Acculturative family distancing and familism among Latino/a families: Influences on youth psychological adjustment.

This study examined parallel trajectories of acculturative family distancing (AFD) and familism during the adolescent stage of the family life course and their implications for Latino youths' psychological adjustment. Drawing on the acculturation gap distress hypothesis, the theory of bicultural family functioning, and the ecocultural resilience framework, we analyzed data across a 2.5-year period from 547 youth in an emerging immigrant community in the Southeastern United States. Latent growth models indicated significant increases in AFD and linear declines in familism values across the study period. Lower baseline AFD was linked to higher baseline familism, and greater initial AFD predicted steeper declines in familism over time. Parallel process models revealed that baseline levels and growth in AFD were not uniquely associated with later adjustment after accounting for familism values. In contrast, higher baseline familism and slower declines in familism predicted fewer internalizing and externalizing symptoms, respectively. Findings highlight the adolescent stage of the family life course as a period marked by concurrent shifts in familism values and AFD, but suggest that youths' own familism values, rather than perceived intergenerational cultural distance, more robustly predict psychological outcomes. These results refine the acculturation gap distress hypothesis by demonstrating that declines in protective cultural values, rather than perceived cultural gaps, may drive risk for maladjustment. This study provides the first longitudinal examination of AFD during the adolescent stage of the family life course, advancing family psychological perspectives on acculturation processes in immigrant families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).