Identifying the Meaning of Acculturative Stress in Latino Adolescent Girls

Abstract

There are significantly high depression and suicide attempt rates among Latino adolescents in Indiana. Recently, in a large Community-Based Participatory Research Study (CBPR) meant to identify predictors of depression in Latino adolescents and determine if predictors differ by gender found that Latino adolescent females are more impacted by acculturative stress as a predictor of depression than their male counterparts. Acculturative stress is the stress of navigating two cultures, one at home, one outside the home, and affects immigrants and children of immigrants. The Social, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental (SAFE) scale is the research instrument that was used to currently evaluate acculturative stress in the CBPR study. Although psychometrically sound, the scale does not provide details about the experience of acculturative stress, just the presence. As a result, it was concluded that qualitative data in the form of interviews should be gathered from Latino adolescent females in order to complement the quantitative data collected. Interviews with 10-20 Latino females ages 14-17 are being conducted to gain a better understanding of the meaning and influence of acculturative stress in the lives of Latino adolescent females. Once the Latino adolescent interviews have been collected, they will be transcribed and analyzed. Themes will be retrieved from the data and conclusions will be made. The data collected will inform the Latino adolescent camp intervention Your Life. Your Story. (YLYS). With new insight into the meaning attributed to acculturative stress in Latino adolescent females, the curriculum of the YLYS intervention will be adjusted to better serve the needs of its participants and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic to the scientific community. Mentors: Silvia M. Bigatti, Ph.D., Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, IUPUI