Can adolescent hope buffer against the adverse effects of youth and parent cultural stress on Latinx youths’ adjustment outcomes

Latinx youth and their parents can experience cultural stress-a constellation of interrelated stressors Latinx youth and parents experience based on racism, xenophobia, and the navigation of bicultural contexts. Notably, cultural stress Latinx youth and parents experience can compromise the emotional (i.e., depressive symptoms and self-esteem) and behavioral (i.e., aggressive behavior, alcohol and tobacco use) well-being of youth. However, not all Latinx youth are adversely affected by cultural stress they or their parents experience, suggesting the presence of protective resiliency processes. Latinx immigrant youth, in particular, are thought to possess cognitive motivational resilience such as hope that may protect them from the adverse effects of cultural stress. Accordingly, in this longitudinal study, we investigated whether adolescent hope (increases in and initial levels of hope) buffered against the adverse effects of youth and parent cultural stress on youths' emotional (depressive symptoms and self-esteem) and behavioral (aggressive behavior, tobacco and alcohol use) well-being. Recent immigrant Latinx adolescents ( M age = 14.51; 47% girls) and parents ( M age = 41.09; 74% mothers; N = 302) completed measures of the above constructs. The adolescent hope intercept and slope predicted more favorable youth well-being outcomes. Adolescent hope appeared to buffer against the negative effects of youth and parent cultural stress when cultural stress levels were low and hope reached above-average levels. Hope also appeared to exacerbate the negative effects of youth and parent cultural stress on youth well-being outcomes when cultural stress levels were high and hope was above average. We discuss implications for future research and preventive interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)

Acculturation · Adolescent health · Cognition · Cultural diversity · Immigration · Positive Youth Development · Psychological resilience · Stress (linguistics · Stressor · Migration, Health and Trauma · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research