Latino immigrant families in the emerging context of western Oregon. Moreover, we assessed the influence of salient predictors on these trajectories across individual (gender and time in U.S. residency), family (family cultural stress, effective parenting practices, parent depression), and sociocultural (ethnic discrimination) levels. Results from LGC revealed that youth, on average, followed a decreasing trajectory of depression. Furthermore, identifying as female and higher levels of parent depression significantly predicted higher baseline levels of youth depression. No significant predictors emerged for the slope. However, follow-up analyses from multiple-group LGCs found that, whereas males were stable in their trajectories, females exhibited significantly more variability in their initial levels of depression and slopes over time. Moreover, when considered separately, predictors were significant only for females such that parent depression predicted higher baseline depression scores, and family cultural stress predicted a more slowly decreasing slope. Results suggest that Latina immigrant females are more variable in their depression patterns than males and may be more sensitive to family-related stressors that contribute to depression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A cultura no crescimento e vivência psicopatológica do adolescente imigrante

Introduction: In 1976, Erikson characterized adolescence as a special phase of development marked by the construction of identity, where a containing and understanding family environment is crucial, as well as the socio-cultural context, so immigration can act as a destabilizer. Through a case report, it is intended to address the role of culture in the development of emotional, behavioural and identity problems in immigrant adolescents, and also reflect on its impact on the therapeutic alliance and the need for an intercultural approach in the care of this population. Case Presentation: 16-year-old black skin Angolan teenager, who immigrated to Portugal at the age of 11, being displaced from her extended family. At the age of 14, she began to present self-injurious behaviours and developed depressive symptoms, having been referred to a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric consultation after voluntary drug intake when she was 16 years old. Throughout the observations, the intercultural conflict, the feeling of not belonging and incomprehension were noticeable. In one of the consultations, in the presence of an African doctor, she presented a relaxed attitude, spontaneously addressed sociocultural aspects that she believes are at the genesis of the current symptoms. Conclusion: Intrapersonal, interpersonal and cultural factors influence the identity construction process, and conflicts in these dimensions can lead to behavioural and emotional problems. Given that the therapeutic alliance is important for the treatment, investing in intercultural training of mental health professionals can be beneficial to address immigrants’ mental health problems.

1403. Facilitators and barriers to latent tuberculosis infection diagnosis and care in Massachusetts: a convergent mixed methods study of clinicians

Abstract Background Understanding barriers and facilitators to latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) diagnosis and care is needed to successfully treat children/adolescents with LTBI in the US. We explored physicians’ perspectives on pediatric LTBI diagnosis and care, and strategies to improve care. Methods We conducted a convergent mixed methods study with physicians in Massachusetts. Participants were purposefully sampled from primary care clinics (n=10), clinics seeing immunocompromised patients (n=2), and TB clinics (n=2). Physicians participated in individual qualitative semi-structured interviews exploring experience and comfort with LTBI care, and perceived barriers and facilitators to care. We used applied thematic analysis to analyze transcripts. Participants completed surveys to assess comfort with LTBI care and volume of LTBI patients in their care. Results Of the 25 physicians invited, 14 participated. Most participants reported “medium” or “high” comfort with current LTBI guidelines; volume of LTBI care varied by physician type (Table 1). Analysis revealed perceived barriers (Figure 1) at four steps of care: 1) identification of risk and testing for LTBI (e.g., family/patient risk perception, physician knowledge gaps), 2) completion of referral after a positive test (e.g., communication barriers), 3) treatment acceptance and initiation (e.g., lack of social support), and 4) treatment adherence and completion (e.g., adolescents’ emerging autonomy). Facilitators such as protocolized screening, counseling strategies, free medication, and telehealth (Figure 2) overcame some barriers. Important emergent themes included: 1) COVID-19 has induced rapid positive and negative changes in LTBI care in primary care clinics; 2) immigrant adolescents are uniquely at risk for disengagement due to lack of social support; and 3) physicians and clinics are ill-equipped to provide TB care for patients’ close contacts, despite knowledge of need for care. Table 1.Volume of patients by clinician type (N=13 respondents)Figure 1.Barriers to LTBI diagnosis and care.Figure 2.Facilitators of LTBI care. Conclusion Lack of perceived risk, family and clinic resource constraints, and accessibility challenges hindered LTBI care; protocolized screening, telehealth, and free medications were among the facilitators that overcame some but not all barriers. These results will inform improvement of LTBI care within and between clinics. Disclosures Jessica Haberer, MD, MS, Merck: Advisor/Consultant|Natera: Stocks/Bonds.

Perceptions from Newcomer Multilingual Adolescents: Predictors and Experiences of Sense of Belonging in High School.

