Study Status
Ongoing
Project Team
Alignment with Crown Institute Vision
This study contributes to well‑being and equity by identifying protective factors that reduce the mental health impact of acculturative stress among Latinx adults—stress that directly affects family functioning, parenting, and educational engagement across generations. By examining mindfulness and social support as modifiable targets, the project aims to inform culturally responsive approaches that support caregivers, strengthen family systems, and create strengths‑based, equity‑focused mental health strategies that promote flourishing within historically underrepresented and underserved communities.
Background & Context
Acculturation is the process of adapting to a new cultural context following immigration, and it represents a uniquely vulnerable period for many Latinx individuals. Acculturation often involves cumulative stressors such as traumatic migration experiences, language barriers, financial strain, pressure to assimilate, family separation, and discrimination The psychological impact of these experiences, known as acculturative stress, is one of the most consistent predictors of declining physical and mental health among Latinx populations. Acculturative stress is associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, substance use, poorer health behaviors, and suicidal ideation with negative health effects often worsening over time and persisting across generations Despite these known risks, Latinx individuals continue to face barriers to culturally responsive care and remain underrepresented in mental health research.
Dispositional mindfulness, a tendency toward nonjudgmental, present‑moment awareness has been linked to lower stress and better mental health. Preliminary evidence suggests mindfulness may buffer stress and depression among Latinx immigrants, yet this population remains underrepresented in mindfulness research. Alongside mindfulness, social support—the most consistent protective factor against acculturative stress may play a critical role. Examining these factors together offers new insight into how individual and interpersonal resources can promote psychological well‑being during acculturation.
Primary Aims
The LWBS has two primary aims:
1. To investigate the association between acculturative stress and psychological distress.
2. To examine the potential moderating role of dispositional mindfulness and social support on this association.
Research Methods
This study uses a cross-sectional survey design. Participants will be asked to complete a one-time online survey assessing psychological well-being, dispositional mindfulness, acculturative stress, social support, and demographic information.
Key Findings & Publications / Presentations
Contact to Learn More
References
Bekteshi, V., & Kang, S.-W. (2020). Contextualizing acculturative stress among Latino immigrants in the United States: A systematic review. Ethnicity & Health, 25(6), 897–914. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2018.1469733
Berry, J. W. (2003). Conceptual approaches to acculturation. Acculturation: Advances in Theory, Measurement, and Applied Research, 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/10472-004
Bishop, S., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N., Carmody, J., Segal, Z., Abbey, S., Specca, M., Vetling, D., & Devins, G. (n.d.). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230–241. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077
Carlson, L. E., & Brown, K. (2005). Validation of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale in a cancer population. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 58(1), 29–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2004.04.366
Cervantes, R., Fisher, D., Amado, P., & Napper, L. (2016). The Hispanic Stress Inventory Version 2: Improving the assessment of acculturation stress. Psychological Assessment, 28(5), 509–522. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000200
Cervantes, R.C., Padilla, A.M., Salgado de Synder, N. (1991). The Hispanic Stress Inventory: A culturally relevant approach to psychological assessment. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 3(3), 438-447.
Cho, Y., Frisbie, P., & Rogers, R. (2004). Nativity, Duration of Residence, and the Health of Hispanic Adults in the United States. International Migration Review, 38(1), 184–211. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2004.tb00193.x
Ciesla, J., Reilly, L., Dickson, K., Emanuel, A., & Updegraff, J. (2012). Dispositional mindfulness moderates the effects of stress among adolescents: Rumination as a mediator. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 41(6), 760–770. https://doi.org/doi:%252010.1080/15374416.2012.698724.
Garland, E., Gaylord, S., & Park, J. (2009). The Role of Mindfulness in Positive Reappraisal. EXPLORE, 5(1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2008.10.001
Gonzalez-Guarda, R., Stafford, A., & Conklin, J. (2020). A Systematic Review of Physical Health Consequences and Acculturation Stress Among Latinx Individuals in the United States. Biological Research For Nursing, 23(3), 362–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/1099800420968889
Guarnaccia, P., Martinez, I., & Acosta, H. (2005). Chapter 2. Mental Health in the Hispanic Immigrant Community. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Services, 3(1–2), 21–46. https://doi.org/10.1300/J191v03n01_02
Johnson, S., Cano, M., De La Rosa, M., Rojas, P., Romano, E., & Sanchez, M. (2023). Perceived Stress and Depressive Symptoms Among Recent Latino/a Immigrants: The Moderating Effects of Emotion Regulation and Dispositional Mindfulness. Johns Hopkins University Press, 34(3), 884–909.
Lara, M., Gamboa, C., Kharamanian, M., Morales, L., & Bautista, D. (2005). Acculturation and Latino health in the United States: A review of the literature and its sociopolitical context. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 367–397. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144615
Nagy, G., Cuervo, C., Ramos Rodriguez, E., Vilardaga, J., Zeruba, N., West, J., Falick, M., & Parra, D. (2022). Building a More Diverse and Inclusive Science: Mindfulness-Based Approaches for Latinx Individuals. Mindfulness, 13(4), 942–954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01846-2
National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2023). Latino mental health. NAMI. https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/Latino-Mental-Health10.1111/imre.12050.
Perreira, K. M., & Ornelas, I. (2013). Painful Passages: Traumatic Experiences and Post-Traumatic Stress among Immigrant Latino Adolescents and their Primary Caregivers. The International migration review, 47(4),
Tang, Y.-Y., & Tang, R. (2020). Chapter 2—Personality and meditation. The Neuroscience of Meditation, 15–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818266-6.00003-4