The role of parental citizenship status on depression of U.S. citizen children

The purpose of this study was to determine how parental citizenship status played a role in the depression scores of Hispanic/Latinx children in the sample. Eight-hundred thirty-five participants from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) were included in this study. The Center of Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess depression scores among this sample of Hispanic/Latinx children. Participants were separated into the following categories: Both parents U.S. citizens, one parent U.S. citizen, neither parent U.S. citizen. Analysis of variance showed that there is a significant relationship between depression and parental citizenship status. The depression scores of individuals who had one parent who is a U.S. citizen was significantly higher than those who had both parents who are U.S. citizens. Ordinary least of squares regression revealed that having one parent who is a U.S. citizen was a significant predictor of depression outcomes.