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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2025 Sep 9.
Published before final editing as: J Lat Psychol. 2025 Jul 17:10.1037/lat0000301. doi: 10.1037/lat0000301

Asset Profiles That Support Latinx Adolescents’ School Functioning and Mental Health

Rayni Thomas 1, Melissa Y Delgado 2, Rajni L Nair 3, Kiera M Coulter 4
PMCID: PMC12416907  NIHMSID: NIHMS2098317  PMID: 40927429

Abstract

The present study had two aims: (a) to take a person-centered approach and identify profiles of assets that include active coping, bicultural competency, and preparation for bias, among Latinx adolescents, and (b) examine the relations between asset profiles and Latinx adolescents’ school functioning and mental health. The present study used cross-sectional data from 201 middle school students (M = 12.35, SD = 1.05). Latent profile analysis was used to identify unique profiles, and a classify-analyze approach was taken to examine differences in school belonging, grades, and depressive symptoms by profile membership. Five unique profiles emerged, the average competencies-low bias preparation; high competencies-low bias preparation; average assets; high assets; and average to low competencies-high bias preparation profiles. The ANCOVAs showed adolescents’ school belonging and depressive symptoms differed by profile membership, no differences were found for grades. Latinx adolescents rely on both universal and ethnic-cultural assets to support school belonging and mental health (i.e., lower depressive symptoms).

Keywords: asset profiles, depressive symptoms, grades, Latinx, school belonging

As U.S. social systems are racialized, hostility and prejudice toward ethnically marginalized populations are ingrained within U.S. culture and facilitate systemic oppression (Merolla & Jackson, 2019), creating disparities and inequities within Latinx communities (Macias-Konstantopoulos et al., 2023). Educational disparities and inequities among Latinx adolescents include decreases in school belonging during the transition from elementary to middle school (Hughes et al., 2015), and, compared to White adolescents, lower test scores by 22 points on the eighth grade reading proficiency exam (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2022). These statistics are concerning as functioning within the school context is important to future success. Indeed, prior work among Mexican American 9th graders found that school belonging related to academic self-efficacy and academic motivation, which in turn supported academic intentions or their intentions to graduate from high school and attend college (Vera et al., 2017). These findings align with a meta-analysis of work among middle and high school students showing school belonging supported educational outcomes such as academic effort, and attitudes (Korpershoek et al., 2020). Moreover, Latinx high school students’ grade point average related to their college-going self-efficacy (Berbery & O’Brien, 2018), complementing findings from a literature review showing grades have been linked to high school graduation which has implications for future earning potential and life options (Zaff et al., 2016).

In addition to school functioning, mental health maintains quality of life (Grossberg & Rice, 2023). However, among Latinx adolescents specifically, reports of depressive symptoms increased from 34% in 2017 to 40% in 2019 (National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families, 2021). These increased rates among Latinx adolescents are concerning because depression has been linked to several deleterious outcomes including increased substance use, challenges in interpersonal relationships, and increased suicide rates during adolescence (Grossberg & Rice, 2023). Indeed, among 9th to 12th grade Latinx adolescents (10.7%) were more likely to attempt suicide in the past year than White adolescents (9.0%) in 2021 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, 2024). As such, it is important to foster mental health (fewer depressive symptoms) among Latinx adolescents to lower rates of attempted suicide (Grossberg & Rice, 2023), support their ability to maintain and build interpersonal relationships (Triscoli et al., 2019), and maintain a quality of life. The current study focuses on identifying factors that improve school belonging and grades, and lower depressive symptoms to support Latinx adolescents’ upward mobility, and overall well-being.

Assets, or strengths of an individual, such as coping, competencies, and socialization, are conceptualized to promote overall adjustment including school functioning and psychological well-being (Leffert et al., 1998; Gaylord-Harden et al., 2012). Active coping strategies (i.e., ways in which individuals engage cognitive or behavioral efforts to understand and resolve problems, Ayers et al., 1996), bicultural competency (i.e., a psychological construct that describes the degree to which individuals have internalized aspects of two cultures, Basilio et al., 2014), and preparation for bias (i.e., discussions around prejudice and discrimination that parents or family members have with their ethnically marginalized adolescents to ready them for bias; Hughes & Johnson, 2001) are specific assets salient to youth navigating adolescence. Whereas active coping strategies allow adolescents to enact resolutions to stressful challenges (e.g., poor grades, access to counselors), culturally based assets (i.e., ethnic-cultural assets), such as bicultural competency and preparation for bias support ethnically marginalized adolescents to navigate stressful discriminatory or exclusionary experiences. The ways in which these specific assets work together remain unexplored and may have implications for school functioning (i.e., school belonging and grades) and mental health (i.e., depressive symptoms). Thus, this study had two aims: Aim 1 was to identify profiles (i.e., patterns or configurations) of assets that include active coping, bicultural competency, and preparation for bias, among Latinx adolescents, and Aim 2 was to identify relations between asset profiles (i.e., patterns of strengths) and Latinx adolescents’ school functioning and mental health.

Theoretical Background

The current study is guided by the integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children (García-Coll et al., 1996). The theory acknowledges ethnically marginalized youth develop universal (i.e., competencies developed among both White youth and youth of color) assets (García-Coll et al., 1996), such as active coping strategies, that aid in the successful navigation of challenges (e.g., getting a bad grade). Additionally, the theory recognizes that to successfully navigate the racialized social systems within the U.S. context, ethnically marginalized youth rely on ethnic-cultural assets such as unique cultural competencies (e.g., bicultural competency) and culturally salient socialization practices (e.g., preparation for bias; García-Coll et al., 1996). For example, ethnically marginalized youth internalize aspects of both the dominant culture (e.g., individualism) and their heritage culture (e.g., language) developing bicultural competency, an ethnic-cultural asset that allows them to comfortably and competently navigate across both contexts. Similarly, ethnically marginalized parents may equip their youth with preparation for bias by conveying messages promoting awareness of racial inequalities to ready youth for racially and ethnically based stressful experiences.

