Latino Early Adolescent Mental Health: Examining the Impact of Family Functioning, Familism, and Global Self-Worth

The current study sought to examine the impact of family functioning (i.e., balanced cohesion and balanced flexibility) and individual factors (i.e., familism and global self-worth) on the incidence of mental health problems in a sample of Latino early adolescents. Additionally, the current study examined the way in which individual factors mediated the effects of family functioning on mental health problems in Latino youth. Eighty Latino parent-adolescent dyads participated in the current study, including 66 mothers and 14 fathers, as well as 42 female early adolescents and 38 male early adolescents. Parents and youth completed questionnaires assessing the incidence of mental health problems in youth, and adolescents completed additional questionnaires assessing acculturation, family functioning, familism, and global self-worth. Results indicated that adolescent acculturation was not significantly related to mental health outcomes in youth. However, adolescents' reports of increased family functioning predicted decreased externalizing problems in youth, as well as increased levels of familism and global self-worth in youth. Increased levels of familism predicted decreased externalizing problems in youth, and increased levels of global self-worth predicted decreased internalizing and externalizing problems in youth. Mediation results indicated that individual factors mediated the effects of family functioning on externalizing problems in youth. These results highlight the associations between family functioning, familism, global self-worth and the incidence of mental health problems and provide valuable information on the way in which individual variables mediate the effects of family functioning on mental health problems in Latino early adolescents. El estudio actual examinó el impacto del funcionamiento familiar (es decir, la cohesión balanceada y la flexibilidad balanceada) y los factores individuales (es decir, familismo y la autoestima global) en la incidencia de los problemas de la salud mental en una muestra de los adolescentes jóvenes Latinos. Adicionalmente, el estudio actual examinó la manera en que los factores individuales mediaron los efectos del funcionamiento familiar en los problemas de la salud mental en los adolescentes jóvenes Latinos. Ochenta díadas Latinas de padres y adolescentes jóvenes participaron en el estudio actual. Los participantes incluyeron 66 madres y 14 padres, en adición a 42 niñas adolescentes jóvenes y 38 niños adolesce