Understanding Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms Among Emerging Adult Immigrants: The Role of Social Ecological Protective and Risk Factors

Emerging adults (aged 18-25) are experiencing rising mental health problems globally, and loneliness and depressive symptoms are both recognized as prominent public health priorities. Emerging adult immigrants might particularly be vulnerable due to intersecting developmental transitions and immigration-related stressors. Whereas loneliness is consistently linked to depressive symptoms, less is known about what buffers or amplifies this association among emerging adult immigrants. Grounded in Resilience Theory and Ecological Systems Theory, the present study examines whether a latent protective factor (at individual and relational levels) and a latent risk factor (at individual and contextual levels) moderate the association between loneliness and depressive symptoms, both independently and in interaction with one another. Approximately 300 emerging adult immigrants who arrived in the United States as children or adolescents (1.75-generation arriving at ages 0-5, 1.5-generation at ages 6-12, and 1.25-generation at ages 13-17) or were born in the US to at least one foreign-born parent (second-generation) will be recruited through purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling. Participants will complete an online survey that measures the study variables and demographic covariates. A two-step structural equation modeling (SEM) approach will test the measurement model and estimate the main effects of loneliness and the two latent factors, as well as their two- and three-way interactions, on depressive symptoms. Findings are expected to inform multi-systemic preventive interventions targeting to reduce loneliness and depressive symptoms in emerging adult immigrants, who are a growing and underserved population in the US.