The Associations Between Culture-Related Stressors and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Latino/a College Students: The Mediating Role of Cultural Identity

U.S. Latino/a college students face distinct stressors, including acculturative stress and enculturative stress, impacting their capacity to engage in prosocial behaviors (voluntary actions benefiting others). Cultural stress can deplete resources essential to engaging in altruistic acts (selflessly...

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Main Authors: Marixza Torres, Gustavo Carlo, Alexandra N. Davis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Adolescents
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7051/5/1/4
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author Marixza Torres
Gustavo Carlo
Alexandra N. Davis
author_facet Marixza Torres
Gustavo Carlo
Alexandra N. Davis
author_sort Marixza Torres
collection DOAJ
description U.S. Latino/a college students face distinct stressors, including acculturative stress and enculturative stress, impacting their capacity to engage in prosocial behaviors (voluntary actions benefiting others). Cultural stress can deplete resources essential to engaging in altruistic acts (selflessly motivated helping), yet it can also stimulate selfishly motivated prosocial behaviors. The present study examines how cultural adjustment stressors and cultural identity relate to prosocial behaviors among U.S. Latino/a college students. A sample of 1450 U.S. Latino/a college students (M age = 19.7 years; SD = 1.61; 75.4% women) completed an online survey assessing their levels of enculturative and acculturative stress, ethnic and U.S. identity, and altruistic and public prosocial behaviors. A path analysis revealed that higher enculturative stress is associated with lower ethnic identity, which, in turn, predicts increased public prosocial behaviors. Conversely, acculturative stress is linked with higher ethnic identity, leading to elevated public prosocial behaviors. The discussion underscores the importance of mitigating culture-related stress that can stem from home and U.S. society to enhance the well-being of U.S. Latino/as.
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spelling doaj-art-8a42d4f3261e4402b327387059e619b02025-08-20T02:41:43ZengMDPI AGAdolescents2673-70512025-01-0151410.3390/adolescents5010004The Associations Between Culture-Related Stressors and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Latino/a College Students: The Mediating Role of Cultural IdentityMarixza Torres0Gustavo Carlo1Alexandra N. Davis2School of Education, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USASchool of Education, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USAIndividual, Family, and Community Education Department, College of Education, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USAU.S. Latino/a college students face distinct stressors, including acculturative stress and enculturative stress, impacting their capacity to engage in prosocial behaviors (voluntary actions benefiting others). Cultural stress can deplete resources essential to engaging in altruistic acts (selflessly motivated helping), yet it can also stimulate selfishly motivated prosocial behaviors. The present study examines how cultural adjustment stressors and cultural identity relate to prosocial behaviors among U.S. Latino/a college students. A sample of 1450 U.S. Latino/a college students (M age = 19.7 years; SD = 1.61; 75.4% women) completed an online survey assessing their levels of enculturative and acculturative stress, ethnic and U.S. identity, and altruistic and public prosocial behaviors. A path analysis revealed that higher enculturative stress is associated with lower ethnic identity, which, in turn, predicts increased public prosocial behaviors. Conversely, acculturative stress is linked with higher ethnic identity, leading to elevated public prosocial behaviors. The discussion underscores the importance of mitigating culture-related stress that can stem from home and U.S. society to enhance the well-being of U.S. Latino/as.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7051/5/1/4cultural stressethnic identityprosocial behaviors
spellingShingle Marixza Torres
Gustavo Carlo
Alexandra N. Davis
The Associations Between Culture-Related Stressors and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Latino/a College Students: The Mediating Role of Cultural Identity
Adolescents
cultural stress
ethnic identity
prosocial behaviors
title The Associations Between Culture-Related Stressors and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Latino/a College Students: The Mediating Role of Cultural Identity
title_full The Associations Between Culture-Related Stressors and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Latino/a College Students: The Mediating Role of Cultural Identity
title_fullStr The Associations Between Culture-Related Stressors and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Latino/a College Students: The Mediating Role of Cultural Identity
title_full_unstemmed The Associations Between Culture-Related Stressors and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Latino/a College Students: The Mediating Role of Cultural Identity
title_short The Associations Between Culture-Related Stressors and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Latino/a College Students: The Mediating Role of Cultural Identity
title_sort associations between culture related stressors and prosocial behaviors in u s latino a college students the mediating role of cultural identity
topic cultural stress
ethnic identity
prosocial behaviors
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7051/5/1/4
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