774 - Internalizing Distress Among Chinese Immigrant Mothers is Associated with Early Child Psychological Adjustment

Publication Number: 774.5275

May Ling D.. Halim, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, United States; Sean P. Lane, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, United States; Esther J. Choe, California State University, Long Beach, Norwalk, CA, United States

Background: Mothers’ internalizing distress has been linked with children’s socioemotional development. Yet few studies have examined these links among Asian immigrant families who might be exposed to multiple stressors, such as acculturative stress, racial and anti-immigrant discrimination, and financial hardship. Further, few studies have examined how patterns of mothers’ internalizing distress over time impact young children’s psychological adjustment.

Objective: Examine the link between Chinese immigrant mothers’ internalizing distress over a two-year period with their child’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors in first grade.

Design/Methods: Chinese immigrant mothers were interviewed annually when their children were age 4 through age 6 and assessed for internalizing distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale K6) at each of the 3 waves. When children were age 6, mothers were interviewed to assess children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors (Child Behavioral Questionnaire, Social Skills Rating Scale). A latent growth curve model was used to identify common patterns of internalizing distress trajectories and to test whether internalizing distress trajectories among mothers was associated with child adjustment outcomes. Covariates included mother’s age, education, cohabitation status, and household income.

Results: On average, Chinese immigrant mothers’ (N = 92) internalizing distress was low and stable across the two-year period. However, greater overall levels of internalizing distress among mothers was associated with greater internalizing behaviors (β = .63 [.09], p < .001) and externalizing behaviors (β = .44 [.11], p < .001) among their children.

Conclusion(s): Increased internalizing distress among Chinese immigrant mothers was positively associated with increased internalizing and externalizing behaviors among their 6-year-old children. These results highlight the importance of promoting mothers’ well-being when considering interventions to improve children’s mental health.

Figure 1
Path diagram of the latent growth curve model.

Table 1 Latent Growth Curve Model Coefficients
Mothers who were cohabitating with their child’s father and mothers with less than a high school education were the reference groups.