The development, strengthening, and modification of these universal and ethnic-cultural assets in response to contextual demands are a normative part of ethnically marginalized individuals’ adaptational processes (García-Coll et al., 1996). That is, as each adolescent’s environment is different, the level of development and use of each asset also varies by the norms and needs of each unique context (García-Coll et al., 1996), meaning individual youth vary in the development and utilization of universal and ethnic-cultural assets. As a result, the theory postulates that over time youth develop, at varying levels, a repertoire of assets (e.g., active coping, bicultural competency, and preparation for bias) to navigate their everyday contextual demands by drawing from multiple strengths concomitantly to help combat their adverse experiences and support their overall adjustment, operationalized in this study as school belonging, grades, and depressive symptoms.

Adolescent Assets’ Links to School Functioning and Mental Health

Adolescence is the ideal time to examine assets. Active coping strategies, compared to other coping strategies, are more frequently used during adolescence (Seiffge-Krenke & Beyers, 2005). Also, prior work suggests adolescence is a time in which negative experiences, such as ethnic-racial discrimination (Zeiders et al., 2021), increases for Latinx adolescents provoking the utilization of ethnic-cultural assets intended to successfully navigate such experiences (Hughes & Johnson, 2001; Tuck, 2009). Moreover, developmental changes to cognitive functioning and social development occur during the middle school years (Lazzara, 2020), making adolescence an optimal time to explore covariations in assets.

Active Coping.

Active coping attempts to find solutions to stressful challenges to manage feelings of distress, thereby supporting adjustment. An example of an active coping strategy would be when, to increase school achievement, a student talks to their teacher to discuss possible ways to improve their overall class grade. Past works among multiethnic and ethnically homogeneous Latinx samples found active coping strategies supported school functioning among adolescents. The findings of prior work, among a multi-ethnic (e.g., 78% White, 22% Latinx; Vaquera, 2009) high school sample, indicated that active coping supported the development of close relationships in school (Vaquera, 2009) and positive student engagement with teachers (Reschly et al., 2008). Among Latinx adolescents, recent work noted direct positive associations between active coping and school belonging, GPA (Thomas et al., 2023), and graduation rates (Brietzke & Perreira, 2017). A review of the small body of work linking coping to mental health outcomes showed that higher levels of active coping strategies related to lower levels of depressive symptoms (Groth et al., 2019). One longitudinal study of multi-ethnic adolescents found that utilizing greater active coping strategies predicted a lower likelihood of having depressive episodes (Van Voorhees et al., 2008). Within Latinx samples, higher levels of active coping were related to lower levels of depressive symptoms among adolescents (Brown et al., 2007), college students (Crockett et al., 2007), and adults (Driscoll & Torres, 2013). Thus, extant works suggests active coping supports school functioning, as well as mental health among Latinx adolescents.

Bicultural Competency.

Bicultural competency, the degree to which individuals have internalized aspects of two cultures, includes domains of bicultural comfort, feeling relaxed when negotiating two cultural contexts and bicultural facility, the perceived ability to easily function between two cultural contexts (Basilio et al., 2014). From a theoretical perspective, by enabling Latinx adolescents to understand and navigate both American and Latinx cultural norms (LaFromboise et al., 1993), bicultural competency may allow Latinx adolescents to more flexibly form relationships with classmates and teachers. High levels of comfort and facility can enable adolescents to build rapport and intimacy with peers and teachers who may endorse more American cultural norms and with those who may endorse more Latinx cultural norms, and such relationships support school functioning (Vaquera, 2009). One study found that higher levels of bicultural comfort related to higher rates of peer group interaction but did not relate to interactions with faculty, whereas higher levels of bicultural facility related to greater interactions with faculty but were not associated with peer group interactions (Carbajal et al., 2022). These findings suggest that bicultural competency domains may operate concomitantly, within the school context, to navigate peer and faculty interactions and facilitate school functioning among Latinx adolescents.

Moving to mental health outcomes, prior work showed mixed findings. Some past works have linked higher levels of bicultural competency (Carrera & Wei, 2014; Wei et al., 2010) and comfort (Carbajal et al., 2022) to lower levels of depressive symptoms among Latinx college students. Another study found there were no significant associations between dimensions of bicultural competency (i.e., bicultural comfort and facility) and later internalizing symptoms (i.e., a composite score composed of generalized anxiety, major depression, and social phobia) among Latinx high schoolers (Safa et al., 2019). The findings of these past works lend evidence to the notion that dimensions of bicultural competency may reduce depressive symptoms.

Preparation for Bias.

Preparation for bias is a strategy included in cultural adaptational processes. Indeed, families of color see bias preparation as a way to support their children as they navigate the U.S. sociocultural context (Hughes & Chen, 1997; Anderson et al., 2015). Discussions around prejudice have been theorized to facilitate the development of responses to bias (Hughes et al., 2006), such as reporting discrimination to appropriate administrators, which may allow ethnically marginalized adolescents to successfully navigate bias experiences and engender positive adjustment.

