Familism Congruency and Mental Health Outcomes within Hispanic/Latinx Youth and their Parents in the ABCD

Introduction: Hispanic/Latinx youth make up 26% of US youth population and are at an increased risk for psychological distress and poor mental health outcomes (Census, 2020; Kann et al., 2016). Foreign nativity is found to be protective against psychological distress and mental health disorders, particularly substance use, while 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants have worse mental health outcomes than those who are foreign-born (Gonzales et al., 2012; Lommel & Chen, 2016). Yet, nativity has yielded inconsistent findings and is argued to be dependent on the age of arrival (Alegría et al., 2007). While nativity cannot be changed, understanding its implications is important. Familism, however, can be leveraged as a cultural value associated with better mental health outcomes (e.g., fewer internalizing symptoms and deviant behaviors; Piña-Watson et al., 2019; Germán et al., 2009). Familism emphasizes commitment to family and warm, close, and supportive relationships (Sabogal et al., 1987). However, misalignment of cultural values between youth and parents often causes stress and conflict, leading to more negative moods (Cervantes et al., 2016). In this study, we aim to 1) determine differences in mental health outcomes behaviors between US-Born and foreign-born Hispanic/Latinx youth, 2) determine differences in familism congruency between parent-youth dyads of US-Born and foreign-born Hispanic/Latinx youth, 3) determine the influence of youth familism on Hispanic/Latinx youth mental health outcomes, and 4) determine the impact of familism congruency on Hispanic/Latinx youth mental health outcomes. Methods: The sample consisted of 1,956 Hispanic/Latinx identifying participants aged 10-13 years, recruited across 22 United States (US) sites from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study℠. Using parent-report Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and youth-report Brief Problem Monitor, we assess internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Familism is measured through the Mexican American Cultural Values Scale and congruency scores are calculated as the absolute difference between youth and parent. Analysis consisted of mixed-effect linear regression models to address our aims. Discussion: This study replicates existing literature that highlights the cultural value of familism is important for the youth and should be leveraged. However, context matters. Increasing youth’s value in familial support, respect, and obligation to the family without an emphasis on household values can have the opposite effect and lead to worse outcomes, especially in Hispanic/Latinx female youth. These results show that it may be even more important for Hispanic/Latinx youth mental health outcomes for the parents to value familism, regardless of the youth’s individual value in familism.