Recently arriving to US schools, 405 immigrant adolescents in a large, urban high school shared backgrounds and perspectives on what variables and sociocultural factors contributed to their sense of belonging in their new school. This study occurred in 2019-2020 and examined belonging during a xenophobic socio-political climate. This study examines what predictors and experiences, if any, contributed to belonging for a large population of multilingual, newcomer youth. This research extends the body of literature to include a large, linguistically and culturally diverse, adolescent newcomer population to test hypotheses that gender, GPA, grade level, employment status, relationships, and family factors impact belonging. In this descriptive, single-site case study of newcomers enrolled in an International Academy (IA), semi-structured online interviews (N = 14) and a survey (N = 391) were utilized. Anchored with Goodenow's belonging definition and scale, quantitative data analysis included regression analysis to reveal three demographic belonging predictors. Qualitative data analysis leveraged emergent coding of newcomer comments to surface five belonging contributing factors. Results indicated that females had higher sense of belonging scores, while students of smaller language groups and students paying rent had statistically significantly lower scores. Additionally, five sociocultural school factors emerged that contributed to belonging: support networks, language, participation opportunities, safety, and recognition. Conclusions resulted for improving secondary school structures, practices, and climate to cultivate belonging for newcomers. Directly from students, this study presents educators with opportunities to ensure newcomers feel included, accepted, and valued through peer support networks, post-secondary preparation, and linguistic, emotional, and physical safety.

School adaptation and adolescent immigrant mental health: Mediation of positive academic emotions and conduct problems.

Immigrant adolescents must adapt their physical and mental attitudes to attain healthy development due to dramatic changes in their living and learning environments after relocation. From the perspective of positive psychology, this study explored the specific influence of school adaptation on mental health among immigrant adolescents, mainly focusing on the mediating effects of positive academic emotions and conduct problems. We selected primary and secondary school students from five relocated resettlement schools in Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, which has the largest population of relocated people in Guizhou Province, China. Using cluster sampling, 550 relocated students in Grades 5-12 from the five schools were recruited to complete a battery of questionnaires, including the Immigrant Adolescents' School Adaptation Scale, the General Health Scale, and the Positive Academic Emotions Questionnaire, and the Adolescents' Behavioral Tendency Questionnaire. In addition, this study used the bias-corrected bootstrap method to explore the chain-mediating effect of positive academic emotions and conduct problems between school adaptation and mental health. The results showed that immigrant adolescents had significant gender differences only in conduct problems. However, significant learning stage differences existed in school adaptation, mental health, positive academic emotions, and conduct problems. School adaptation, positive academic emotions, and mental health were significantly positively correlated. In contrast, conduct problems were significantly negatively correlated with mental health. School adaptation influenced mental health through the mediation effects of positive academic emotions and conduct problems. These effects contained three paths: the separate mediation effects of positive academic emotions and conduct problems and the chain mediation effect of positive academic emotions and conduct problems.

Teaching DBT Skills to DACA Recipients and their Families: Findings from an ECHO Program.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) offers temporary administrative relief from deportation for undocumented immigrant adolescents and young adults who were brought as children to the United States. Accordingly, DACA has contributed to creating a different landscape of opportunities for this group. However, DACA has been and continues to be highly contested in the national political climate. Threats to DACA give rise to considerable anxiety, fear, and distress among its recipients, who face significant barriers to accessing mental health care services. Thus, a group of psychologists partnered with a leading immigrant rights advocacy organization and formed a reciprocal collaboration to understand and meet the mental health needs of undocumented communities. A major focus of the collaboration is to foster learning and support members of the immigrant community in contributing to their own well-being. The collaborative developed and delivered a stand-alone web-based mental health education session to DACA recipients and their families and practitioners serving this population. The session presented the use of dialectical behavioral therapy skills, three emotion regulation and four distress tolerance skills, as a strength-based approach to managing painful emotions and distress. Session content was adapted to include culturally informed examples for each skill. Quantitative and qualitative findings show that those who participated in the web-based program benefited from the education received. Findings also underscored participants' need for learning culturally sensitive coping strategies for managing stress. We provide recommendations on the delivery of culturally congruent healing interventions for immigrants with a focus on enhancing access among immigrant communities.

Striving Towards Authenticity in the Self Through Dress and Appearance: Stories of Latina Adolescent Immigrants

We sought to explore how Latina adolescent immigrants experience immigration across adolescence as they seek to know and express their authentic selves through dress and appearance. Our work was informed by theories of acculturation, identity, and authenticity. Participants included 12 immigrant women who identified as Latina and who immigrated before age 16. Open-ended interviews focused on participants’ memories of their immigration experiences during adolescence. Data were analyzed using constant comparison processes. Findings revealed that, for participants, the typical challenges of adolescence were complicated by immigration that included constructing an authentic identity at the intersection of two cultures. Immigration produced a disjointed dance towards authenticity with many uneven steps, sharp turns, and the occasional reversal. Dress was a key means for the expression of the authentic self; a self that communicated to the culture of settlement who they were and how their culture of origin was part of their authentic self.

Development and psychometric properties of the ACE-I: Measuring adverse childhood experiences among Latino immigrant youth.