Yet, the quantitative literature on preparation for bias has found benefits, deleterious impacts, and null associations (Lambert et al., 2015; Priest et al., 2014). A study found that preparation for bias was not associated with grades among Latinx adolescents (Grindal & Nieri, 2015). Still, qualitative work showed preparation for bias may protect Latinx adolescents’ self-perceptions during bias experiences (Anderson et al., 2015), allowing Latinx adolescents to reframe such experiences thereby supporting their school functioning and mental health. For example, as Latinx adolescents navigate their school contexts, an awareness of bias may be promotive as it could (a) allow them to feel agency in that they have been socialized by parents to know how to respond to such incidents, and (b) enhance relationships with key peers and mentors by enabling them to form connections and friendships with peers and teachers that are supportive. However, there is limited work examining preparation for bias and school functioning and mental health among Latinx adolescents and there are no studies examining the association between preparation for bias and school belonging. Therefore, the current study further tests preparation for bias as an asset because it is an integral part of the cultural adaptational processes among Latinx adolescents.

A Person-centered Approach

Person-centered approaches are uniquely suited to examine covariation (i.e., differences occurring at the same time) among adolescents’ universal and ethnic-cultural assets. Scholars argue that a person-centered approach can offer a more naturalistic and helpful perspective in understanding how various assets impact adjustment (Cowen, 1985; Luthar et al., 2000; Masten, 2001). The person-centered approach to studying universal and ethnic-cultural assets is important because it can identify (a) both the different configurations that the assets form when examined together and allows for observations on the distinguishability of the variation in adolescent profiles, (b) the relative frequency of profiles and, (c) differential associations between asset profiles and school functioning and mental health among Latinx adolescents. Identifying patterns of supportive assets (e.g., high levels of active coping and bicultural competency, and low preparation for bias) and their relation to adjustment may inform prevention and intervention efforts by identifying which asset profiles are most salient in supporting Latinx adolescents’ school functioning and relating to mental health.

Very little work utilizes person-centered approaches to identify patterns of assets among Latinx adolescents. Only one study was found examining patterns of assets among Latinx adolescents (Boutin-Martinez et al., 2019). The latent classes of highly engaged, low parental communication, low math attitudes, and low math utility were identified (Boutin-Martinez et al., 2019). The study found no significant differences between latent class membership and 12th-grade math grades, and post-secondary attendance, except for the low math attitudes class which showed a significantly higher rate of post-secondary attendance (Boutin-Martinez et al., 2019). The findings suggest that assets co-vary to create distinct patterns that relate to adolescent adjustment in different ways.

The Present Study

School functioning and mental health are important indicators of future success. Theory suggests that ethnically marginalized youth are able to support their adjustment by utilizing both universal and ethnic-cultural assets (García-Coll et al., 1996). Yet, no study has examined the covariation of universal and ethnic-cultural assets. Therefore, the current study had two research questions (RQ) and a hypothesis (H) for each research question.

RQ1: Do the covariations of universal and ethnic-cultural assets, that include active coping, bicultural competency, and preparation for bias, create unique profiles among Latinx adolescents?

H1: We hypothesized that the covariations of universal and ethnic-cultural assets create unique profiles, and some adolescents’ profiles may be high across all assets, given theory suggests ethnically marginalized youth use both universal and ethnic-cultural assets.

RQ2: How do the profiles relate to school belonging, grades, and depressive symptoms among Latinx adolescents?

H2: We hypothesized that adolescents that are high across all assets have better school belonging, higher grades, and fewer depressive symptoms than adolesents in any other profile.

Method

Participants

Cross-sectional data for this study were collected from 201 middle school students. Adolescents were eligible to participate if: (a) students were in middle school (i.e., sixth, seventh, or eighth grade), and (b) biological mothers and/or biological fathers had origins in Latin America or the Latin Caribbean. A little over half of adolescent participants identified as girls (53%), 46% identified as boys, and two participants (1%) indicated they did not identify as boys or girls, but when prompted to provide an open response to specify their gender identity no response was provided. Adolescent participants’ ages ranged from 10 to 14 years, with one participant being 15 years old. The average age of adolescent participants was 12 years old (M = 12.35, SD = 1.05). Adolescents reported being born in the United States (90%), Mexico (2%), and other Latin Caribbean or Latin American countries (1%), and 16 adolescents (8%) did not report their place of birth. Adolescents were not asked to report on their race, but did report their racial/ethnic identity. Adolescents’ self-reported racial/ethnic identity showed the youth identified with a broad range of Latinx ethnicities, including Mexican (15%), Mexican-American (45%), Hispanic (26%), Latinx (4%), Chicanx (3%), and Other (7%). The majority (68%) of adolescents only spoke English; 32% reported being bilingual.

For adolescents in the current study, 101 mothers and 6 fathers reported on their yearly family income, and education level. Less than half (32%) of mothers reported a family income between less than $5,000 - $30,000, 30% reported a family income between $30,001 - $50,000, 29% reported a family income between $50,001 - $90,000, and 9% reported a family income between $90,001 and greater than $95,000. Mothers’ reported education level included, completed part of high school but didn't finish (8%), high school graduate/GED (28%), graduated or some college, vocational or technical school (41%), associate’s degree (10%), college degree (BS/BA; 8%), Master’s degree (MS/MA; 4%), and some work towards a doctorate or advanced degree (1%). Three fathers reported a family income between $15,001 - $45,000, two reported a family income between $55,001 – $65,000, and one reported a family income of over $95,000. For education level, one father reported receiving between 0 to 10 years of education, one reported a high school diploma/GED, one reported an associate’s degree, and one reported some college, vocational or technical school.

