Cohort and Generation Differences in Mental Health among Immigrant Adolescents: The Influence of Family and Community Characteristics

Felicia Y. DeLeone, Cornell University

This research examines cohort and generation differences in predictors of psychological well-being among U.S. immigrant adolescents. The analysis specifically focuses on the influence of family and community characteristics and examines (1) associations between cohort, generation, and mental health in this population (2) how well community and family background measures predict these outcomes for immigrants from varying cohorts and generations and (3) how these effects differ by cohort and generation. To disentangle generational change from cohort differences, logistic regression and regression decomposition techniques are preformed using both the 1979 and 1997 cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The analysis includes measures of family and community background unique to the immigrant experience and contributes to the immigrant adaptation and mental health literatures by accommodating for shifts in cohort composition exhibited in the United States since 1950.