"I think I can solve It on my own:" Latino Adolescents' Communication About Daily Family- and School-Related Stress

Abstract

All adolescents in the United States experience stress, but Latino adolescents must contend daily with additional risks and vulnerabilities related to their ethnic identity (e.g., discrimination, family conflict derived from divergent cultural expectations, and mental health disparities). To date little research has examined the daily experiences of Latino high school students. The primary goal of this study is to investigate the associations between daily stressful events and adolescent moods among a sample of 93 Latino high school students (Mage = 16.41, SD = 1.01; 55% female; 54% 11th grade) from the Midwestern United States. Students completed 1,139 weekday diaries over a 4-week period. Multilevel models were used to analyze the relations between daily family- (n = 197) and school-related events (n = 680) and daily depressed, anxious, and positive moods. Speaking to parents or friends and students’ confidence that the stressful event would get resolved were included in the models, as was the moderating role of gender in these relations. Results revealed that Latina girls who experienced a family-related stressful event had increased same-day depressed moods. Boys and girls exhibited increases in same-day anxious moods on days in which they experienced a family-related stressful event. Speaking to parents or friends, or not speaking to anyone, about a stressful event was not associated with daily mood scores. Daily event resolvability was associated with lower same-day depressed mood scores for girls and lower same-day anxious mood scores for boys and girls. Possible culturally informed explanations for these gender differences are considered. Next steps in analyzing these data and general future directions for research are offered.