Abstract
Although personal identity development has been conceptualized as a source of psychological stability and protective against depressive symptoms among Hispanic immigrants, there remains ambiguity regarding the directional relationship between identity development and depression. To address this limitation, the current study sought to establish directionality between identity development and depressive symptoms. The sample consisted of 302 recent (<5 years) immigrant Hispanic adolescents (53.3% boys; Mage = 14.51 years at baseline; SD = 0.88 years) from Miami and Los Angeles who participated in a longitudinal study. The findings suggested a bidirectional relationship between identity and depressive symptoms such that identity coherence negatively predicted depressive symptoms, yet depressive symptoms also negatively predicted coherence and positively predicted subsequent identity confusion. Findings not only provide further evidence for the protective role of identity development during times of acute cultural transitions, but also emphasize the need for research to examine how depressive symptoms, and psychopathology more broadly, may interfere with establishing a sense of self.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Maria-Rosa Velazquez, Tatiana Clavijo, Mercedes Prado, Alba Alfonso, Aleyda Marcos, Daisy Ramirez, Lissette Ramirez, Perlita Carrillo, Monica Pattarroyo, Daniel Soto, Juan A. Villamar, and Karina M. Lizzi for their work in conducting assessments, building rapport, and tracking families.
Authors' Contributions
A.M., cleaned the data, conducted the data analyses and participated in manuscript preparation; J.C.R., J.F.P., M.K., M.G.B., E.I.L.B. and B.L.Z. participated in manuscript preparation; S.E.D.R. managed the data collection efforts and participated in manuscript preparation; S.J.S. and J.B.U. served as co-principal investigators, oversaw the conduct of the study, and participated in manuscript preparation; and L.B.G. served as a senior cultural advisors and participated in manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, co-funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (Grant DA026594; S.J.S., PI; J.B.U., Co-PI). Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant R25 MH067127; Torsten B. Neilands).
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The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Meca, A., Rodil, J.C., Paulson, J.F. et al. Examining the Directionality Between Identity Development and Depressive Symptoms Among Recently Immigrated Hispanic Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 48, 2114–2124 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01086-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01086-z