Procedures

Recruitment of participants occurred in 2018 across three middle schools within one school district in a U.S. Southwestern region. The city where these data were collected is located in a rural area of the state. The school demographics showed over half (60% - 66%) of students were Latinx. More generally, over half (59% - 96%) of the students within the middle schools come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. To recruit adolescent participants, the research team attended a series of school-sponsored events before the start of the academic year. If parents and teens were interested in participating in the project, research team members assessed their eligibility. After eligibility was established, a research team member reviewed the consent and assent forms with parents and their teens to acquire parent consent and adolescent assent. To collect data, adolescent participants were sent survey links to their personal email or their parents’ email. To make the surveys more accessible, on designated days during the school year, research team members would collect onsite data and supervise adolescent participants as they completed the survey questions in the school computer lab. All surveys were completed in English and took approximately one hour to complete. Survey responses were recorded using Qualtrics, a password-protected and encrypted web-based survey that integrates data collection with data downloads (Qualtrics Inc., 2017). As a gesture of gratitude adolescent participants that completed the survey within 24 hours of getting the emailed link received a $25 gift card, and those that completed the survey after 24 hours received a $20 gift card. Adolescent participants that completed the survey onsite received $25 in cash. The university’s Institutional Review Board of one of the principal investigators approved all study procedures.

Measures

Background Characteristics.

At the start of the survey, teens were asked demographic questions such as their current age (i.e., “How old are you right now?”), racial/ethnic identity (i.e., “If you were asked to identify your ethnicity or race, how would you describe yourself?”), place of birth (i.e., “Where were you born?”), and gender (i.e., “What is your gender?”; response options were: “Female”, “Male” “Other, please specify [open-ended response text box]”). Gender was dummy coded: 1 = girls, 0 = boys.

Active coping strategies.

The active coping subscale was taken from the Children’s Coping Strategies Checklist (Ayers et al., 1996; Sandler et al., 1997) and consisted of 12 items (e.g., “You did something to solve the problem”). The measure assessed adolescents’ coping efforts when encountering problems and demonstrated adequate reliability and validity in Mexican-origin adolescent samples (α = .94; Liu et al., 2011). The response options were on a five-point scale from 1 = almost never or never to 5 = almost always or always. The Cronbach’s alpha was .96. Scale scores were created by calculating the average score across items.

Bicultural competency.

Bicultural competency was measured using two subscales of the Mexican American Biculturalism Scale (Basilio et al., 2014). The scale was developed to measure biculturalism specifically for both English and Spanish speaking Mexican American adolescents (Basilio et al., 2014). The bicultural comfort subscale consisted of 9 items (e.g., “Sometimes you may feel proud to be part of the [SELF-IDENTIFIED ETHNICITY] community, and other times you may feel proud to be part of the U.S. community. Which of the following best describes you?”). The response options were 1 = I am only comfortable when: [former situation], 2 = I am only comfortable when: [latter situation], 3 = I am sometimes comfortable in both of these situations, 4 = I am often comfortable in both of these situations, 5 = I am most of the time comfortable in both of these situations, and 6 = I am always comfortable in both of these situations, but response option 2 = I am only comfortable when: [latter situation] was recoded to equal one and response options 3 – 6 were recoded to be one value lower. Therefore, the scale ranged from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating higher bicultural comfort. The Cronbach’s alpha for the bicultural comfort measure was .85. Scale scores were created by calculating the average score across items. The bicultural facility subscale consisted of 9 items (e.g., “Being considered a part of the [SELF-IDENTIFIED ETHNICITY] community sometimes, and a part of the White community other times is…”). The response options were on a five-point scale and included 1 = very easy 2 = easy, 3 = neither easy or difficult, 4 = difficult, 5 = very difficult. Response options were reverse coded so that higher scores indicated more ease. The Cronbach’s alpha for the bicultural facility measure was .87. Scale scores were created by calculating the average score across items. Both the bicultural comfort (α = .71) and facility (α = .80) subscales demonstrated adequate reliability and validity among a divers sample of Latinx college students (Carbajal et al., 2022).

Preparation for bias.

The preparation for bias subscale was taken from the Ethnic/Racial Socialization measure (Hughes & Johnson, 2001). The scale demonstrated adequate reliability and validity among African American and Latinx families (α = .74; Hughes, 2003). The subscale consisted of six items (e.g., “How often have the adults in your family talked with you about discrimination or prejudice against your racial or ethnic group?”). The response options were on a five-point scale from 1 = Never to 5 = Very often. The Cronbach’s alpha for this measure was .92. Scale scores were created by calculating the average score across items.

School belonging.

School belonging was assessed using four items (e.g., “I am happy to be at school”; Vaquera, 2009). This measure has demonstrated adequate reliability and support for validity in Latinx and White adolescent samples (α = .84 to .87 across all racial/ethnic groups; Vaquera, 2009). The response options were on a four-point scale from 1 = not true at all to 4 = very true. The Cronbach’s alpha for this measure was .80. Scale scores were created by calculating the average score across items.

Grades.

Grades were measured using a single item. Participants were asked “what grades do you mostly get in school?” with response items being “9 = mostly As”, “8 = mostly As and Bs”, “7 = mostly Bs”, “6 = mostly Bs and Cs”, “5 = mostly Cs”, “4 = mostly Cs and Ds”, “3 = mostly Ds”, “2 = mostly Ds and Fs” or “1 = mostly Fs”.

Depressive symptoms.

