Examination of the parent-child acculturation gap and child psychopathology in a Mexican American population

Abstract

Mexican American children and adolescents represent the largest and fastest growing segments of the population and, as such, represent an important population for the examination of culture and clinical phenomena (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007b). Evidence indicates that Mexican American children and adolescents present with higher rates of psychopathology than children and adolescents from other cultures (Minsky, Vega, Miskimen, Gara, & Escobar, 2003; Varela, Vernberg, Sanchez-Sosa, Riveros, Mitchell, & Mashunkashey, 2004; & Vazsonyi & Flannery, 1997); however, the positive or negative role that cultural factors (e.g., interactions due to exposure between Western culture and Mexican American culture) play in the maintenance or alleviation of psychopathology rates has not been adequately examined due to the fact that contextual factors are routinely overlooked (Bernal & Scharron-del-Rio, 2001; Fouad & Arredondo, 2007). Using the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 2nd edition (BASC-2) and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans, 2nd edition (ARSMA-2), the current study examined the relation between maladaptive behavior and cultural status in a sample of 76 Mexican American parent-child dyads. The present study examined how identification with a cultural group impacted how parents and children reported psychological symptoms. The results indicated that differences in parent and child acculturation levels were not predictive of differences in parent and child rated child psychopathology. Implications of the findings are discussed.