Acculturative Family Distancing, Family Conflict, and Depressive Symptoms among Latinx Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Family Cohesion

Latinx youth experience increased risk of depressive symptoms (DS) due to cultural and universal risk factors. Acculturative family distancing (AFD) and mother-adolescent conflict (MAC) are significant in predicting depressive symptoms (DS) among Latinx adolescents. Guided by resilience frameworks, this study examined the effects of AFD and MAC on Latinx adolescent DS, and whether family cohesion (FC) moderated these relations. Self-reported survey data was gathered from 207 Latinx students and analyzed using regression analyses. Results indicated that MAC and AFD were significant and positively related to DS. However, family cohesion (FC) did not emerge as a significant moderator for these relations.