Latent growth modeling allows social behavioral researchers to investigate within-person change and between-person differences in within-person change. Typically, conventional latent growth curve models are applied to continuous variables, where the residuals are assumed to be normally distributed, whereas categorical variables (i.e., binary and ordinal variables), which do not hold to normal distribution assumptions, have rarely been used. This article describes the latent growth curve model with categorical variables, and illustrates applications using Mplus software that are applicable to social behavioral research. The illustrations use marital instability data from the Iowa Youth and Family Project. We close with recommendations for the specification and parameterization of growth models that use both logit and probit link functions.

Recent research suggests that psychosocial resources, including self-esteem, personality, and educational attainment, may be mechanisms explaining the socioeconomic variation in health risks. However, less research has examined this possibility over the early life course. A nationally representative sample of 12,424 respondents with data collected over a 13-year period from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) was examined. This study utilized a cumulative measure of early socioeconomic adversity capturing multiple dimensions of adversity to test resource focused models in a structural equation framework estimating the influence of early adversity on young adults' (ages 25-34) risk for cardio-metabolic disease, as measured by metabolic and cardiovascular bio-markers, through psychosocial resources (i.e., self-esteem, personality, and educational attainment). Lastly, potential model differences by sex and race/ethnicity were examined. The findings showed that early adversity contributed to young adults' cardio-metabolic disease risk directly. Additionally, early adversity increased young adults' cardio-metabolic disease risk indirectly through its' negative influence on the development of youths' psychosocial resources: self-esteem, positive personality, and educational attainment. The association between psychosocial resources and young adults' cardio-metabolic disease risk differed for men and women and across racial/ethnic groups. These findings contribute valuable knowledge to existing research by elucidating how early adversity exerts an enduring long-term influence on young adults' cardio-metabolic disease risk directly and indirectly through psychosocial resources. Furthermore, this information suggests that effective intervention and prevention programs should focus on early adversity and the development of youths' psychosocial resources.

The present study was conducted to identify latent profiles of adolescent-reported and parent-reported family functioning, as well as their links with adolescent and parent well-being and mental health, among recent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union to Israel. A sample of 160 parent-adolescent dyads completed measures of parent-adolescent communication, parental involvement, positive parenting, family conflict, self-esteem, optimism, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. Results indicated four latent profiles-Low Family Functioning, Moderate Family Functioning, High Family Functioning, and High Parent/Low Adolescent Family Functioning (i.e., discrepant reports of family functioning). Adolescent depressive symptoms and anxiety were highest in the discrepant profile and lowest in the High Family Function profile; adolescent self-esteem and optimism were highest in the High Family Function profile and lowest in the Low Family Function profile; and parent depressive symptoms and anxiety were highest in the Low Family Function profile and lowest in the High Family Function profile. Parent self-esteem and optimism did not differ significantly across profiles. These results are discussed in terms of cultural and developmental contexts of adolescence and parenting within immigrant families, in terms of family systems theory, and in terms of the need for clinical services among families with discrepant reports of family functioning between parents and adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The primary aim of this study was to examine the association between perceived discrimination and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outcomes among recently arrived Venezuelan parents in Florida and Colombia. The secondary aim was to determine whether, given the existence of an association between perceived discrimination and PTSD, this association may have been moderated by gender or by country of relocation. This is the first study to examine perceived discrimination and PTSD in Venezuelan migrants. In October 2017, 647 Venezuelan migrant parents (62% female, average age 33) participated in an online survey in the United States (primarily Florida) and Colombia (Bogotá). The survey was cross-sectional and assessed mental health outcomes, perceived discrimination, and participant demographics. There was a significant positive association between discrimination and PTSD outcomes when controlling for age, college completion, marital status, and recency of arrival (β = .25, p < .001). Further, this relationship was moderated by gender, with the relationships of discrimination with PTSD symptom severity (β = .26, p < .001) and likelihood of a positive PTSD screen (OR = 1.07, 95% confidence interval [1.04, 1.09], p < .001) both reaching significance for women but not for men. Perceived discrimination is an important factor when considering mental health outcomes among Venezuelans in the United States and in Colombia. Further, our findings suggest the presence of gender differences in the relationship between discrimination and PTSD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).