Effects of cultural stressors and family etiologic factors on behavioral and mental health among Mexican and other Latino/a immigrant parents in the United States

As the Latino/a population in the United States continues to grow, disparities among subgroups within this population are becoming more evident. Understanding how cultural stressors and family dynamics relate to behavioral and mental health outcomes among Latino/a immigrants offers valuable insights for addressing inequities among specific Latino/a subgroups. As a result, we conducted a moderated-mediation analysis, using a multi-group path analysis approach, to examine the extent to which cultural stressors and family etiologic factors relate to hazardous alcohol use and mental health symptoms among Mexican and other Latino/a immigrant (i.e., Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador) parents in the United States. Additionally, we explored the extent to which cultural stressors would indirectly relate to hazardous alcohol use and mental health symptoms through elevated family risk factors and compromised family functioning among both subgroups. The sample consisted of 827 Latino/a immigrant parents with children aged 8 to 16 years, including 287 (35 %) Mexican (M=38.9 years, 61 % female) and 540 (65 %) other Latino/a (M=40.8 years, 72 % female). Variables assessed in this study, and self-reported by participants, included cultural stress, family conflict, poor family management, positive attitudes toward drug use, family functioning, hazardous alcohol use, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. We conducted a series of multiple linear regressions, as well as a multigroup path analysis adjusting for covariates. Scores on all study variables (except family functioning, which evidenced the opposite pattern) were significantly greater in Mexicans than in other Latino/a individuals. We found that hazardous alcohol use was more closely related to family and cultural level predictors among Mexicans, but that links of family and cultural level predictors with mental health indicators were similar between the two subgroups. Grouping Mexicans into a homogenous ethnic group along with other Latino/a subgroups might undermine our understanding of the associations of cultural stress and family-level etiologic factors vis-à-vis the incidence and prevention of hazardous alcohol use and mental health among different subgroups of Latino/a immigrant families, especially those of Mexican origin. Our findings highlight the critical need for tailored interventions aimed at Latino/a immigrant subgroups to ensure equitable substance use and mental health outcomes in the United States.