Abstracts Psychology

THE DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF FILIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON LATINX YOUTH INTERNALIZING AND EXTERNALIZING PROBLEMS

by Fabiola Herrera

Latinx adolescents from immigrant families often face more challenges than their peers due to simultaneously navigating the demands of two cultures. Many Latinx children are expected to contribute to the household in multiple ways, such as engagement in tasks like filial responsibility, which can impact their development. Filial responsibility is composed of three dimensions 1) instrumental caregiving (e.g., cleaning, translating, and paying bills), 2) emotional caregiving (e.g., providing emotional support to the family), and 3) perceived unfairness (i.e., feelings about whether caregiving tasks are fair). The present study aimed to examine the dimensions of filial responsibility and their relations to internalizing and externalizing problems in Latinx youth and whether perceived unfairness acted as a mediator. Participants were 176 Latinx youth (Mage = 15.51 years, 66% female). Our SEM model demonstrated that filial responsibility (instrumental and emotional caregiving) did not have a mediating effect on perceived unfairness in youth adjustment. Evidence was found for filial responsibility (emotional and instrumental caregiving) being differentially related to youth adjustment directly over time. Instrumental caregiving at T1 negatively predicted internalizing behaviors at T2, while T1 emotional caregiving positively predicted both internalizing and externalizing behaviors at T2 (controlling for prior youth adjustment). Results demonstrate the importance of independently examining the impact of instrumental and emotional caregiving on youth adjustment. Future studies should assess the impact of caregiving tasks on other youth outcomes such as academic success.