Friendship homophily among ethnic German immigrants: A longitudinal comparison between recent and more experienced immigrant adolescents.

Immigrant adolescents have been found to show high levels of friendship homophily (the tendency to prefer intra-ethnic over interethnic friends). Based on acculturation theories, we predicted longitudinal changes and interindividual differences in level and rate of change in friendship homophily by immigrant composition of school, parental objections to the cultural adaptation of their offspring, discrimination, and language use. Altogether 218 newcomer and 272 experienced adolescents who had emigrated from the former Soviet Union to Germany participated in 4 annual assessments. Friendship homophily was assessed by percentage of intra-ethnic friends. Results revealed higher levels of friendship homophily among newcomer (75%) than among experienced (65%) adolescents at Time 1, and a significant decrease over time was found only among newcomers. Higher age, higher percentage of immigrants at school, and lower levels of new language use all related to higher friendship homophily. Rate of change in friendship homophily was strongly related to change in new language use. Findings suggest that friendship formation with native adolescents is related to social learning processes, in which new language use plays a crucial role. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal consistency of adolescent ethnic identification across varying school ethnic contexts.

The present study examined consistency and inconsistency in adolescents' ethnic identification (i.e., self-reported ethnicity) across the 6 middle-school semesters. The sample (N = 1,589, of whom 46% were boys and 54% were girls) included African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Caucasian/White, Latino/Latina, Mexican/Mexican American, and multiethnic students. Latent class analyses yielded 3 key patterns in ethnic identification across the middle-school years: consistent, late consistent, and inconsistent. Ethnic identification remained consistent across fall and spring of 6th, 7th, and 8th grades for only about 60% of the students. Asian/Pacific Islander students were more consistent, and multiethnic students were less consistent than students from other ethnic groups. School ethnic composition was associated with systematic shifts in ethnic identification from the beginning to the end of middle school for those students who initially identified as Latino/Latina, African American, or multiethnic but not for Mexican-origin students. In combination, the results provide insight into the consistency of ethnic identification, the role of context in adolescents' self-representation, and considerations for longitudinal studies that examine ethnic differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic identity among Chinese Canadian youth: A review of the Canadian literature.

The process of identity development for Chinese youth growing up in a multicultural Canadian context is complex. These youth, who represent one of the largest groups of immigrants and ethnic minorities in the country, must negotiate Chinese and Canadian cultures during a developmental period marked by significant identity exploration. The authors review qualitative and quantitative investigations of the multiple components of ethnic identity, as well as quantitative studies of the relations between Chinese and Canadian identities, the acculturative and familial factors that may promote a strong sense of ethnic identity, and the psychological correlates of ethnic identity. Overall, the ethnic identity of Chinese youth residing in Canada appears strong. In comparison, greater variability is evident in the extent and ease in which Chinese youth integrated a Canadian identity. The reviewed literature supports a bidimensional conceptualization of acculturation, emphasises the important role that parents play in the formation of their children’s ethnic identity, and highlights the potential psychological advantages of strong feelings of ethnic identity. Implications of the findings for future research, policy, and practise are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between acculturation orientations and work-related well-being: Differences between ethnic minority and majority employees.

Today's organizations are becoming more and more ethnically diverse. It is important to understand what constitutes the well-being of ethnic minority employees. This study explored the extent to which acculturation orientations (assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization) were related to the well-being of 79 ethnic minority and 124 ethnic majority employees working in two different organizations. In line with predictions based on social identity theory and the acculturative stress paradigm, results showed that an integration orientation relates positively to work-related well-being, whereas a marginalization attitude relates negatively to well-being. Moreover, the relationship between acculturation orientations and work-related well-being is much stronger for ethnic minority employees than it is for ethnic majority employees. The findings underline the need to take cultural issues into account when studying well-being in culturally diverse organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The acculturation gap-distress hypothesis among high-risk Mexican American families.

The authors tested the acculturation gap-distress hypothesis by examining whether parent-adolescent acculturation gaps were associated with greater conflict and youth conduct problems among 260 high-risk Mexican American families. The authors operationalized acculturation gaps in 2 ways: parent-youth mismatches in acculturation style, and parent-youth discrepancies in acculturation toward both mainstream and heritage cultures. Acculturation gaps were common, but results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that parent-youth discrepancies in acculturation toward mainstream and heritage cultures were not related to increased conflict or youth conduct problems. Conduct problems were no higher in families in which the adolescent was more aligned with mainstream culture than the parent. Unexpectedly, the authors found more youth conduct problems in families in which the youth was more aligned with traditional culture than the parent. The results call into question the assumption that the more rapid acculturation of adolescents to American culture inevitably leads to distress in minority families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social identities and intergroup bias in immigrant and nonimmigrant children.

