OBJECTIVE

Research is needed to examine discrimination-related stressors and their social and psychological shaping of mental health and sleep outcomes of Latinx youth. The background, design, and methodology of a longitudinal study of Mexican families in Indiana and the initial findings of associations between discrimination-related stressors and youth mental health and sleep outcomes are presented.

METHOD

Initiating wave 1 of a 3-wave (yearly) longitudinal study, investigators surveyed an ethnically homogeneous sample of 344 Mexican-origin adolescents (ages 12-15) and their primary caregivers, assessing risks and protective factors for mental health and sleep outcomes. Youth also completed a one-time 21-day daily diary after wave 1. Self-reported measures of youth mental health, sleep, and discrimination across wave 1 and the daily diary were evaluated to compare the cross-sectional (wave 1) and daily associations between discrimination and youth mental health and sleep outcomes.

RESULTS

Of youth, 88.1% reported at least one incident of lifetime discrimination. Almost one-third had elevated depressive symptoms, 44.5% had probable generalized anxiety disorder, and 50.9% had poor sleep quality. Between-youth correlations at wave 1 and in the daily diary were consistent in that perceived racial discrimination was positively correlated with worse mental health and poorer sleep quality. Smaller within-youth correlations were observed in the daily diary, but there was striking variability in the effect of discrimination across youth.

CONCLUSION

The present results illustrate the powerful methods of combining yearly and daily time data to investigate how and for whom discrimination-related stressors lead to adverse outcomes.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY

Latinx youth are the largest and fastest growing minoritized youth group in the United States. This study surveyed 344 Mexican-origin adolescents and their primary caregivers to assess risk and protective factors for mental health and sleep outcomes. The authors found that 88.1% of youth reported at least one incident of lifetime discrimination, 29.7% reported elevated depressive symptoms, 44.5% reported elevated anxiety symptoms, and 50.9% reported poor sleep quality. Youth who experienced racial discrimination were more likely to have worse mental health and lower sleep quality than those who did not experience racial discrimination.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT: We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our reference list.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Seguimos Avanzando - Latino Youth Coping With Discrimination; https://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT04875208.