ERIC Number: EJ1467649
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-May
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-4316
EISSN: EISSN-1552-5449
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Bicultural Competence and Academic and Psychosocial Functioning among Latinx Early Adolescents: Examining the Moderating Role of Gender
Selena Carbajal1; Melissa Y. Delgado1; Rajni L. Nair2; Katharine H. Zeiders1
Journal of Early Adolescence, v45 n5 p541-567 2025
Bicultural competence, the ability to navigate and alternate between two cultures, is an important developmental competency for Latinx youth. Empirical research has suggested that bicultural competence is associated with positive academic and psychosocial functioning, including higher academic achievement and fewer internalizing and externalizing symptoms. However, little research has examined how distinct dimensions of bicultural competence related to these indices. The current study examined how bicultural comfort and facility related to academic (self-efficacy and grades) and psychosocial (depressive symptoms and risky behaviors) functioning and how those relations varied by gender among Latinx early adolescents (N = 206, M[subscript age] = 12.39, SD = 0.15). Results suggested that higher bicultural facility was related to higher academic self-efficacy and better grades for boys and girls, whereas higher bicultural comfort was related to fewer depressive symptoms and risky behaviors for boys only. These findings indicate that bicultural competence dimensions may benefit Latinx early adolescents differentially.
Descriptors: Biculturalism, Cultural Awareness, Hispanic American Students, Academic Achievement, Individual Development, Self Efficacy, Grades (Scholastic), Gender Differences, Depression (Psychology), Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Risk, Health Behavior, Correlation, Middle School Students, Rating Scales, Academic Ability, Self Concept Measures, Measures (Individuals), Mexican Americans, Acculturation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Norton School of Human Ecology, University of Arizona, USA; 2College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, USA