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Relative impact of violence exposure and immigrant stressors on Latino youth psychopathology
Author(s) -
Gudiño Omar G.,
Nadeem Erum,
Kataoka Sheryl H.,
Lau Anna S.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.20435
Subject(s) - stressor , acculturation , psychopathology , psychology , immigration , enculturation , mental health , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , political science , pedagogy , law
Latino youth in a low‐income urban community are at high risk of exposure to violence. Given an accumulation of factors before, during, and after migration, immigrant youth might be at increased risk of exposure to violence and other relevant stressors (e.g., acculturation stress, language proficiency, acculturation/enculturation, and parental separations). Utilizing a short‐term longitudinal design, we assessed exposure to violence and immigrant stressors and examined their relative impact on psychopathology in a sample of 164 Latino youth. Immigrant youth reported greater exposure to immigrant stressors relative to native‐born peers, but few differences in rates of exposure to violence emerged. When considered alongside relevant immigration stressors, exposure to violence emerged as the strongest predictor of youth psychopathology. Results suggest that some types of stressors have more consistently deleterious effects on mental health and understanding resilient outcomes might entail considering the meaning attributed to stressors and the resources available to cope with stressors. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.