Daily family conflict and emotional distress among adolescents from Latin American, Asian, and European backgrounds.

The authors employed a daily diary method to assess daily frequencies of interparental and parent–adolescent conflict over a 2-week period and their implications for emotional distress across the high school years in a longitudinal sample of 415 adolescents from Latin American, Asian, and European backgrounds. Although family conflict remained fairly infrequent among all ethnic backgrounds across the high school years, its impact on emotional distress was significant across ethnicity and gender. In addition, parent–adolescent conflict significantly mediated the association between interparental conflict and emotional distress. These associations were observed at both the individual and the daily levels, providing evidence for both the chronic and episodic implications of family conflict for adolescents’ emotional adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived family support, acculturation, and life satisfaction in mexican american youth: A mixed-methods exploration.

In this article, the authors describe a mixed-methods study designed to explore perceived family support, acculturation, and life satisfaction among 266 Mexican American adolescents. Specifically, the authors conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended responses to a question about life satisfaction to understand participants' perceptions of factors that contributed to their overall satisfaction with life. The authors also conducted hierarchical regression analyses to investigate the independent and interactive contributions of perceived support from family and Mexican and Anglo acculturation orientations on life satisfaction. Convergence of mixed-methods findings demonstrated that perceived family support and Mexican orientation were significant predictors of life satisfaction in these adolescents. Implications, limitations, and directions for further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associations between family structure, family functioning, and substance use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents.

This study examined the role of family structure and functioning in predicting substance use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents, surveyed in 9th and 10th grade. The sample (N = 1433) was half female, mostly of Mexican descent, and the majority was born in the United States. Living with a single father was associated with less parental monitoring and less family cohesion (γ = ?0.07, ?0.06, respectively). Living with a single mother was associated with less parental monitoring (γ = ?0.10). Living with neither parent was associated with less communication (γ = ?0.08), less parental monitoring (γ = ?0.09), more family conflict (γ = 0.06), and less family cohesion (γ = ?0.06). Less monitoring was associated with substance use at follow-up (β = ?0.17). Low rates of parental monitoring appear to mediate the association between parental family structure and substance use. Results suggest that improving basic parenting skills and offering additional social support and resources to assist parents in monitoring adolescents may help prevent substance use. These interventions may be particularly beneficial for single parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family, school, and neighborhood: Links to Chinese American adolescent perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination.

The purpose of the study was to examine how family, school, and neighborhood factors contributed to Chinese American adolescent perceptions of discrimination. The sample included 185 Chinese American adolescents (mean age = 16.8 years, SD = .81; 58% female; 70% U.S.-born) and their parents. As hypothesized, the results showed that greater parent perceptions of discrimination, more negative school environment, and less availability of cultural resources were related to greater adolescent perceptions of discrimination. Contrary to the hypothesis, parent/adolescent subjective perceptions of ethnic density were related to greater adolescent perceptions of discrimination. The findings suggest that adolescent perceptions of discrimination are related to both within and outside family factors, supporting an ecological approach to understanding racial/ethnic discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring students' connectedness to school, teachers, and family: Validation of three scales.

Connectedness to school, teachers, and family are all significant protective factors in adolescents' lives, yet the measurement of each varies considerably. This article describes the measurement properties of three composite scales of adolescent connectedness, adapted from the Add Health study and the California Healthy Kids Survey. These composite scales are created by either summing or taking the mean of all individual items, measured on an ordinal scale. This approach fails to account for the ordinal, non-normal nature of the data. Using a covariance approach, this article describes the measurement properties of the latent constructs of connectedness to school, teachers, and family and the contribution of each of the items used to compile the relevant composite score. The outcomes of this study will provide researchers and practitioners with information about the validity, reliability, and overall usefulness of each of the measures of adolescents' perception of their connectedness to school, teachers, and family. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement goals and daily school experiences among adolescents with Asian, Latino, and European American backgrounds.

The current study examined the fit of a 2 × 2 achievement goal model among a diverse sample of nearly 700 10th-grade students, distinguishing between both mastery and performance goals and approach and avoidance orientations. Additionally, relationships between achievement goals and GPA and intrinsic value of school were examined, and adolescents' interpretations of daily school experiences and feelings were found to mediate these relationships. Together, these findings suggest that experiences in adolescents' daily lives help explain the relationship between goals and achievement outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of family obligation and depressive symptoms among Chinese American adolescents.

