Depressive Symptoms Over the Course of Adolescence Among Latinx Children of Immigrants and Non-immigrants and White Youth From Small Towns in the United States

Abstract

Background: Hispanic/Latinx people comprise 19% of the total United States population and are one of the fastest growing groups in the country. This growth has been particularly notable among youth from rural and small-town communities. Understanding mental health during adolescence in this population can have a significant impact on public health. Objective: To compare depressive symptoms during adolescence among Latinx Children of Immigrants (COI), Latinx Children of Non-Immigrants (CONI), and non-Latinx White CONI from small towns in the United States. Methods: We used longitudinal data from Grades 6–12 from 1520 youth from 12 rural and small-town communities in seven states. The three study groups were defined by Latinx ethnicity, race, and immigrant generational status based on the child’s and their parents’ country of birth. Using a negative binomial form of the generalized linear mixed model, we evaluated differences in depressive symptoms among the groups and group-by-time interactions to assess whether differences varied across developmental age. Additional models were estimated stratified by sex. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in depressive symptoms comparing adolescent Latinx CONI and non-Latinx White CONI to Latinx COI. However, Latinx CONI had significantly elevated depressive symptoms and a steeper decline in symptoms compared to White CONI. Among males, Latino CONI had higher symptom scores than Latino COI and White CONI; however, there were no notable differences among groups in female youth. Conclusions: Findings from this study highlight the importance of immigrant generational status when assessing rural and small-town U.S. Latinx youth’s mental health.