Examining the relationship between religious coping styles and acculturative stress among recent Latino immigrants

Background: Acculturative stress has been found to negatively impact the health of Latino immigrants. Little is known about the relationship between religious coping and acculturative stress. Research suggests that within the Latino culture, religiosity is a pervasive force, guiding attitude, behavior, and even social interactions. Given its prominent role among Latinos, religious coping may prove to be influential during difficult life transitions, such as those experienced during the immigration process.

Methods: The present analyses were conducted with wave 2 data from an ongoing longitudinal investigation examining the influence of pre-immigration factors on the health behavior trajectories of recent Latino immigrants. The sample consisted of 408 Latinos between the ages of 19-36 (representing 17 Latin American countries) who immigrated to the U.S. within the last two years.

Results: A structural equation model using MIMIC (Multiple Indicators, Multiple Causes) modeling to include covariates [socioeconomic status (SES) and legal status] was conducted examining the association between acculturative stress and positive/negative religious coping. Participants with higher levels of acculturative stress indicated higher rates of positive and negative religious coping. As anticipated, undocumented legal status and lower SES were associated with higher levels of acculturative stress.

Conclusion: Findings indicate immigrants experiencing higher levels of acculturative stress turn to religion as a means of coping with these adverse experiences. This knowledge could inform research about culturally relevant behaviors/cognitions that should be targeted in prevention /treatment programs with this population. These results may expand scientific understanding about the function and effect of religious coping among Latino immigrants.