Exploring the Mediating Effects of American and Heritage Cultural Practices Between Discrimination and Social Anxiety

Description/Abstract/Artist Statement

Although college enrollment rates have risen, Hispanic/Latinx only account for 9% of emerging adults who complete bachelor’s degrees (Krogstad, 2016). Previous research has found anxiety disorders negatively affect attendance and academic performance (Baez, 2005). Social anxiety, often defined by the fear of negative evaluation in social contexts (Hofmann, Asnaani, & Hinton, 2010), may play a role in Hispanic/Latinx retention. Although previous research has found associations between acculturation and mental health (Crockett et al., 2007), links between acculturation and anxiety are understudied. Additionally, while links between discrimination and social anxiety have been found among Black youth (Levine et al., 2014), the relationship remains unexamined among Hispanic/Latinx. Consistent with research emphasizing the possibility of interactive effects among cultural processes (Meca et al., 2019), this study aims to examine independent and interactive effects of acculturation and discrimination on social anxiety among Hispanic/Latinx college students.

The sample utilized for this study consisted of 1,072 first/second-generation Hispanics (Mage = 19.70, SDage = 1.62) from the Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture (MUSIC; Castillo & Schwartz, 2013). A multiple linear regression was estimated to determine discrimination, US and Heritage cultural practices, and their respective interactions accounted for a significant amount of the variance in participant anxiety symptoms, R^2 =.046, F(9, 1088) =6.826.

Presenting Author Name/s

Taylor N. Webb

Faculty Advisor/Mentor

Alan Meca

Presentation Type

Poster

Disciplines

Developmental Psychology | Psychology | Social Psychology

Session Title

Poster Session

Location

Learning Commons, Atrium

Start Date

2-8-2020 8:00 AM

End Date

2-8-2020 12:30 PM

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Feb 8th, 8:00 AM Feb 8th, 12:30 PM

Exploring the Mediating Effects of American and Heritage Cultural Practices Between Discrimination and Social Anxiety

Learning Commons, Atrium

Although college enrollment rates have risen, Hispanic/Latinx only account for 9% of emerging adults who complete bachelor’s degrees (Krogstad, 2016). Previous research has found anxiety disorders negatively affect attendance and academic performance (Baez, 2005). Social anxiety, often defined by the fear of negative evaluation in social contexts (Hofmann, Asnaani, & Hinton, 2010), may play a role in Hispanic/Latinx retention. Although previous research has found associations between acculturation and mental health (Crockett et al., 2007), links between acculturation and anxiety are understudied. Additionally, while links between discrimination and social anxiety have been found among Black youth (Levine et al., 2014), the relationship remains unexamined among Hispanic/Latinx. Consistent with research emphasizing the possibility of interactive effects among cultural processes (Meca et al., 2019), this study aims to examine independent and interactive effects of acculturation and discrimination on social anxiety among Hispanic/Latinx college students.

The sample utilized for this study consisted of 1,072 first/second-generation Hispanics (Mage = 19.70, SDage = 1.62) from the Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture (MUSIC; Castillo & Schwartz, 2013). A multiple linear regression was estimated to determine discrimination, US and Heritage cultural practices, and their respective interactions accounted for a significant amount of the variance in participant anxiety symptoms, R^2 =.046, F(9, 1088) =6.826.