Parent–Adolescent Acculturation Profiles and Adolescent Language Brokering Experiences in Mexican Immigrant Families

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Language brokering is a special form of interpersonal communication that is affected by the cultural and relational settings in which it occurs. The current study...     

Parent–Adolescent Discrepancies in Reports of Parenting and Adolescent Outcomes in Mexican Immigrant Families

Parents and adolescents often have discrepant views of parenting which pose challenges for researchers regarding how to deal with information from multiple informants. Although recent studies indicate that parent–adolescent discrepancies in reports of parenting can be useful in predicting adolescent outcomes, their findings are mixed regarding whether discrepancies relate to more positive or more negative adolescent outcomes. This study examined the longitudinal implications of parent–adolescent discrepancies in reports of parenting (warmth, monitoring, and reasoning) on adolescent behavioral, psychological, academic, and physical health outcomes among Mexican immigrant families in the United States. Participants were 604 adolescents (54% female, M _age.wave1?=?12.41 years) and their parents. Taking a person-centered approach, this study identified distinct patterns of parent–adolescent discrepancies in parenting and their different associations with later adolescent outcomes. Adolescents’ more negative perceptions of parenting relative to parents were associated with more negative adolescent outcomes, whereas adolescents’ more positive perceptions relative to parents related to more positive adolescent outcomes. There were also variations in discrepancy patterns and their associations with adolescent outcomes between mother–adolescent vs. father-adolescent dyads. Findings of the current study highlight individual variations of discrepancies among parent–adolescent dyads and the importance of considering both the magnitude and direction of discrepancies regarding their associations with adolescent well-being.     

Parent–Child Acculturation Discrepancy, Perceived Parental Knowledge, Peer Deviance, and Adolescent Delinquency in Chinese Immigrant Families

Parent-child acculturation discrepancy has been considered a risk factor for child maladjustment. The current study examined parent-child acculturation discrepancy as an ongoing risk factor for delinquency, through the mediating pathway of parental knowledge of the child's daily experiences relating to contact with deviant peers. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal project with 4 years between data collection waves: 201 Chinese immigrant families participated at Wave 1 (123 girls and 78 boys) and 183 families (110 girls and 73 boys) participated at Wave 2. Based on the absolute difference in acculturation levels (tested separately for Chinese and American orientations) between adolescents and parents, one parent in each family was assigned to the "more discrepant" group of parent-child dyads, and the other parent was assigned to the "less discrepant" group of parent-child dyads. To explore possible within-family variations, the mediating pathways were tested separately among the more and less discrepant groups. Structural equation modeling showed that the proposed mediating pathways were significant only among the more discrepant parent-adolescent dyads in American orientation. Among these dyads, a high level of parent-child acculturation discrepancy is related to adolescent perceptions of less parental knowledge, which is related to adolescents having more contact with deviant peers, which in turn leads to more adolescent delinquency. This mediating pathway is significant concurrently, within early and middle adolescence, and longitudinally, from early to middle adolescence. These findings illuminate some of the dynamics in the more culturally discrepant parent-child dyad in a family and highlight the importance of examining parent-child acculturation discrepancy within family systems.     

A Person-centered Approach to Studying the Linkages among Parent–Child Differences in Cultural Orientation,Supportive Parenting,and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms in Chinese American Families

This longitudinal study examined whether supportive parenting mediates relations between parent–child differences in cultural orientation (generational dissonance) and depressive symptoms with a sample of 451 first and second generation Chinese American parents and adolescents (12–15 years old at time 1). Using a person-centered approach, meaningful typologies of cultural orientation were derived for fathers, mothers, and adolescents. Overall, results provided support, though qualified, for the notion that generational dissonance is linked to depressive symptoms through decreased supportive parenting. In general, having a parent with a bicultural profile seemed to be most advantageous if adolescents similarly had a bicultural profile, whereas more American oriented adolescents with more Chinese oriented parents reported the least supportive parenting and most depressive symptoms. Directions for future research and the benefits of using a person-centered approach in research of acculturation and generational dissonance are discussed.