The purpose of this 2-year, 3-wave longitudinal study of Chinese American adolescents was to examine how family obligation behaviors and attitudes change over time; how gender, nativity, and birth order predict these trajectories; and whether family obligation relates to depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that family obligation behaviors decreased over the 2-year period but that family obligation attitudes were stable. Moreover, foreign-born adolescents reported higher levels of family obligation behavior than U.S.-born adolescents, and firstborn adolescents reported higher family obligation attitudes than laterborn adolescents. There were no gender differences in family obligation behaviors or attitudes. The findings also suggest that initial higher levels of family obligation were associated with subsequently fewer depressive symptoms. Finally, changes in family obligation behaviors related to changes in depressive symptoms over time such that increasing family obligation behaviors related to decreasing depressive symptoms. The results highlight the importance of understanding the role of family obligation to Chinese American adolescents’ mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Daily family assistance and the psychological well-being of adolescents from Latin American, Asian, and European backgrounds.

The daily diary method was used to examine the implications of adolescents’ daily assistance behaviors for both positive and negative aspects of psychological well-being among an ethnically diverse sample of 752 adolescents of ages 14 to 15 years. Results indicated that, contrary to the expectations of some observers, providing daily assistance to the family generally was not stressful for adolescents. Rather, assisting the family was associated with higher levels of happiness due, in large part, to the sense of role fulfillment it provided the adolescents. Few individual or group differences were observed in the association between family assistance and psychological well-being. These results suggest that family assistance serves as a meaningful activity in adolescents’ lives by creating a sense of connection to the family. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of African American and European American adolescents' endorsement of race-conscious social policies.

To examine the predictors of adolescents' evaluations of affirmative action and school desegregation policies, African American and European American students (ns = 94 and 116, respectively; aged 14 to 17 years) attending a racially diverse high school in the Midwestern United States completed measures of (a) implicit racial attitudes, (b) knowledge about historical racism, and (c) perceptions of and attributions for racial disparities. The following day, adolescents learned about either a proposed affirmative action policy (n = 101) or a school desegregation policy (n = 109) and completed measures of their attitudes toward the policy. Results indicated racial differences in policy support and in the factors predicting policy support. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trajectories of perceived adult and peer discrimination among Black, Latino, and Asian American adolescents: Patterns and psychological correlates.

This article presents results from a 3-year longitudinal study of the growth patterns and correlates of perceived discrimination by adults and by peers among Black, Latino, and Asian American high school students. Results revealed a linear increase over time in levels of perceived discrimination by adults, whereas perceptions of discrimination by peers remained stable over time. Asian American and non-Puerto Rican Latino adolescents (primarily Dominican) reported higher levels of peer and/or adult discrimination than did Puerto Rican youth, whereas Black adolescents reported a steeper increase over time in levels of perceived discrimination by peers and by adults than did Puerto Rican adolescents. Peer and adult discrimination was significantly associated with decreased self-esteem and increased depressive symptoms over time. Ethnic identity and ethnicity were found to moderate the relationships between perceived discrimination and changes in psychological well-being over time. Results underscore the need to include perceptions of discrimination when studying the development and well-being of ethnic minority adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family and individual factors associated with substance involvement and PTS symptoms among adolescents in greater New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Objective: This study examined the influence of hurricane impact as well as family and individual risk factors on posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and substance involvement among clinically referred adolescents affected by Hurricane Katrina. Method: A total of 80 adolescents (87% male; 13–17 years old; mean age = 15.6 years; 38% minorities) and their parents were interviewed at the adolescent's intake into substance abuse treatment, 16 to 46 months postdisaster. Independent measures included hurricane impact variables (initial loss/disruption and perceived life threat); demographic and predisaster variables (family income, gender, predisaster adolescent substance use, predisaster trauma exposure, and parental substance abuse); postdisaster family factors (parental psychopathology, family cohesion, and parental monitoring); and postdisaster adolescent delinquency. Results: Hierarchical multivariate regression analyses showed that adolescent substance involvement was associated with higher family income, lower parental monitoring (adolescent report), and more adolescent delinquency. Adolescent-reported PTS symptoms were associated with greater hurricane-related initial loss/disruption, lower family cohesion (adolescent report), and more adolescent delinquency, whereas parent-reported adolescent PTS symptoms were associated with greater parental psychopathology, lower parental monitoring (adolescent report), and lower family cohesion (parent report). Conclusions: The results suggest that hurricane impact was related only to adolescent-reported PTS. However, certain postdisaster family and individual risk factors (low family cohesion and parental monitoring, more adolescent delinquency) were associated both with adolescent substance involvement and with PTS symptoms. Identification of these factors suggests directions for future research as well as potential target areas for screening and intervention with substance-abusing adolescents after disasters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A sociocultural stress, appraisal, and coping model of subjective burden and family attitudes toward patients with schizophrenia.

