Rejection and Latina/o Mental Health: Intragroup Marginalization and Intragroup Separation

Experiencing discrimination or rejection from one's own ethnic group can have adverse effects on mental health above and beyond general ethnic discrimination alone. Intragroup marginalization is a term that involves being marginalized by members of one's own ethnic group for acting in concordance with the mainstream culture (Castillo, Conoley, Brossart, & Quiros, 2007). Minimal research has examined rejection by one's own ethnic group for acting too enculturated to one's home culture, or intragroup separation. In the current study, a community sample of Latina/o adults (N = 233), primarily women of Mexican descent, were recruited and completed self-report surveys. Using 3 hierarchical regressions, results demonstrated that intragroup marginalization and intragroup separation predicted symptoms of depression, anxiety, and alcohol misuse above and beyond that of general ethnic discrimination alone. Moreover, family and ethnic group intragroup marginalization and intragroup separation uniquely predicted different symptoms of mental health. Additional findings suggested that nativity status served as a moderator for intragroup separation and alcohol misuse, such that the relationship strengthened for U.S.-born Latina/os. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.