The depressive symptoms measure came from the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Devins & Orme, 1988). Broadly, the measure has demonstrated adequate reliability and validity in Latinx and White adolescent samples (α = .83 to .87 across all racial/ethnic groups; Crockett et al., 2005). The scale consisted of 20 items (e.g., “You did not feel like eating; your appetite was poor.”). The response options were on a four-point scale from 1 = Rarely or none of the time to 4 = Most or all of the time. To be consistent with the original scoring of the CES-D, the response options were recoded to be on a 0 to 3 scale, then a sum score was created that ranged from 0 to 60. The Cronbach’s alpha for this measure was .89.

Analytic Plan

IBM SPSS Statistics version 28 (IBM Corporation, 2021) was used to conduct preliminary analyses to examine descriptive statistics and correlations. To address the first aim of this study, a latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify asset profiles in Mplus version 8.3. Data were also tested for non-response bias as missing data was accounted for using the full information maximum likelihood estimator (FIML; Enders, 2010). Non-response bias was examined by comparing the non-responses with response groups on study and control (i.e., gender and age) variables. Statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences between the non-responses and response groups on study and control variables. The purpose of an LPA is to examine whether there are homogeneous subgroups or clusters based on similar values on cluster indicators (Pastor et al., 2007). For the current study, the final profile solution was selected using several fit indices, parsimony, and theoretical meaning (Jung & Wickrama, 2008).

The fit indices that were evaluated for this study’s LPA are Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Lo-Mendell-Rubin test (LMRT; Lo et al., 2001), Bootstrapped Likelihood Ratio Test (BLRT), and entropy values. Model fit for the LPA shows improvement when the AIC (Akaike, 1974) and BIC (Schwarz, 1978) decrease with each additional profile. The LMRT and the BLRT assess whether adding a class leads to a statistically significant improvement in model fit by comparing the fit of a solution to a solution with one less profile; the test demonstrates whether the addition of a profile improves model fit with a p-value of .05 or less (Lo et al., 2001; Nylund et al., 2007). It is important to note that simulation work showed that the BLRT is more accurate in selecting the correct number of classes when profiles have fewer indicators (i.e., eight indicators vs. 10 or more) and have an overall sample size of 200, vs. 500 or 1000, than the LMRT (Nylund et al., 2007). Profile entropy was considered, a high entropy value of .80 or higher indicates the accurate classification of individuals into their most likely class or subgroup (Berlin et al., 2014). Additionally, the practical interpretability of each profile solution (i.e., distinguishability of the profiles, and consistency with theory) was reviewed.

The sample size of each profile was considered during the review process. Scholars have asserted profiles should not contain less than 5% of the overall sample (Nasserinejad et al, 2017; McLarnon, & O’Neill, 2018), however, there are no existing guidelines for determining profile size (Weller et al., 2020). A review of LPA literature suggests profiles between the size of 1% and 3% of the total sample are retained (Spurk et al., 2020). The recommended best practice for considering a profile size, below the commonly known 5% suggestion, includes whether the model fit statistics support the selected model, and whether the small profile makes conceptual sense (Weller et al., 2020). Additionally, as a follow-up to the LPA, a series of analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to examine differences in each profile indicator (i.e., active coping, bicultural comfort, bicultural facility, and preparation for bias) by profile.

To address the second aim of this study, school belonging, grades, and depressive symptoms were examined as outcomes using a classify-analyze approach. When the selected profile solution has a high average latent class probability estimate (i.e., the entropy score) at or above .80, it indicates profile membership is highly differentiated, then a classify-analyze approach is appropriate (Clark & Muthén, 2010). Using the LPA probabilities, a classify-analyze approach categorizes individuals into their most likely profiles for future analysis. To examine differences in school belonging, grades, and depressive symptoms by profile membership, a classify-analyze approach was used, and a series of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted in SPSS. Using ANCOVA differences in school belonging, grades, and depressive symptoms were examined by profile membership and included the control variables gender (girls = 1, boys = 0) and age. When significant differences were found then Bonferroni post hoc tests were conducted to identify significant differences by profile membership.

Results

Descriptive information and bivariate correlations for the LPA indicators, dependent variables and control variables are presented in Table 1.

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics and Bivariate Correlations Among Study Variables

Variables 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
LPA Indictors
1. Active Coping -
2. Bicultural Comfort .16* -
3. Bicultural Facility .28*** .43*** -
4. Prep. For Bias −.06 −.09 −.13 -
Outcomes
5. Depressive Symp. −.32*** −.33*** −.19** .24** -
6. Grades .38*** .02 .17* −.02 −.02 -
7. School Belong. .48*** .21** .27*** −.10 −.39*** .23** -
Covariate
8. Age −.12 −.09 −.05 .09 .16* −.02 −.17* -
9. Gender .08 .10 .03 .14 .10 .15* .02 −.02 -
M 3.70 3.17 3.79 2.01 17.21 7.26 3.28 12.35 .53
SD .87 1.00 .74 1.03 10.98 1.62 .64 1.05 .50
Skewness −.30 .02 −.46 1.17 .72 −1.16 −.79 .08 −.13
Kurtosis −.32 −.95 .52 .74 .01 .97 .09 −.81 −2.00
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Note. N=201 adolescents. LPA = Latent Profile Analysis, Prep. = Preparation, Symp = Symptoms, Belong. = Belonging, Gender: Girls = 1 Boys = 0,

*

p < .05

**

p < .01

***

p < .001.

