Cultural Orientations,Parental Beliefs and Practices,and Latino Adolescents’ Autonomy and Independence

Despite the salience of behavioral autonomy and independence to parent–child interactions during middle adolescence, little is known about parenting processes pertinent to youth autonomy development for Latino families. Among a diverse sample of 684 Latino-origin parent–adolescent dyads in Houston, Texas, this study examines how parents’ cultural orientations are associated directly and indirectly, through parental beliefs, with parenting practices giving youth behavioral autonomy and independence. Informed by social domain theory, the study’s parenting constructs pertain to youth behaviors in an “ambiguously personal” domain—activities that adolescents believe are up to youth to decide, but which parents might argue require parents’ supervision, knowledge, and/or decision-making. Results for latent profile analyses of parents’ cultural identity across various facets of acculturation indicate considerable cultural heterogeneity among Latino parents. Although 43 % of parents have a Latino cultural orientation, others represent Spanish-speaking/bicultural (21 %), bilingual/bicultural (15 %), English-speaking/bicultural (15 %), or US (6 %) cultural orientations. Structural equation modeling results indicate that bilingual/bicultural, English-speaking/bicultural, and US-oriented parents report less emphasis on the legitimacy of parental authority and younger age expectations for youth to engage in independent behaviors than do Latino-oriented parents. Parental beliefs endorsing youth’s behavioral independence and autonomy, in turn, are associated with less stringent parental rules (parental report), less parental supervision (parental and youth report), and more youth autonomy in decision-making (parental and youth report). Evidence thus supports the idea that the diverse cultural orientations of Latino parents in the US may result in considerable variations in parenting processes pertinent to Latino adolescents’ development.     

Beyond the Deficit Model: Bullying and Trajectories of Character Virtues in Adolescence

Previous work on peer victimization has focused primarily on academic outcomes and negative indicators of youth involved in bullying. Few studies have taken a strength-based approach to examine attributes associated with bullies and victims of bullying. As such, we examined developmental trajectories of moral, performance, and civic character components, and their links to bully status using data from 713 youth (63 % female) who participated in Wave 3 (approximately Grade 7) through Wave 6 (approximately Grade 10) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that moral character was stable across waves, whereas civic character increased slightly by Wave 6. Trajectories for performance character varied; some youth alternatively displayed positive versus negative growth. Youth who reported bullying behavior reported lower initial levels of moral, performance, and civic character as compared to youth not involved in bullying. Bully–victims reported lower initial levels of moral and civic character as compared to youth not involved in bullying. Implications for future work examining character-related components in the context of peer victimization are discussed.     

An Indochinese conference in Vancouver

Abstract

An important conference took place at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, on April 1st to 6th. Six Indochinese delegates met about 600 women from Voice of Women, Women Strike for Peace, Third World, and Women's Liberation groups of western North America. The purpose of the conference was “to meet and talk in order to get a better understanding and strengthen our solidarity so as to put an early end to the war, and to give information to Canadian and U.S. friends on the situation in Indochina.” Third World delegates, who numbered about 300, came from Black, Chicano, Asian, and Native American and Canadian groups. The Indochinese also talked to G.I. wives, veterans, deserters, and draft resisters, and held public meetings with Canadian citizens. A similar conference followed in Toronto (see The Guardian, New York, April 17, page 5).     

Saghir Ahmad

Abstract

Following Yahya Khan’s invasion of East Pakistan on March 25th of this year, a small number of West Pakistani intellectuals living in North America publicly condemned the brutal massacres. Prominent among them were Saghir and Eqbal Ahmad (brothers), Feroz Ahmed, and Aijaz Ahmed, all university teachers and writers. These men wrote open letters to their government and articles on Bangla Desh, demonstrated, and gave media interviews, braving possible reprisals. Together with friends from East Bengal, they tried to inform North Americans about the conditions of the people and the character of the contending forces in Bangla Desh, and to oppose the U.S. contribution to that slaughter.     

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO—A FAMILY COURT REFLECTION

This article, adapted from the keynote address delivered at the Hofstra University School of Law Family Law Review Annual Banquet on March 24, 2011, focuses on the impact of the Family Law Review, the need to improve the stature of the family court, and shares excepts of letters written by members of the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children regarding their passion for working in the fields of child welfare and in the family court.