Demographic and Psychological Predictors of Parent–Adolescent Communication About Sex: A Representative Statewide Analysis

Sexual communication is a principal means of transmitting sexual values, beliefs, expectations, and knowledge between parents and children. Although this area has received considerable research attention, more studies with representative samples are needed to assure that findings are reflective of populations of interest. A representative statewide sample of households with adolescents (N = 907) from a large and diverse state in the United States was employed to examine the content and extent of sexual communication between parents and their adolescents, and the influence of selected primary demographic (age and gender), socio-demographic (Hispanic ethnicity, education, and religious attendance), and psychological (self-reported comfort, knowledge, and sexual communication difficulties) factors on the number of topics discussed. More than two-thirds of the parents reported experiencing some type of sexual communication difficulty, such as developmental concerns and embarrassment. Hierarchical regression results indicated that self-reported comfort, knowledge, and sexual communication difficulties strongly predicted the number of topics discussed, beyond the effect of demographic variables. These findings reinforce the notion that sexual communication between parents and adolescents can be universally challenging, and parents of both genders, all ages, and all socio-demographic characteristics might benefit from education and support.     

The Influence of Maternal Acculturation,Neighborhood Disadvantage,and Parenting on Chinese American Adolescents’ Conduct Problems: Testing the Segmented Assimilation Hypothesis

Associations among neighborhood disadvantage, maternal acculturation, parenting and conduct problems were investigated in a sample of 444 Chinese American adolescents. Adolescents (54% female, 46% male) ranged from 12 to 15 years of age (mean age = 13.0 years). Multilevel modeling was employed to test the hypothesis that the association between maternal acculturation and adolescents’ conduct problems could be explained by differences in mothers’ reliance on monitoring and harsh discipline. In addition, guided by segmented assimilation theory, measures of neighborhood disadvantage were expected not only to be related to differences in parenting, but also to moderate the effects of maternal acculturation on parenting. Results indicated that increased maternal acculturation was related to higher levels of maternal monitoring and lower levels of harsh discipline, which, in turn, were related to lower levels of adolescents’ conduct problems. Hierarchical linear modeling results revealed that neighborhood disadvantage was related to lower levels of maternal monitoring. However, neighborhood disadvantage did not moderate the link between maternal acculturation and parenting practices.

Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction: Investigating the Attenuating Role of Positive Parent–Adolescent Relationships

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Previous research has shown that adolescents´ social media use predicts increased body dissatisfaction. However, little is known about social environmental...     

On the Development of Harmony,Turbulence, and Independence in Parent–Adolescent Relationships: A Five-Wave Longitudinal Study

The separation-individuation, evolutionary, maturational, and expectancy violation-realignment perspectives propose that the relationship between parents and adolescents deteriorate as adolescents become independent. This study examines the extent to which the development of adolescents’ perceived relationship with their parents is consistent with the four perspectives. A latent transition analysis was performed in a two-cohort five-wave longitudinal study design covering ages 12–16 (n?=?919, 49.2% female) and 16–20 (n?=?392, 56.6% female). Generally, from 12 to 16 year adolescents moved away from parental authority and perceived increasing conflicts with their parents, whereas from 16 to 20 years adolescents perceived independence and improved their relationships with parents. Hereby, we also identified substantial patterns of individual differences. Together, these general and individual patterns provide fine-grained insights in relationship quality development.     

Effect of Early Child Care and Education Attendance Hours on Parent–Child Interaction in Central Asia: Evaluation of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys

Parent–child interaction is important for early childhood development and best practice in early child care and education (ECCE) promotes effective parent–child interaction. However, research about ECCE impact on parent–child interaction is inconclusive. This study analyzed data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) to examine the effect of ECCE attendance on parent–child interactions in Central Asia, using a 2SLS regression analysis to explicitly model selection bias and isolate the causal effect of ECCE on the quality of parent–child interactions.The study found that increased hours of ECCE led to increased parent–child interaction in every country under investigation. This demonstrates that even underfunded ECCE programs in Central Asia can have significant positive effect, and has broader implications for all ECCE programs.     

Correction to: Examining the Interdependence of Parent-adolescent Acculturation Gaps on Acculturation-based Conflict: Using the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - The original version of this article unfortunately contained an alignment error in the tables. The corrected Tables 1 and 2 are presented with this erratum.