Aim 1. Identifying Asset Profiles

Aim 1 was to examine whether covariations in adolescents’ active coping strategies, bicultural comfort, bicultural facility, and preparation for bias resulted in unique asset profiles. A series of profile solutions (1 – 6 profile solutions) were examined to determine the number of profiles to retain (see Table 2). The AIC and BIC decreased across all profile solutions, suggesting improved fit with each additional profile. The LMRT p-value was statistically significant for the 2-profile solution and the 5-profile solution, suggesting improved fit compared to the 3-profile, 4-profile, and 6-profile solutions, respectively. Further, the BLRT p-value was statistically significant for all profile solutions except the 6-profile solution, suggesting improved fit with the addition of each profile but the 6-profile solution. The entropy values for the 2-profile and the 4-profile solutions were below .80; however, entropy values improved to above .8 for the 3-profile and 6-profile solutions, and to .8 for the 5-profile solution, indicating adequate profile classification. The 5-profile solution was selected because the fit indices met corresponding criteria, achieved parsimony, and the profiles were qualitatively determined to possess substantive meaning.

Table 2.

Latent Profile Analyses Fit Indices and Statistics for the 1 to 6 Profile Solution

Profiles N AIC BIC ABIC Entropy Profile Probabilities BLRT LMRT
1 201 2077.70 2104.12 2078.78 1
2 111 90 2027.57 2070.51 2029.32 0.70 .92 .91 0.00 0.00
3 49 16 136 2002.63 2062.09 2005.07 0.88 .92 .95 .96 0.00 0.15
4 100 60 32 9 1986.84 2062.81 1989.95 0.73 .84 .84 .85 .91 0.00 0.48
5 42 9 62 78 10 1964.81 2057.30 1968.59 0.80 .87 .96 .86 .86 .95 0.00 0.02
6 73 64 23 8 24 9 1963.06 2072.06 1967.52 0.81 .87 .87 .83 .92 .75 .98 0.67 0.73
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Note. Bold indicates selected profile solution. N = number of adolescents in a profile; AIC = Akaike information criterion; BIC = Bayesian information criterion; ABIC = adjusted Bayesian information criterion; BLRT = bootstrapped likelihood ratio test; LMRT = Lo-Mendell-Rubin Test.

Each profile in the 5-profile solution was given names according to the configurations of the indicator variables (see Figure 1). The average competencies-low bias preparation profile was the largest (38.81% of the sample) and included students who had near average levels of coping and bicultural competency, but low levels of bias preparation compared to the sample average. The high competencies-low bias preparation profile (30.85%) included students who had high levels of coping and bicultural competency, but low levels of bias preparation compared to the sample average. The average assets profile (20.90%) included students who had near average levels across all indicators. The high assets profile (4.98%) included students who had high levels across all assets compared to the sample means of all indicators. The average to low competencies-high bias preparation profile (4.48%) included students who had near average levels of active coping and bicultural facility, low levels of bicultural comfort, but high levels of bias preparation, compared to the sample average. Follow-up analyses indicated mean differences across profiles in active coping, F(4, 201) = 5.16, p < .001, bicultural comfort, F(4, 201) = 79.66, p < .001, bicultural facility, F(4, 201) = 20.05, p < .001, and preparation for bias, F(4, 201) = 247.34, p < .001, across profiles (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

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Latent Profile Analysis of Assets Among Latinx Adolescents

Note. 5-profile solution of active coping, bicultural comfort, bicultural facility, and preparation for bias; profile means for each indicator are displayed at the top of each bar; sample means are displayed next to each indicator at the bottom of the chart; M = Sample mean, n = number of adolescents in the profile; columns of the same color that do not share the same subscript were significantly different at p < .05.

Aim 2: Differences in School Functioning and Mental Health by Profile Membership

Aim 2 examined differences in school belonging, grades, and depressive symptoms by profile membership. The ANCOVA results showed there were no significant differences in grades by profile membership (see Table 3). However, there were differences in school belonging by profile membership. The results showed that the high competencies-low bias preparation profile had significantly higher levels of school belonging than the average assets profile and the average competencies-low bias preparation profile. No other differences were found in school belonging by profile membership. Moving to the differences found in depressive symptoms by profile membership, the results showed that the high competencies-low bias preparation profile had significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than the average assets, average to low competencies-high bias preparation, and average competencies-low bias preparation profiles. The high assets profile had significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than the average to low competencies-high bias preparation profile. There were no other significant differences in depressive symptoms between profiles.

Table 3.

Differences on Outcomes by LPA profiles (5 class)

Average Assets (n=42) Average to low competencies- high bias preparation (n=9) High competencies- low bias preparation (n=62) Average competencies- low bias preparation (n=78) High Assets (n=10) R 2 Statistic
M (SE)
School Belonging 3.09(0.66)abde 3.11(0.89)bcde 3.51(0.49)ce 3.16(0.65)de 3.58(0.57)e .11 F(4, 201) = 4.25, p < .01
Grades 7.28(1.28) 6.89(1.69) 7.30(1.63) 7.20(1.70) 7.30(2.31) .03 F(4, 201) = 0.19, ns
Depressive symptoms 21.31(10.29)abde 27.33(14.53)bd 11.39(7.89)ce 19.15(10.92)de 14.00(10.67)e .20 F(4, 201) = 9.06, p < .001
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Note. Means not sharing subscripts are significantly different from one another. N = 201 adolescents. LPA = Latent Profile Analysis. SE = Standard Error. ns = nonsignificant.

Discussion

The current study extended existing literature on assets among ethnically marginalized adolescents in several ways. First, extant research examining assets has been variable centered; the current study’s use of person-centered methodology addressed the diverse configurations of asset typologies that exist among ethnically marginalized adolescents. Second, this study extended asset research by using an ethnically homogeneous sample of Latinx middle school students that allowed for an understanding of within group variations on universal and ethnic-cultural assets, which is missing from the literature. Finally, this is the first study highlighting the importance of both universal and ethnic-cultural assets and how these assets work holistically to support adjustment among Latinx middle school students.

