Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of Language Status as an Acculturative Stressor on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors among Latino/a Children: A Longitudinal Analysis from School Entry through Third Grade

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between limited English proficiency status, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors among a sample of Latino/a children (N = 2,840) from the US Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten (ECLS-K) data set. Results of cross sectional regression and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses suggest that there is a positive relationship between limited English proficiency and externalizing symptoms, particularly by third grade. Additionally, sex and place of birth also helped to explain externalizing behaviors at various time points in the models. Place of birth and family poverty were significantly associated with internalizing symptoms. Implications for future research and interventions related to internalizing and externalizing behavior among the Latino/a school aged population are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The terms LEP and ELL will be used interchangeably throughout the manuscript.

References

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the child behavior checklist/14–18 and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H., & Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101(2), 213–232.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Erkanli, A., Silberg, J., Eaves, L., & Costello, E. J. (2002). Depression scale scores in 8–17-year-olds: Effects of age and sex. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 43(8), 1052–1063.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behnke, A. O., Piercy, K. W., & Diversi, M. (2004). Educational and occupational aspirations of Latino youth and their parents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 26(1), 16–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (1995). Psychology of acculturation. In N. R. Goldberger & J. B. Veroff (Eds.), The culture and psychology reader (pp. 457–488). New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buriel, R., Calzada, S., & Vasquez, R. (1982). The relationship of traditional Mexican American culture to adjustment and delinquency among three generations of Mexican American male adolescents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 4(1), 41–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, S. B., & Ewing, L. J. (1990). Follow-up of hard to manage preschoolers: Adjustment at age 9 and predictors of continuing symptoms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 871–889.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collier, V. P. (1995). Promoting academic success for ESL students: Understanding second language acquisition for school. Elizabeth, NJ: New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages-Bilingual Educators.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, J. (1994). Knowledge, power, and identity in teaching ESL. In F. Genesee (Ed.), Educating second language children (pp. 33–58). New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinh, K. T, Roosa, M.W., Tein, J., Lopez, V.A. (2002). The relationship between acculturation and problem behavior proneness in a Hispanic youth sample: A longitudinal mediation model. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30(3), 295–309.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Downey, D. B., & Pribesh, S. (2004). When race matters. Teachers’ evaluations of students’ classroom behaviors. Sociology of Education, 77(4), 267–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, S. E., & DeAvila, E. A., (1998). Pre-language assessment scale 2000. Montery, CA: CTB/McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, S. N., Gresham, F. M., Fremman, T., McCloskey, G. (1988). Teacher and observer ratings of children’s social skills: Validation of the social skills rating scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 6(2), 152–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finn, J. D., & Pannozzo, G. M. (2004). Classroom organization and student behavior in kindergarten. The Journal of Educational Research, 98(2), 79–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, M. W., & Williams, S. A. (2004). Aggressive behavior. In L. A. Rapp-Paglicci, C. N. Dulmus, & J. S. Wodarski (Eds.), Handbook of prevention interventions for children and adolescents (pp. 100–129). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fridrich, A. H., & Flannery, D. J. (1995). The effects of ethnicity and acculturation on early adolescent delinquency. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 4(1), 69–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frye, A. A., & Garber, J. (2005). The relations among maternal depression, maternal criticism and adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(1), 1–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, M. A. (1997). Complicating the immigrant/involuntary minority typology. Anthropology & Educational Quarterly, 28(3), 431–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ginsburg, G. S., & Silverman W. K. (1996). Phobic disorders in Hispanic and European-American youth. Journal of Anxiety Disorder, 10, 517–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, N. A., Deardorff, J., Formoso, D., Barr, A., & Barrera, M. (2006). Family mediators of the relation between acculturation and adolescent mental health. Family Relations, 55(3), 18–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez-Ramos, G., & Sanchez-Nestor, M. (2001) Responding to immigrant children’s mental health needs in schools: Project mi terra/my country. Children and Schools, 23, 49–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gresham, F. M., & Elliot, S. N. (1990). Social skills rating system. Circle Pine, MN: American Guidance Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffith, J. (1983). Re-examination of Mexican-American service utilization and mental health need. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 5, 163–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hausken, E. (2006). Personal e-mail communication to Dr. Sheara Williams dated March 10, 2006. Teacher SRS question addressed to ecls@ed.gov

