Hispanic immigrant youth and internalizing behaviors: Examining the links with neighborhood context

Background: It is expected that by the year 2020, children of immigrants will comprise 30 percent of the nation's population. Yet, we know little about this population. Much of the research on children of immigrants has focused on academic achievement and familial roles, with less work being done on mental health outcomes or how neighborhoods matter. To address this gap, we ask three research questions: (1) Do internalizing behavior scores differ by immigrant generation among Hispanic adolescents?; (2) If differences exist, are disparities accounted for by family characteristics?; and (3) Where differences exist, do neighborhood characteristics explain those differences? Furthermore, do neighborhood effects on immigrant adolescent's internalizing behaviors differ by immigration status? Methods: Using longitudinal data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, this study examined links between Hispanic adolescent's internalizing behaviors and neighborhood characteristics. Our sample included 1,040 (aged 9 to 17) Hispanic immigrant youth identified as first-, second- and third-generation. Results: Results indicated that first-generation youth had significantly higher internalizing behaviors compared to third-generation adolescents, even after controlling for family characteristics and Wave 1 internalizing behavior scores. Our results also showed that Hispanic youth living in neighborhoods that had higher residential stability had higher levels of internalizing behavior problems compared to first- and third-generation youth living in similar neighborhoods. Conclusions: Program development at both the individual and neighborhood level is clearly needed to help adolescents, their families, and their communities ameliorate the negative effects of residential mobility on immigrant youth outcomes.