(PS5-51) The Effects of School Transition Stress, Repetitive Negative Thinking, and Sleep Disturbance on depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Hispanic Immigrant and Us-born Youth

The transition to high school is a stressful period for adolescents. Stressors, in turn, increase the risk for depression and anxiety in youth. Hispanic immigrant youth are especially at risk, as they experience unique stressors related to immigration, acculturation, and discrimination. We present two studies that employed a sequential explanatory mixed methods design to elucidate the roles of repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and sleep disturbance in the relationship between stress and symptoms of depression and anxiety in 9^th-grade Hispanic immigrant and U.S.-born youth.

Study 1 examined the mediating roles of RNT and sleep disturbance in the relationship between school transition stress upon entering 9^th grade and symptoms of depression and anxiety at the end of the school year in a sample of 454 Hispanic High School freshmen (Mage = 14.22, SD = 0.52; 59% Female; 88% White). Study 1 tested whether these models differed among immigrant youth compared to youth born in the US. In Study 2, qualitative interviews characterized 15 first-generation (N = 7) and US-born (N = 8) Hispanic adolescents’ perspectives on stress experienced during the 9^th grade, including stressors related to discrimination, and how those stressors affect RNT, sleep, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Study 2 also identified resilience factors that may offset these relationships.

Study 1 results indicated that RNT and sleep disturbance mediated the relationship between transition stress and later symptoms of depression and anxiety for US-born Hispanic youth, but not for immigrant youth. Study 2 results indicated that immigrant youth reported more stressors related to acculturation and discrimination, along with more academic stressors, than their US-born counterparts. Further, immigrant youth reported ruminating on grades more, along with more problems with oversleeping and experiencing more nightmares than US-born youth. Finally, immigrant youth differed from US-born teens in terms of coping strategies, such that immigrant youth reported seeking significantly less social support (e.g., talking with friends), and instead reported distraction as a top coping strategy.

Our results indicate that during the transition to high school, immigrant youth may differ from US-born peers in terms of risk for and resilience to emotional problems. Differences in the types of stressors reported by immigrant youth indicate that immigrants experience many of the same stressors as their US-born counterparts, along with additional stressors related to acculturation, discrimination, and academics (e.g., primarily receiving instruction in their second language). In turn, immigrant youth appeared to struggle more than US-born youth with rumination about academics, which may affect their sleep timing and quality. Additionally, immigrant youths’ tendency to use less social support may exacerbate the stress of school transitions. Overall, Study 2’s findings help clarify the relationship between stress and symptoms among Hispanic immigrant adolescents and further our understanding of risk and resilience in this at-risk population. Our results have direct implications for future research, treatment, and prevention of emotional problems in at-risk Hispanic youth.