  • Hovey, J. D. (1999). Psychosocial predictors of acculturative stress in Central American immigrants. Journal of Immigrant Health, 1(4), 187–195.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hovey, J. D., & Magna, C. (2000). Acculturative stress, anxiety and depression among Mexican immigrant farm workers in the Midwest United States. Journal of Immigrant Health, 2(3), 119–131.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jaycox, L. H., Stein, B. D., Kataoka, S. H., et al. (2002). Violence exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depressive symptoms among recent immigrant school children. Journal of American Academic Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(9), 1104–1110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joiner, T. E., Perez, M., Wagner, K. D., Berenson, A., & Marquina, G. S. (2001). On fatalism, pessimism, and depressive symptoms among Mexican-American and other adolescents attending an obstetrics gynecology clinic. Behavior Research and Therapy, 39, 887–896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keiley, M. K., Lofthouse, N., Bates, J. E., Dodge, K. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2003). Differential risks of covarying and pure components in mother and teacher reports of externalizing and internalizing behavior across ages 5 to 14. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31(3), 267–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kelleher, K. J., McInerny, T. K., Gardner, W. P., et al. (2000). Increasing identification of psychosocial problems: 1979–1996. Pediatrics, 105(6), 1313–1321.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leve, L. D., Kim, H. K., & Pears, K. C. (2005). Childhood temperament and family environment as predictors of internalizing and externalizing trajectories from ages 5–17. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(5), 505–520.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, E. J., Ehly, S., & Garcia-Vasquez, E. (2002). Acculturation, social support and academic achievement of Mexican and Mexican American high school students: An exploratory study. Psychology in the Schools, 39(3), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, E. J., McCabe, K., Yeh, M., Lau, A., Garland, A., Hough, R. L. (2005). Cultural affiliation and self esteem as predictors of internalizing symptoms among Mexican-American adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34(1), 163–171.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mirón, L. F., & Inda, X. J. (2004). Constructing cultural citizenship: Latino immigrant students and learning English. Latino Studies, 2(2), 237–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munson, J. A., McMahon, R. J., & Spieker, S. J. (2001). Structure and variability in the developmental trajectory of children’s externalizing problems: Impact of infant attachment, maternal depressive symptomatology, and child sex. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 277–296.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2001). User’s manual for the ECLS-K base year public-use data files and electronic codebook [NCES 2001–029 (revised)]. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). Early childhood longitudinal study-kindergarten class of 1998–1999 (ECLS-K), psychometric report for kindergarten through first grade [NCES Working Paper # 2002–05]. Retrieved August 27, 2007, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/200205.pdf

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2003a). The condition of education 2003 [NCES 2003-067]. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2003b). Status and trends in the education of Hispanics. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. Retrieved April 1, 2006, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003008.pdf

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2004a). Data files and electronic codebook–ECLS-K longitudinal kindergarten-third grade public-use data file [NCES 2004-089 Data file]. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2004b). User’s manual for the ECLS-K third grade public-use data file and electronic codebook [NCES 2004-001]. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2005). The condition of education 2005 [NCES 2005-094]. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

  • National Survey of Latino/as. (2002). National Survey of Latino/as: Summary of findings. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center; Menlo Park, CA: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1994). An interactive model for the emergence of sex differences in depression in adolescence. Journal of Research of Adolescence, 4, 519–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, L. (2000). Learning English and learning America: Immigrants in the center of a storm. Theory into Practice, 39(4), 196–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson, S. L., Bates, J. E., Sandy, J. M., & Lathier, R. (2000). Early developmental precursors of externalizing behavior in middle childhood. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28(2), 119–133.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orellana, M. R., Ek, L., & Hernández, A. (2000). Bilingual education in an immigrant community: Proposition 227 in California. In E. T. Trueba & L. I. Bartolomé (Eds.), Immigrant voices: In search of educational equity (pp. 75–92). Lanham, D: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ortega, A. N., Rosenheck, R., Alegria, M., & Desai, R. A. (2000). Acculturation and the lifetime risk of psychiatric and substance use disorders among Hispanics. Journal of Nervous Mental Disorders, 188, 728–735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osofsky, J. D. (2004). Young children and trauma: Intervention and treatment. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Padilla, A. M., Cervantes, R. C., Maldonado, M., & Garcia, R. E. (1988). Coping responses to psychosocial stress among Mexican and Central American immigrants. Journal of Community Psychology, 16(4), 418–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Padilla, A. M., Perez, W. (2003). Acculturation, social identity and social cognition: A new perspective. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 25(1), 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pappamihiel, N. E. (2001). Moving from the ESL classroom into the mainstream: An investigation of English language anxiety in Mexican girls. Retrieved August 4, 2005, from http://brj.asu.edu/v2512/articles/art3.html