A sociocultural stress, appraisal, and coping model was developed to understand relatives' burden of care and negative affective attitudes toward patients with schizophrenia. Ninety-two African American and 79 White patients and a significant other (80% mothers) completed 2 10-min family problem-solving discussions. In addition, the Kreisman Rejection Scale and a global self-report rating of family burden were administered to relatives, and a self-report rating of substance use was administered to patients. Results indicated that subjective burden of care and patients' odd and unusual thinking during the family discussion each independently predicted relatives' attitudes toward patients, suggesting that negative attitudes are based in part on both patients' symptoms and perceived burden of care. African American relatives' perceived burden was also predicted by patients' substance abuse. Finally, White family members were significantly more likely than African Americans to feel burdened by and have rejecting attitudes toward their schizophrenic relative suggesting that cultural factors play an important role in determining both perceived burden and relatives' attitudes toward patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of family, peer, and school contexts on depressive symptoms in adolescents with spina bifida.

Objective: Based on social ecological theory, this study examined the joint relations among adolescents' family, peer, and school contexts and depressive symptoms in youth with spina bifida using cumulative, protective, and specific effects models. Method: Sixty families of adolescents with spina bifida and 65 comparison families reported on adolescents' positive experiences within these contexts and on depressive symptoms when youth were 14–15 and 16–17 years old. Results: Adolescents with spina bifida had fewer total positive contexts and less positive experience within peer and school contexts, as compared to typically developing adolescents. Greater total number of positive contexts and higher levels of positive experiences within family and school contexts were associated with fewer depressive symptoms for both groups; peer positive experiences were related to lower depressive symptoms for typically developing adolescents only. Conclusion: Adolescents with spina bifida have fewer positive contexts, which may place them at risk for higher levels of depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pathways to alcohol use among Dutch students in regular education and education for adolescents with behavioral problems: The role of parental alcohol use, general parenting practices, and alcohol-specific parenting practices.

The present study explored the role of parents' alcohol use, general parenting practices (support and behavioral control), and alcohol-specific parenting practices (alcohol-specific rule enforcement and alcohol availability at home) on adolescent alcohol use. Structural equation analyses were performed on cross-sectional data from adolescents who received special education because of behavioral problems (n = 411) and from adolescents who received regular education (n = 428). The main findings show that alcohol-specific parenting practices appear to be highly important in regulating adolescent alcohol use. Parental alcohol use was related to alcohol-specific rule enforcement and alcohol availability at home. Behavioral control was also related to alcohol-specific rule enforcement. Furthermore, the relationships between parental alcohol use, parenting practices, and adolescent alcohol use did not appear to differ substantially for students in special and regular education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with intergenerational family conflict: Comparison of Asian American, Hispanic, and European American college students.

Using a stress-coping framework, the authors examined indirect and direct coping strategies as potential mediators in the relationship between intergenerational family conflict and psychological distress in Asian American, Hispanic, and European American college students. Asian American college students reported the highest likelihood of family conflict. Students from all cultural groups also used direct coping slightly more often than they did indirect coping. Only indirect coping mediated the effect of family conflict on distress for Asian Americans and European Americans, but it did so in the opposite direction than hypothesized. For these two cultural groups, indirect coping fully accounted for the variance shared between family conflict and psychological distress. For Hispanics, indirect coping partially mediated the effect of family conflict on psychological distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship among performance of instrumental activities of daily living, self-report of quality of life, and self-awareness of functional status in individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between self-awareness of functional status and performance of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), and self-reports of quality of life (QOL) in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Design: A between-groups design, using a correlational approach to examine the relationship between self-awareness of functional status, IADL and QOL. Participants: We studied 47 individuals with clinically definite MS and 26 healthy controls (HCs). Measures: The Functional Behavior Profile was completed by both participants and their informants. Participants' scores were subtracted from those of their informants', and the absolute value was used as the self-awareness/concordance score. The Executive Function Performance Test measured IADL performance; QOL was measured with the Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis. Results: MS participants showed lower levels of self-awareness relative to HCs. Significant correlations were observed between performance of IADL, reports of QOL and self-awareness levels of functional status. However, reports of QOL were not significantly correlated with performance of IADL. Conclusions: The positive association between self-awareness of functional status with IADL performance and QOL reports provides support for the role of awareness in rehabilitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)