Aim 1. Identifying Asset Profiles

As hypothesized, unique profiles emerged, and one profile included adolescents that were high across all indicators. The current study suggests that during middle school, Latinx adolescents display significant variation in the endorsement of assets and Latinx adolescents’ asset profiles highlight dual adaptation processes, that is, youth draw from both ethnic-cultural and universal assets. Across profiles, most adolescents in this sample fell into a profile of youth who endorsed average to high levels of both universal and ethnic-cultural assets (i.e., average competencies-low bias preparation; high competencies-low bias preparation, and average assets), with the exception of preparation for bias being low among adolescents in the average competencies-low bias preparation, and high competencies-low bias preparation profiles. Also, it is important to note that our results showed, in total, a preponderance of youth were in highly adaptive profiles, as both high competencies-low bias preparation and high assets profiles were found to equally relate to adjustment, aligning with extant work that highlights the strength and resilience of marginalized communities (Tuck, 2009).

Interestingly, no profile emerged in which the ethnic-cultural and universal assets were considered low. This finding highlights that adolescents in this study, as they continually navigate a racialized system prone to facilitate negative experiences, have developed robust levels of assets. Perhaps Latinx adolescents in this study have high levels of assets because cultural adaptational processes allowed for the development of ethnic-cultural assets, as a function of advice and guidance being passed down through generations as a way to help, support, and guide adolescents (García-Coll et al., 1996). Moreover, among adolescents in this study, universal assets, such as problem-solving, may also be fostered within their general society, including within families of color (Lazzara, 2020). Finally, the emergence of five unique asset profiles highlights the importance of taking a person-centered approach to explore the heterogeneity within the Latinx population, because these types of profiles could not have been discovered using a variable-centered approach.

The five asset profiles also share some commonalities that point to frequent patterns within this sample of adolescents. The two largest profiles (i.e., average competencies-low bias preparation; high competencies-low bias preparation) had the lowest levels of preparation for bias, but near average and high levels of bicultural competency within each profile, respectively. Aligning with extant literature (Priest et al., 2014), perhaps Latinx families in this sample focused less on preparation for bias during this particular developmental stage. Although there is evidence for the salience of preparation for bias in the lives of ethnically marginalized youth (Anderson et al., 2015), families of color also recognize the deleterious impact that awareness of bias may have on youth when such knowledge is provided too often or too early in development (Hughes & Johnson, 2001). Moreover, the majority of adolescents in this study only spoke English and extant literature suggests Latinx parents that primarily speak Spanish report greater use of preparation for bias (Anderson et al., 2015). Thus, there may be a need for programing and intervention efforts at the school level to support preparation for bias among Latinx adolescents that only speak English. Also, adolescents in this study attended schools in which the majority of the student body were Latinx. As such, experiences of ethnic/racial bias may have been limited to interactions with adults at school or a small body of peers, facilitating a limited need for parents to prepare adolescents in this study for bias experiences. Therefore, there may be a need for preparation for bias programing and intervention efforts in middle schools with a predominantly Latinx student population to support adolescents transition to high schools that may have a small Latinx student population.

Indeed, given the average to high levels of competencies, perhaps the families in this sample directed their energies towards instilling culturally salient values, beliefs, and traditions to counterbalance the American cultural socialization their adolescents receive from the broader society, ensuring their youth are biculturally competent. The majority of Latinx adolescents in this sample reported a sense of ease negotiating both American and Latinx cultural contexts (i.e., bicultural facility), but these youth report less comfort in managing their two cultural contexts (i.e., bicultural comfort), as a portion of Latinx adolescents in this sample were included in a profile with low levels of bicultural comfort (i.e., average to low competencies-high bias preparation). Early adolescence, socially demarcated by the start of middle school, is a period in which youth have the cognitive capacity to explore both their personal and social identities (Lazzara, 2020) and, in the process, evaluate and internalize aspects of the norms, beliefs, values, traditions within both cultural contexts (Basilio et al., 2014). During this evaluation process, Latinx adolescents in this sample may have found some American norms, beliefs, values, traditions contradict or conflict with those of Latinx cultures, which may cause these youth discomfort as they negotiate both cultural contexts, resulting in low bicultural comfort. The findings of this study suggest middle school is a sensitive period in which intervention and prevention supports are needed to foster bicultural comfort as adolescents negotiate both American and Latinx cultural contexts.

Aim 2. Differences in School Functioning and Mental Health by Profile Membership

We hypothesized that the high assets profile would support adolescents’ grades. Latinx adolescents’ grades did not differ by profile membership. Past work examining achievement (i.e., college attendance) among Latinx adolescents focused on the covariation of universal assets such as math attitudes and parental communication (Boutin-Martinez et al., 2019). Differences in achievement may be tied to school-oriented assets such as math attitudes (Boutin-Martinez et al., 2019). The inclusion of more school-oriented universal and ethnic-cultural assets, such as educational parental modeling, may help identify differences in Latinx adolescents’ grades by profile membership in future work.

