Cultural stress, parent-adolescent communication, and depressive symptoms: Longitudinal dyadic study among recently immigrated Hispanic families

Research suggests that cultural stress positively predicts depressive symptoms among Hispanic immigrants through compromised family functioning. However, little research has examined whether the indirect effects of parents' and adolescents' cultural stress on their own depressive symptoms-via their perceptions of parent-adolescent communication-are moderated by the level of cultural stress experienced by the other family member. The present study was designed to examine (a) mediated effects and (b) moderated mediation effects of cultural stress on depressive symptoms for both parents and adolescents through parent-adolescent communication. A longitudinal structural equation model was estimated using data from 302 recent immigrant Hispanic families in Miami (n = 152) and Los Angeles (n = 150). Parents' and adolescents' cultural stress positively predicted their depressive symptoms through their own reports of impaired parent-adolescent communication. Additionally, we found significant moderated mediated effects of cultural stress on depressive symptoms for both parents and adolescents through their respective reports of impaired parent-adolescent communication. Specifically, the mediated effects of one family member's cultural stress on their depressive symptoms via parent-adolescent communication were significant only when the other family member's cultural stress was relatively low. These findings suggest that Hispanic immigrant families where parents' and adolescents' cultural stress levels do not align are vulnerable to poor parent-adolescent communication and subsequent depressive symptoms. Family interventions should be designed to build a standardized family position on experiences of cultural stress in a new context, aiming to reduce gaps in cultural stress and mitigate mental health disparities faced by vulnerable Hispanic families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).