Neuroticism Predicts Acculturative Stress in Mexican American College Students

Neuroticism is a risk factor for mood and anxiety disorders and a strong predictor of subjective stress in non-Hispanics. This study examined neuroticism as a predictor of subjective acculturative stress in 122 Mexican American college students. Neuroticism was measured using the Revised Neuroticism Extroversion Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), and acculturative stress was measured using the Hispanic Stress Inventory (HSI). Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that overall neuroticism and the facets of depression, vulnerability, and anger and/or hostility significantly predicted acculturative stress. The association between neuroticism and greater subjective psychosocial stress can now be extended to acculturative stress for a subgroup of Mexican Americans. Findings support and extend previous work from the authors' laboratory suggesting that neuroticism modulates the relationship between exposure to culturally specific stress and risk for certain mood and anxiety disorders.