  • Patterson, G. R., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsey, E. (1989). A developmental perspective on antisocial behavior. American Psychologist, 44, 329–335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raver, C. C., Gershoff, E. T., & Aber, J. L. (2007). Testing equivalence of mediating models of income, parenting, and school readiness for white, black, and Hispanic children in a national sample. Child Development, 78(1), 96–115.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ready, D. D., LoGerfo, L. F., Burkam, D. T., & Lee, V. E. (2005). Explaining girls’ advantage in kindergarten literacy learning: Do classroom behaviors make a difference? The Elementary School Journal, 106(1), 21–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, D. B. (2004). Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., Morenoff, J. D., & Gannon-Rowley, T. (2002). Assessing ‘neighborhood effects’: Social processes and new directions in research. Annual Review of Sociology 28, 443–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schafer, J. L. (1997). Analysis of incomplete multivariate data. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shields, M. K., & Behram, R. E. (2001). Children of immigrant families: Analysis and recommendations. The Future of Children, 14(2), 4–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smart, J. F., & Smart, D. W. (1995). Acculturative stress of Hispanics: Loss and challenge. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73(4), 390–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparrow, J. D. (2007). From developmental to catastrophic: Contexts and meanings of childhood stress. Psychiatric Annals, 37(6), 397–401.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, J., Quittner, A. L., & Abikoff, H. (1998). Factors influencing elementary school teachers’ ratings of ADHD and ODD behavior. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27(4), 406–414.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stormont, M. (2000). Early child risk factors for externalizing and internalizing behaviors: A 5-year follow-forward assessment. Journal of Early Intervention, 23(3), 180–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suarez-Orozco, C., & Suarez-Orozco, M. (2001). Children of immigration. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suárez-Orozco, C., Todorova, I., & Louis, J. (2002). Making up for lost time: The experience of separation and reunification among immigrant families. Family Process, 41(4), 625–643.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tarshis, T. P., Jutte, D. P., & Huffman, L. C. (2006). Provider recognition of psychosocial problems in low-income Latino children. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 17(2), 342–358.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Timberlake, J. M. (2007). Racial and ethnic inequality in the duration of children’s exposure to neighborhood poverty and influence. Social Problems, 54(3), 319–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, R. J., & Lloyd, D. A. (2003). Stress burden and the lifetime incidence of psychiatric disorder in young adults: Racial and ethnic contrasts. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61(5), 481–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J. M., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2002). Age, sex, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort difference on the children’s depression inventory: A meta analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 578–588.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Twiske, J., & de Vente, W. (2002). Attrition in longitudinal studies: How to deal with missing data. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 55(4), 329–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vega, W. A., Khoury, E. L., Zimmerman, R. S., Gil, A. G., & Warheit, G. J. (1995). Cultural conflicts and problem behaviors of Latino adolescents in home and school environments. Journal of Community Psychology, 23(2), 167–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vega, W. A., Kolody, B., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alderete, E., Catalana, R., & Caraveo-Anduaga, J. (1998). Lifetime prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders among urban and rural Mexican Americans in California. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55, 771–778.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C., & Kennedy, A. (1994). Acculturation strategies, psychological adjustment, and sociocultural competence during cross-cultural transitions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 18, 329–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zill, N., & West, J. (2001). Entering kindergarten: A portrait of American children when they begins school. Findings from the condition of education 2002 [NCES 2001–035]. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adelphi University, School of Social Work, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY, 11530, USA

    Beverly Araújo Dawson

  2. University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work, Houston, TX, 77204-4013, USA

    Sheara A. Williams

Authors
  1. Beverly Araújo Dawson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sheara A. Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Beverly Araújo Dawson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Araújo Dawson, B., Williams, S.A. The Impact of Language Status as an Acculturative Stressor on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors among Latino/a Children: A Longitudinal Analysis from School Entry through Third Grade. J Youth Adolescence 37, 399–411 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9233-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9233-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation