Exploring the Role of Ethnic Identity, Attachment, and Family Prosocial Opportunities on BIPOC Adolescents’ Anxiety and Depression

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) adolescents experience oppressive mental health stressors and barriers to receiving treatment. Ethnic identity development, attachment to parents, and family prosocial opportunities have been associated with improved mental health outcomes in BIPOC adolescents, yet there is a dearth of literature examining the intersections of these variables on anxiety and depressive outcomes for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between ethnic identity development, attachment to parents, family prosocial opportunities, and anxiety and depressive symptoms in a sample of BIPOC adolescents (N = 1424) in the Northeastern United States. Attachment to father (B = − 0.14, p < 0.01), family prosocial opportunities (B = − 0.51, p < 0.001), and ethnic identity development (B = − 0.20, p < 0.001) emerged as significant protective factors of anxiety. Similarly, attachment to father (B = − 0.14, p < 0.01), attachment to mother (B = − 0.19, p < 0.05), family prosocial opportunities (B = − 0.55, p < 0.001), and ethnic identity development (B = − 0.14, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with decreased depressive symptoms. These findings suggest implications related to culturally responsive mental health prevention and intervention efforts for practitioners who serve BIPOC adolescents.