Examining a Developmental-Contextual Model of Depressive Symptomatology Among Mexican-Origin Girls

Authors: Myra Y. Bámaca, Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor, & Miao Zuo

Background: The efforts in trying to understand the factors affecting the mental health of Latino youth have largely focused on examining the relation between culturally-related factors, mainly acculturation, and mental health with less attention given to other possible influences. The current study examined a developmental-contextual model of depressive symptomatology that investigated the interplay among cultural (i.e., mother-daughter acculturation gaps), developmental (i.e., mother-daughter autonomy expectation discrepancies), and relational (i.e., mother-daughter conflict and attachment) factors in predicting depressive symptoms among Mexican-origin girls.

Method:
319 girls (n = 159 7th graders, Mage = 12.25, and n = 160 10th graders, Mage = 15.21) and their mothers (Mage =

36.89 and 39.65 years for the 7th and10th grade samples, respectively) were recruited from schools in a metropolitan area in the Southwest. Girls completed a self-administered survey and mothers completed a survey via phone.

Results:
Path analyses were conducted using SEM. The final model indicated a good fit to the data (CFI = .95, RMSEA =.06). Autonomy expectation discrepancies were associated with mother-daughter conflict, which as a result was associated with depressive symptomatology. Furthermore, attachment to mothers was directly associated with mother-daughter conflict and depressive symptomatology. Findings also indicated that the strength of the relation between autonomy expectation discrepancies and mother-daughter conflict was moderated by the mother-daughter acculturation gap for the 10th grade sample. Specifically, this relation was stronger for dyads reporting greater mother-daughter acculturation gaps.

Conclusions:
Our findings support the notion that cultural, developmental, and relational factors are associated with Mexican-origin girls’ depressive symptomatology. Findings also suggest that the mother-daughter acculturation-gap moderates the relation between mother-daughter autonomy expectations and mother-daughter conflict. Our findings have important implication for practice. Specifically, the findings suggest that cultural, developmental, and relational components need to be addressed in prevention and intervention efforts focusing on the psychological well-being of Latina girls.