Ethnic Differences in Acculturation, Health and Academic Achievement: Findings from the Eat 2010 Study.

Introduction: There is an increase in the number of newer Americans, and 1.5 and 2^ndgeneration immigrants are the fastest growing of all groups of children. Somali, Latino and Hmong make up three of the growing ethnic groups in Minnesota. Some young people may struggle with acculturation stressors in addition to developmental changes. Past studies indicate that greater degrees of acculturation and related stressors are associated with poor mental health outcomes. However, factors such as retaining ethnic and cultural assets or blending heritage and receiving cultures have been found protective for health and school outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between acculturation and substance use, socio-emotional health and academic achievement among Somali, Latino and Hmong adolescents.

Methods: We used data from EAT 2010, a cross-sectional survey of 1,066 adolescents with a mean age of 14.4 (SD=2.0). Data were collected from public schools in the Minneapolis/ St. Paul metropolitan area. Acculturation was assessed by a composite continuous measure and scores ranged from 0-5 based on nativity, language used at home, and length of stay in the U.S. Outcome variables included substance use in the past year (tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol), socio-emotional health (low self-esteem, high depressive symptoms) and poor academic achievement. Logistic regression models were used to assess associations between degree of acculturation and health outcomes and interactions with ethnicity. Models adjusted for age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES) and clustering of students within schools.

Results: Alcohol was the most reported substance used (26%) and many adolescents experienced low self-esteem (59%) and high depressive symptoms (43%). The mean acculturation score was 3.4 (SD=1.6); Hmong (4.0) had the highest mean degree of acculturation followed by Latino (3.1) then Somali adolescents (2.2). Greater acculturation was associated with marijuana use, alcohol use and low grades across all ethnic groups. There were significant interactions between acculturation and ethnicity for cigarette use and high depressive symptoms. In stratified models, acculturation was associated with lower cigarette use among Somali youth. In addition, greater acculturation was associated with low depressive symptoms in Hmong youth but high depressive symptoms in Latino youth.

Conclusions: Findings have implications for public health promotion and preventative efforts. Programs targeting adolescents from refugee and immigrant backgrounds should assess degree of acculturation and related stressors that may affect their health, such as immigration difficulties and strain especially for Latino youth. Interventions should also address positive coping strategies that buffer against poor outcomes.