Effects of acculturation stress and identity gaps on Mexican-heritage adolescent depressive symptoms and substance use behavior

Children of immigrant families are placed at high risk of acculturation stress due to their role serving as a cultural broker for their family members. Communication theory of identity (CTI) explains that the discrepancies between one's personal, enacted, relational, and communal layers of identity lead to negative health outcomes. Guided by CTI, the present study investigated indirect effects of acculturation stress on Mexican-heritage adolescents' depressive symptoms and substance use behaviors via identity gaps. Using the cross-sectional survey data (N = 210), path analysis revealed direct effects of acculturation stress on the personal-enacted identity gap and on the personal-relational identity gap. Indirect effects of acculturation stress on depressive symptoms via the personal-relational identity gap were also detected.