Do Positive School Experiences and Preference for American Culture Moderate the Association between School-Based Ethnic Discrimination and Mental Health for Filipino American Adolescents?

Abstract

This study examines short-term and longitudinal associations between school-based discrimination and mental health, (i.e., self-esteem and depression) and the moderating roles of “preference for American culture” and positive school experiences, for 684 Filipino American adolescents drawn from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS). Our findings suggest that school-based discrimination predicted increased levels of depression and lower levels of self-esteem in short-term but not in long-term. The shortterm negative associations between discrimination and mental health were not moderated by levels of preference for American culture, and positive school experiences decrease the negative association between discrimination and self-esteem. Implications from this study are discussed.