8.3 Gestores
8.3.2 Instrumentos diseñados para la evaluación
The purpose of the study was to examine whether perceived parental psychological control and generation status were related to Latina/o adolescents’ depressive symptoms, and also whether self-esteem was a possible mediator of this relationship. The results of the correlations and the path analyses indicated that self- esteem was a significant predictor of Latino and Latina depressive symptoms. The study also showed that perceived maternal and paternal psychological control was related to depressive symptoms and to Latino and Latina adolescents’ self-esteem. Next, self- esteem did not completely mediate the relationship between parental psychological control and depressive symptoms. And finally, generation status was not significantly correlated to Latino adolescents’ depressive symptoms or self-esteem.
Discussion the Findings
As hypothesized, the results indicated that self-esteem for Latino boys and girls were significantly and negatively related to depression. These findings are consistent with numerous other studies with Latinos (e.g., Behnke et al., 2010) and non Latinos (e.g., Orth & Robins, 2008) that found that when individuals have low self-esteem, they experience more depression. As mentioned in the review of literature, three theoretical frameworks – negative cognitive triad (Beck, 1974), learned helplessness theory
(Abramson et al., 1989), and the vulnerability model (Orth & Robins, 2013) – explain the link between self-esteem and depression. Each theory suggests that when individuals have negative thoughts about themselves, have feelings of inadequacy and helplessness, or perceive more rejection and social isolation, they become more vulnerable to
depression.
As hypothesized, the present study found that maternal and paternal psychological control were both negatively related to Latino adolescents’ self-esteem in the correlations and the path analyses. These findings are consistent with results from previous studies with Latino (e.g., Ruiz et al., 2002; Bush et al., 2004) and non Latino samples (e.g., Barber & Harmon, 2002), as well as with Cooley’s (1902) “looking glass self” construct. When a parent in a Latino family engages in psychologically controlling behaviors (e.g., giving the cold shoulder, not looking at their child, shaming the child) to gain
compliance, the parent is reflecting negative images to the child. The child internalizes these negative views, resulting in lower self-esteem.
The current study also found that maternal and paternal psychological control behaviors were directly related to Latina/o adolescents’ depressive symptoms and indirectly related depressive symptoms through self-esteem. Thus, self-esteem only partially mediated the relationship between parental psychological control and
depression. This suggests the harmful effects of psychological control in Latino families go beyond just negatively impacting self-esteem. Psychological control can undermine an adolescent’s feelings of autonomy (by constraining their behaviors and locus of control) and can elicit negative emotions (e.g., sadness, rejection, not loved) all of which can contribute to a person’s depressive symptoms.
Although some researchers have suggested that first generation youth might experience lower self-esteem and higher depression due to stressors associated with acculturation, in the current study, generation status was not correlated with self-esteem or depressive symptoms. It is possible that immigrating to an area with a larger Latino
population and/or a high percentage of Latino immigrants, might minimize to an extent their degree of acculturative stress. Regardless, studies with immigrant populations should continue to examine generation status as a possible contributor to self-worth and mental health.
Limitations and Research Implications
This thesis will add to the understanding of the effects of parental psychological control and generation status on Latina/o adolescents’ self-esteem and depression.
However, certain limitations should be addressed in future research. The first limitation is that the analyses looked at separate models for reports about mothers and reports about fathers. However, mothers and fathers do not interact with their offspring in a vacuum; meaning that reports about mothers and fathers may be interrelated. Thus, it might be useful to also examine perceived maternal and paternal behaviors in the same model instead of separate models (see Barber et al., 2005 for a discussion).
Another limitation was that the data for the study were collected through a self- report survey completed by the adolescents about their parents’ behaviors. For future studies, the parents could also complete a self-report survey on their parenting behaviors as well as on their children’s self-esteem and depressive symptoms. These multiple perspectives might provide insightful information.
The present study has a diverse sample of Latino adolescent boys and girls. However, within the Latino community there exist different cultures (e.g., Aztec, Mayan) from different geographical areas (e.g., Central America, Mexico). Even youth who share a common cultural origin (e.g., Mexican), but come from a different geographical region within the same country (e.g., Yucatan, Juarez, Chihuahua) might show distinct
differences that can certainly influence parents and the way they raise their children. Thus, examining intragroup differences is recommended in future studies.
Although this study collected a large sample, all the participants came from just one high school in Los Angeles, thus limiting the generalizability of the results to regions outside Southern California. For future studies, researchers should obtain a larger and more diverse sample from various high schools and geographic areas. It is also
recommended that better indicators of acculturation, beyond generational status, should be used in future studies, such as a Latino acculturation scale. If data were collected in different types of neighborhoods (e.g., higher or lower percentage of Latinos), it is possible that acculturation and neighborhood could interact in relation to parenting, self- esteem, and depression.
Another limitation was that individual reports were used to measure the independent and the dependent variables in the study, which could result in shared method variance. The shared method variance can increase the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables of a study. For future studies, researchers should avoid just using individual reports to measure the independent and the dependent
variables of a study. For example, clinical interviews could be used to assess levels of depressive symptoms. In addition, significant others like parents or siblings could provide assessments of the adolescents’ self-esteem and/or depressive symptoms.
It should also be noted that the present results were correlational and do not infer causation. In addition, this study was a cross-sectional design; therefore the survey only measured how participants felt at one specific point in time. For example, it was
were congruent with our initial hypothesis, it is also possible that adolescents who are more depressed may develop lower self-esteem (Plunkett, Henry, et al., 2007). Orth and Robins (2008) specifically tested this hypothesis using longitudinal data and found that self-esteem predicted depression, but not vice versa. Also, Orth et al, (2013) examined numerous longitudinal studies and reached the same conclusions.
Next, this study used a global measure of self-esteem, specifically the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1979). However, recent studies have suggested that this scale is comprised of two factors (i.e., positive esteem, self-deprecation), and that psychological control is a stronger predicator of self-deprecation than positive esteem in Latino samples (Supple & Plunkett, 2011). Thus, future studies may want to assess whether the
mediation found in this study with global self-esteem is stronger or weaker depending on which facet of self-esteem that is used (e.g., positive esteem, self-deprecation).
Implications
Based on the findings of this study (and related literature), various implications for practitioners emerge. First, prevention and intervention programs to decrease depression in Latino youth may want to (1) decrease self-deprecating thoughts, and (2) include a component focused on parenting behaviors (Plunkett, Williams, et al., 2007). School counselors, teachers, and mental health practitioners can create strategies designed to enhance the self-esteem of adolescents. Also, clinicians can implement programs that help Latino youth reframe psychologically controlling behaviors into broken ways to communicate love and support. These types of programs may help parents to become more aware of their maladaptive parenting behaviors, and possibly increase supportive behaviors directed towards their adolescent offspring.
Conclusion
The purpose of the study was to examine parental psychological control and generation status in relation to Latina/o adolescents’ self-esteem and depression. The results of the study found that Latino boys and girls with higher self-esteem reported lower levels of depressive symptoms. Also, the results indicated that perceived psychological control by mothers and fathers was negatively related to Latina/o adolescents’ self-esteem and positively related to their depression. And finally, generation status was not related to self-esteem or depression. The findings can help mental health practitioners create prevention or intervention programs that can help decrease depression by decreasing self-deprecating thoughts, decreasing parental
psychological control, and helping youth reframe psychological control into signs of love and support.
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