Family allocentrism as a cultural buffer against dysphoria: A cross-cultural examination among Mexican, Mexican-American, and European-American college students

Family allocentrism (FA) was examined as a cultural variable that may serve to reduce the risk for depression. It was proposed that perceived social support (PSS) could mediate as well as moderate the relationship between FA and depression. The mediational hypotheses predicted that individuals with higher levels of FA (i.e., family connectedness) would report higher levels of perceived social support and would in turn, report lower levels of depression. The moderational hypotheses indicated that PSS would interact with FA, so that those with higher FA would be at increased risk for depression when PSS was low. It was proposed that Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, when compared to European-Americans, would have (1) higher family allocentrism, (2) higher perceived social support, and (3) lower depression. Subjects included 338 Mexican, 138 European-American, and 68 Mexican-American college students. Results indicated significant mean differences in family allocentrism (p < .001), but there were no significant mean differences for perceived social support and/or depression. In a regression analysis family allocentrism did not significantly predict depression. Family allocentrism was found to be positively correlated with perceived social support (p < .05). A path analysis yielded indirect effects of both family allocentrism and Mexican cultural orientation on depression via perceived social support in the expected direction.