Olivya A. Reyes
Adolescence and the transition to adulthood represent critical periods for the development of mental health issues that may persist into later life stages. Latine youth report elevated rates of depressive symptoms compared to other racial and ethnic groups and are less likely to access mental health treatment or healthcare services. Furthermore, due to various cultural and systemic factors, Latine adolescents and their parents are less likely to utilize mental health services when required. While Latine youth are impacted by extrafamilial factors, including social inequities and discrimination, they also benefit from cultural and structural supports within their family systems that can mitigate these external influences.Utilizing a nationally representative sample of Latine adolescents (N > 3,000) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), it was determined that early familial support and parental warmth are significantly correlated with reductions in depressive symptoms among Latine adolescents as they transition into adulthood. Moreover, paternal warmth emerged as a significant predictor of decreased depressive symptoms over time for Latinas, but not for Latinos within the sample. While subgroup differences were only observed for South/Central Americans in mental health care utilization, Cubans experiencing high levels of maternal engagement exhibited lower levels of depressive symptoms compared to other ethnic groups. Additionally, among other Hispanics, higher levels of paternal engagement were associated with increased depressive symptoms relative to other groups. These findings suggest that levels of familial engagement can exert varying degrees of impact, and that early familial strengths may serve as protective factors against depressive symptoms into adulthood.Utilizing a longitudinal sample comprising 246 two-parent Mexican-origin families with two adolescent siblings (total N = 984) in a Southwestern state, maternal warmth emerged as the most significant predictor of diminished depressive symptoms among all family members over time. In addition, a one-unit increase in maternal warmth was indirectly correlated with an 11% reduction in the likelihood of utilizing mental health care services. Furthermore, the amount of time spent with fathers and parental warmth proved to be more influential for Latina adolescents transitioning into early adulthood compared to their Latino counterparts. Lastly, maternal depressive symptoms heightened the probability of adolescents engaging with mental health care (MHC) services, but this association was only evident when mothers’ warmth was perceived at low levels.Overall, both of these studies exemplify the pivotal roles that mothers and families play in combating depressive symptoms within Latine families across the life course. Latine fathers need to be incorporated more fully into developmental research, especially regarding mental health. This study found that fathers’ warmth and engagement were important in decreasing Latina adolescents’ depressive symptoms, underscoring the importance of continuing this research. However, families’ strengths were not associated with mental health care utilization, contrary to expectations. More research needs to examine the driving forces behind help-seeking behaviors within Latine families. Depressive symptoms within Latine families seem to be a trend that is interconnected through familial ties, and early family strengths can help buffer the impacts of future depressive symptomology.