We also hypothesized that the high assets profile would support school belonging and relate to lower depressive symptoms. The findings showed that both the high assets and high competencies-low bias preparation profiles equally supported school belonging and related to lower depressive symptoms. The highly elevated use of a universal asset along with some ethnic-cultural assets may have facilitated the easy navigation of the Latinx and U.S. cultural contexts, supporting adjustment among Latinx adolescents in this sample. These study findings are consistent with past work suggesting that the ability to navigate U.S. society reduces feelings of anxiety, social phobia, and worry (Safa et al., 2019), and facilitates peer relationships (Carbajal et al., 2022). Perhaps, Latinx adolescents that relied heavily on their universal ethnic-cultural assets were better able to navigate an Americanized school context which may have facilitated the development of peer relationships, allowing them to feel a sense of school belonging and support their mental health. Conversely, adolescents with average levels of a universal asset and some ethnic-cultural assets (i.e., average assets, average competencies- low bias preparation profiles) may at times struggle to navigate an Americanized school context limiting their interest or engagement in school activities and may facilitate feelings of anxiety, and worry, resulting in lower school belonging and more depressive symptoms. The findings suggest the unique patterns of high active coping and bicultural competency, and low preparation for bias are important to Latinx adolescents’ adjustment. As such, prevention and intervention efforts focused on fostering school belonging and facilitating lower depressive symptoms among Latinx adolescents may benefit from encouraging the high use of a universal asset (i.e., active coping) alongside ethnic-cultural assets (i.e., bicultural competency).

Interestingly, the only significant difference between the high competencies-low bias preparation profile and the high assets profile, the two most adaptive profiles, was the level of preparation for bias. Consistent with prior work showing null results for preparation for bias and adjustment (Grindal & Nieri, 2015), this study found that active coping and bicultural competence, including facility and comfort, are more central to Latinx adolescent adjustment; that is, the level of endorsement of preparation for bias did not result in differences in levels of school belonging and depressive symptoms. Prior work has suggested that the benefits, deleterious impacts, and null associations of preparation for bias to adjustment are driven by contextual factors (e.g., high-quality parent-adolescent communication; Lambert et al., 2015). Extending this idea, the findings of the present study suggest that high levels of preparation for bias relates to maladjustment (i.e., higher depressive symptoms) when adolescents are not proficient in negotiating American and Latinx cultural contexts. The ability to negotiate American and Latinx cultural contexts make U.S. sociocultural contexts more familiar and easier to navigate (Safa et al., 2019), which may act as a counterweight for the worry, and anxiety an awareness of bias may facilitate (Hughes & Johnson, 2001). As context seems to play a role in the association between preparation for bias and adjustment, it may be important to study this construct using person-centered approaches to identify contextual factors that function alongside preparation for bias to support adjustment.

Limitations and Future Directions

The findings of the current study should be viewed in light of the following limitations. The current study used cross-sectional data, therefore temporal precedence could not be established between profile membership and school functioning and depressive symptoms. Also, the cross-sectional study design limits elucidating the extent to which these profiles are stable over time and whether these assets may be time-varying. Future research should use longitudinal data and examine whether asset profile membership is stable and predicts changes in school functioning and depressive symptoms over time. Also, these data were collected from adolescents from a specific region in the Southwest; as such, the findings of this study may not be generalizable to Latinx adolescents living in other parts of the United States. Thus, future research should use a more nationally representative sample of Latinx populations to enable generalizability of profiles and their relation to outcomes. Participants were not asked about their race; therefore, we could not interpret the findings of the current study in the contexts of adolescents’ racial background. Future work should ask participants to report race to better understand variations found in the ethnic-cultural assets of bicultural competency and preparation for bias. The majority of adolescents in the sample were U.S.-born and only a small percentage of adolescents were foreign-born. Future research should use a sample that has about an equal number of U.S.-born and foreign-born adolescents to capture profiles common between groups and unique profiles that may exist for one group or the other. Another limitation of this study is the sample size which may have limited the number of profiles that could be extracted. Future work should use a larger sample size and capture all possible profiles that may exist within Latinx adolescent populations.

Conclusion

The current study expanded on existing variable centered research by capturing the unique patterns of universal and ethnic-cultural assets present within Latinx adolescent populations and identified profiles that supported school belonging and related to lower depressive symptoms. The findings of this study suggest, to foster school belonging and facilitate lower depressive symptoms, Latinx adolescents should be encouraged to substantially or highly rely on both universal and ethnic-cultural assets, specifically active coping, and bicultural competency. Further, it may benefit prevention and intervention efforts focused on school functioning and mental health to provide resources that cultivate the substantial use of active coping and bicultural competency among Latinx adolescents. Overall, by taking a person-centered approach the current study highlighted the unique ways developmental assets support school belonging and relate to lower depressive symptoms among Latinx adolescents, findings that could not have been captured using a variable centered approach.

Public Significance Statement.

Latinx adolescents in this study had average to high levels of problem-solving skills and were average to high levels in feeling comfortable and competent navigating both American culture and Latinx culture, but most adolescents were low in their bias preparation. The results showed that Latinx adolescents in this study with high levels of problem-solving and cultural navigation skills, even with low levels of bias preparation, had reported better school belonging and lower depressive symptoms. The findings of this study suggest it is important to foster problem-solving and cultural navigation skills to support school functioning and mental health among Latinx adolescents.

Funding Statement:

This work was supported by the William T. Grant Foundation awarded to Melissa Y. Delgado and the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities awarded to Kiera M. Coulter (K99MD019319).

Contributor Information

Rayni Thomas, The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics & Psychometrics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 840 N. 14th St, Carolyn Pope Edwards Hall, Room 73, Lincoln, NE, 68588.

Melissa Y. Delgado, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, The University of Arizona, 650 N Park Avenue, McClelland Park, Room 235, Tucson, AZ 85721-0078

Rajni L. Nair, College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Ave, Suite 345, Phoenix, AZ 85004-0696

Kiera M. Coulter, Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, College of Liberal Arts, 305 E. 23rd Street, Austin, TX, 78712

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