Ethnic and American identity, as well as positivity and negativity toward multiple social groups, were assessed in 392 children attending 2nd or 4th grade in various New York City neighborhoods. Children from 5 ethnic groups were recruited, including White and Black Americans, as well as recent immigrants from China, the Dominican Republic, and the former Soviet Union. For ethnic minority children, greater positivity bias (evaluating one's ingroup more positively than outgroups) was predicted by immigrant status and ethnic identity, whereas negativity bias (evaluating outgroups more negatively than one's ingroup) was associated with increased age, immigrant status, and (among 4th graders only) ethnic identity. In addition, a more central American identity was associated with less intergroup bias among ethnic minority children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

East meets West: Ethnic identity, acculturation, and conflict in Asian Indian families.

This study examined the influence of the family on adolescents' acculturation, ethnic identity achievement, and psychological functioning. One hundred eighty American-born Asian Indian adolescents and one of their immigrant parents completed questionnaires assessing their acculturation, ethnic identity, and family conflict. Adolescents also completed anxiety and self-esteem measures. The results showed that parents' and adolescents' ratings of their self-identification and ethnic identity were positively associated. Parents who had a separated or marginalized style of acculturation reported higher family conflict than those who had an integrated or assimilated acculturation style. Adolescents reported higher self-esteem, less anxiety, and less family conflict when there was no acculturation gap between them and their parents. The findings suggest that how parents relate to their natal, as well as to the host, culture has direct effects on adolescents' ethnic identity achievement and their psychological functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identity Maintenance and Loss: Concurrent Processes Among the Fransaskois.

Research has shown that, among minority group members, there is a tendency to adopt outgroup attributes at the loss of ingroup cultural elements. However, studies have also documented the occurrence of cultural revitalization and ethnic maintenance. While current theories of intergroup relations do delineate conditions under which either may occur, none have examined the processes responsible for their co-occurrence. This study is therefore meant to investigate if and by what mechanism the effect of cultural loss and maintenance may occur concomitantly. Two dimensions of acculturation (ethnic identity and adjustment), along with initial aspects of contact mediated by communication and social support processes, were examined as they occur among French Canadians living in a province of Western Canada. High school and junior high students (N = 151) attending French schools participated in the study. As predicted, the importance of contact, social support, and language confidence for shaping identity and adjustment was supported. While there were subtractive trends as a result of learning the second language, the additive benefit of identity maintenance and well-being was also apparent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The emotional and academic consequences of parental conditional regard: Comparing conditional positive regard, conditional negative regard, and autonomy support as parenting practices.

The authors conducted 2 studies of 9th-grade Israeli adolescents (169 in Study 1, 156 in Study 2) to compare the parenting practices of conditional positive regard, conditional negative regard, and autonomy support using data from multiple reporters. Two socialization domains were studied: emotion control and academics. Results were consistent with the self-determination theory model of internalization, which posits that (a) conditional negative regard predicts feelings of resentment toward parents, which then predict dysregulation of negative emotions and academic disengagement; (b) conditional positive regard predicts feelings of internal compulsion, which then predict suppressive regulation of negative emotions and grade-focused academic engagement; and (c) autonomy support predicts sense of choice, which then predicts integrated regulation of negative emotions and interest-focused academic engagement. These findings suggest that even parents’ use of conditional positive regard as a socialization practice has adverse emotional and academic consequences, relative to autonomy support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure.

We investigated 2 engagement-fostering aspects of teachers' instructional styles—autonomy support and structure—and hypothesized that students' engagement would be highest when teachers provided high levels of both. Trained observers rated teachers' instructional styles and students' behavioral engagement in 133 public high school classrooms in the Midwest, and 1,584 students in Grades 9–11 reported their subjective engagement. Correlational and hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed 3 results: (a) Autonomy support and structure were positively correlated, (b) autonomy support and structure both predicted students' behavioral engagement, and (c) only autonomy support was a unique predictor of students' self-reported engagement. We discuss, first, how these findings help illuminate the relations between autonomy support and structure as 2 complementary, rather than antagonistic or curvilinear, engagement-fostering aspects of teachers' instructional styles and, second, the somewhat different results obtained for the behavioral versus self-report measures of students' classroom engagement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the relationship between perceived autonomy support and age in the context of rehabilitation adherence in sport.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between perceived autonomy support, age, and rehabilitation adherence among sports-related injuries. Design: A prospective design measuring adherence over the entire rehabilitation period (8-10 weeks) was employed. Participants: 44 men and 26 women aged between 18 and 55 years took part in this study (M = 32.5 years, SD = 10.2). Method: Adherence was monitored via an observational measure of clinic-based adherence, a self-report measure of home-based adherence, and monitoring of attendance at rehabilitation sessions. Perceived autonomy support of participants was assessed during the last week of their rehabilitation. Results: High autonomy support provided by the physical therapist was related to better clinic-based adherence and attendance but not to home-based adherence. Age was related to all adherence indices and moderated the relationship between perceived autonomy support and clinic-based rehabilitation adherence. Conclusion: Findings indicate the importance of physical therapists providing an autonomous-supportive rehabilitation environment, particularly among older individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Observed and perceived parental overprotection in relation to psychosocial adjustment in preadolescents with a physical disability: The mediational role of behavioral autonomy.

