Family Conflict and Neighborhood Context in Latino Adolescent Depression: An ABCD Study

Latino adolescents experience disproportionately high rates of depressive symptoms relative to other racial and ethnic groups in the United States, yet the multilevel factors shaping these disparities remain understudied. Family conflict is an important predictor of adolescent mental health, particularly within Latino communities where family relationships occupy a central role in social and emotional development. Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study four-year follow-up (N = 1,796), we examined whether neighborhood social vulnerability moderated the association between family conflict and depressive symptoms among Latino adolescents. Multilevel models were estimated separately for each of the four Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) themes: socioeconomic status, household composition/disability, minority status/language, and housing/transportation. Family conflict was a consistent predictor of depressive symptoms across all four models (Theme 1: b = 5.36, p < .001; Theme 2: b = 4.91, p < .001; Theme 3: b = 3.00, p = .159; Theme 4: b = 3.60, p = .015), with a mean CBCL withdrawn-depressed T-score of 53.96 (SD = 6.49) across the sample. No interaction effects were statistically significant. These findings underscore the centrality of family dynamics as a driver of depressive symptoms among Latino adolescents regardless of neighborhood context. Future research should integrate opportunity-focused neighborhood metrics, investigate mediation pathways, and incorporate additional ecological factors to better understand the multilevel determinants of Latino adolescent mental health.