title: Associations of ethnic discrimination with symptoms of anxiety and depression among Hispanic emerging adults: a moderated mediation model.
abstract: Emerging adulthood is often marked with elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression. Hispanic emerging adults may face cultural stressors such as ethnic discrimination that further increase levels of anxiety and depression symptoms. The study aims were to examine if (a) self-esteem mediated effects of ethnic discrimination on symptoms of anxiety and depression, and (b) if gender moderated the indirect effects of discrimination.
  
  
  
  The study design was cross-sectional self-report.
  
  
  
  Two moderated mediation models were tested, with 1084 Hispanic emerging adults (ages 18-25) enrolled in institutions of post-secondary in the United States.
  
  
  
  Results indicated that (a) higher ethnic discrimination was associated with higher anxiety symptoms (β = .05, p = .04), higher depression symptoms (β = .06, p = .02), and lower self-esteem (β = -.30, p < .001); (b) self-esteem mediated the associations of ethnic discrimination with anxiety and depression symptoms; and (c) gender moderated the indirect effects of discrimination, whereby self-esteem was a stronger mediator among men than women. Each moderated mediation model explained 26% of variability in symptoms of anxiety and depression, respectively.
  
  
  
  Findings suggest that the mediating effects of self-esteem linking ethnic discrimination with symptoms of anxiety and depression vary between genders.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology , Florida International University , Miami , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Miguel Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Cano
authors.affiliation: b School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Yessenia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: c Department of Health Disparities Research , The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , Houston , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Marcel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Dios
authors.affiliation: d Public Health Sciences, University of Miami , Miami , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Seth J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: e Department of Psychology , University of South Carolina , Columbia , SC , USA.
authors.forename: Elma I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Lorenzo-Blanco
authors.affiliation: f Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences , The University of Texas School of Public Health , Houston , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Angelica M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Roncancio
authors.affiliation: g School of Social Work , Florida International University , Miami , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Marcos J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: h Department of Epidemiology , Center for Substance Use and HIV/AIDS Research on Latinos in the United States (C-SALUD), Florida International University , Miami , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Diana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sheehan
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology , Florida International University , Miami , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Rehab
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Auf
authors.affiliation: i Department of Psychological Sciences , Texas Tech University , Lubbock , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Brandy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Piña-Watson
authors.affiliation: j Department of Psychology , California State University , Northridge, Los Angeles , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Que-Lam
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.affiliation: k Department of Psychology , Smith College , Northampton , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Byron L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Zamboanga
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063505:Racism / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Hispanics; anxiety; depression; emerging adults; ethnic discrimination; self-esteem