Despite the well-established relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and health and well-being across the life course, there is a limited understanding of ACEs among diverse populations. The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure, the ACE-I, which consists of adversities that may be more relevant among immigrant populations, and to compare these rates to those of traditionally studied ACEs. Data for this study comes from a community sample of 338 Latino immigrant adolescents who completed an 11-item measure of traditional ACEs and a novel 13-item measure of immigrant-specific ACEs (ACE-I) as part of the intake process for a positive youth development program. While the scores of the two ACEs measure were correlated (r = .16), immigrant youth, on average, reported more adversities on the ACE-I measure than the traditional ACEs measure (3.6 vs. 1.6). Overall, individual ACE-I items were more likely to be endorsed than traditional ACE items. Fit indexes from a confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the ACE-I hypothesized three-factor structure (experiences of violence/unrest in one's home country, danger encountered on the migration journey, and instability of life as an immigrant) represents a satisfactory solution. These findings suggest that there are essential early adverse experiences for immigrants that have not previously been considered in ACEs research. Broadening our conceptualization and measurement of ACEs among immigrant populations could provide valuable insight into social determinants of health and avenues for intervention for immigrant youth and families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Development of an adolescent advisory group to inform sexual and reproductive health research for first- and second-generation immigrant adolescents in Canada: A community-based participatory action research study.

Despite the growing evidence supporting the benefit of engaging adolescents in research, the active engagement of immigrant adolescents in research is limited. Further, when exploring the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of immigrant adolescents, utilization of adolescent advisory groups is finite. This study aimed to train and evaluate engagement of an adolescent advisory group (AAG) to inform SRH needs of immigrant adolescents in Canada. Using purposive sampling, 13 AAG members were recruited into this study. Members were trained in content related to SRH needs of adolescents and various research methodologies such as conducting a scoping review and qualitative interviews with adolescent participants. After 10 months of member engagement, their experiences were evaluated to identify areas of success and areas for improvement. These data were collected using the Public and Patient Engagement Evaluation Tool, which consisted of a Likert survey and open-ended questions, and analyzed in accordance to the Patient Engagement in Research (PEIR) framework. Ten members completed the evaluation survey. Likert survey responses were primarily positive. Majority of members showed positive demonstrations regarding various components of the PEIR framework, including contributions, support, research environment, and feeling valued. Findings illustrated that immigrant AAGs are constructive to informing SRH research. Not only can research teams benefit, but members are also empowered. This study provided the foundation for future immigrant adolescent engagement in research and knowledge translation, and effective means of evaluating engagement by utilizing the PEIR framework.

Dimensions of Belonging and “Othering” in Middle School: Voices of Immigrant and Island-Born Puerto Rican Adolescents

Sense of school belonging has been shown to contribute to a range of academic and psychosocial outcomes, especially among adolescents, and may have particular salience for immigrant students of color, due to their ethnic-racial positionality and frequent marginalization in school. In this study, we examined the ways that immigrant and island-born Puerto Rican students (mean age = 13) with varying years of living in the mainland U.S. felt a sense of belonging in middle school, as well as the factors that undermined this. Based on individual, semi-structured interviews, our qualitative analyses revealed that being seen as competent, contributing members of the school community, as well as positive peer relations, facilitated sense of belonging. Perceptions of equality, where “every person matters equally,” also felt inclusive to students. However, lack of English language fluency as a source of bullying, ethnic-racial stereotypes, and perceived racialized treatment from both teachers and peers were powerful sources of “othering” for students, detracting from their feelings of acceptance. We discuss several key areas in which teachers and school counselors can engage in the practice of sensitive care for immigrant students as they seek to find their place in school, based on our findings.

Correlates of Alcohol Use Likelihood for Latino Immigrant Youth in an Emerging Context.

Using a three-wave prospective longitudinal design spanning 3 years, we assessed alcohol use likelihood trajectories and their correlates among a community sample of Latino immigrant adolescents in the emerging immigrant context of Western Oregon. Results from growth mixture modeling revealed two distinct classes: lower risk youth who reported little likelihood of alcohol use but whose trajectory was increasing, and higher risk youth who reported higher likelihood of alcohol use and whose trajectory was stable. We found significant differences between the two classes such that lower risk youth reported greater levels of Latino cultural orientation and parental monitoring, whereas higher risk youth reported greater levels of family cultural stress and delinquency. Results are discussed in terms of prior research and theory.

Music in the Lives of Immigrant Children: A Review of Literature

As a growing number of immigrant children enter formal music education, research is crucial to understand their experiences and to promote culturally relevant and socially just music education pedagogies. Whereas, researchers have traditionally focused on immigrant adolescents and music, I chose to synthesize studies on musical childhood in immigration contexts. In addition, this review draws on the acculturation literature to interpret music research findings. Researchers have documented meanings and forms of immigrant children’s musical engagement in formal and informal learning contexts. Research findings have indicated that immigrant children mix different musical traditions while using music to navigate their bicultural identities. Several studies have also addressed the perspectives of immigrant parents and the challenges of music teachers in diverse classrooms. Although this body of literature has provided descriptive accounts of musical childhood in immigration contexts, studies have offered valuable suggestions for more effective musical activities in multicultural learning environments.