The purpose of this study was to test a mediational model of associations between parental overprotectiveness (OP), behavioral autonomy, and psychosocial adjustment in 68 families with 8- and 9-year-old preadolescents with spina bifida and a demographically matched sample of 68 families with able-bodied children. Measures included questionnaire and observational assessments of parental OP; parent and child reports of behavioral autonomy; and parent, child, and teacher reports of preadolescent adjustment. On the basis of both questionnaire and observational measures of OP, mothers and fathers of children with spina bifida were significantly more overprotective than their counterparts in the able-bodied sample, although this group difference was partially mediated by children's cognitive ability. Both questionnaire and observational measures of parental OP were associated with lower levels of preadolescent decision-making autonomy as well as with parents being less willing to grant autonomy to their offspring in the future. For the questionnaire measure of OP, and only for the spina bifida sample, the mediational model was supported such that parental OP was associated with less behavioral autonomy, which was, in turn, associated with more externalizing problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What teachers say and do to support students' autonomy during a learning activity.

Teachers with an autonomy-supportive style rely on different instructional behaviors to motivate their students than do teachers with a controlling style. In the present investigation, the authors tested which of these instructional behaviors actually correlated positively or negatively with students' autonomy. The authors used Deci, Spiegel, Ryan, Koestner, & Kauffman's (1982) teacher-student laboratory paradigm to randomly assign 72 pairs of same-sex preservice teachers into the role of either teacher or student. From videotapes of the 10-min instructional episode, raters scored 11 hypothesized autonomy-supportive behaviors and 10 hypothesized controlling behaviors. Correlational analyses confirmed that students perceived the functional significance of 8 instructional behaviors as autonomy supports and 6 instructional behaviors as autonomy thwarts. The discussion focuses on the interpretation and classroom implications of these data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships among organizational family support, job autonomy, perceived control, and employee well-being.

The authors analyzed data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce (N = 3,504) to investigate relationships among availability of formal organizational family support (family benefits and alternative schedules), job autonomy, informal organizational support (work-family culture, supervisor support, and coworker support), perceived control, and employee attitudes and well-being. Using hierarchical regression, the authors found that the availability of family benefits was associated with stress, life satisfaction, and turnover intentions, and the availability of alternative schedules was not related to any of the outcomes. Job autonomy and informal organizational support were associated with almost all the outcomes, including positive spillover. Perceived control mediated most of the relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural strengths as moderators of the relationship between acculturation to the mainstream U.S. Society and eating- and body-related concerns among Mexican American women.

This study explored whether 3 culturally relevant variables (i.e., ethnic identity, familism, and enculturation) operated as sources of strength for 209 Mexican American women by buffering the relationship between their acculturation to the mainstream U.S. society and eating- and body-related concerns. In an effort to capture the underlying dimensions of women’s eating- and body-related concerns, the authors used principal components analysis to identify 3 components: control concerns, restricted eating, and body dissatisfaction. As hypothesized, results from a series of hierarchical regressions suggested familism significantly buffered the links between acculturation to the mainstream U.S. society and all 3 eating- and body-related variables. However, enculturation did not moderate the associations, and ethnic identity moderated only the link between acculturation and restricted eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Minority stress, perceived bicultural competence, and depressive symptoms among ethnic minority college students.

Based on biculturalism theory (LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993), the present study examined the direct effect of perceived bicultural competence (PBC) on depressive symptoms, and PBC as a potential coping resource to moderate the association between minority stress and depressive symptoms. Participants were 167 Asian American, African American, and Latino/a American students at a predominantly White Midwest university. Results from a hierarchical regression analysis suggested that (a) minority stress was positively associated with depressive symptoms after controlling for perceived general stress, (b) PBC was negatively associated with depressive symptoms after controlling for perceived general stress and minority stress, and (c) the interaction between minority stress and PBC was significant in predicting depressive symptoms. Results from a simple effect analysis supported the hypothesis that a higher level of PBC buffers the association between minority stress and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, post hoc exploratory analyses of the components of PBC suggested that 2 components, Social Groundedness and Cultural Knowledge, may be especially important coping resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concurrent and longitudinal effects of ethnic identity and experiences of discrimination on psychosocial adjustment of Navajo adolescents.

In this study, we examined concurrent and longitudinal relations among Navajo adolescents' ethnic identity, experiences of discrimination, and psychosocial outcomes (i.e., self-esteem, substance use, and social functioning). At Time 1, 137 Navajo adolescents (67 male, 70 female), primarily in Grades 9 and 10, completed a written survey assessing ethnic identity, discrimination experiences, and a range of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Two years later, 92 participants completed the same survey again. Ethnic and cultural identification was assessed via the Multiethnic Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992) and the Orthogonal Cultural Identification Scale (OCIS; Oetting & Beauvais, 1990). At Time 1, MEIM Affirmation and Belonging, MEIM Exploration, and OCIS White American identification all demonstrated strong, positive associations with adaptive functioning for male and female adolescents, whereas discrimination experiences were linked to lower self-esteem and social functioning for male adolescents. By Time 2, fewer significant concurrent associations between ethnic identity and psychosocial functioning scores remained, and discrimination experiences emerged as the most consistent correlate of poorer psychosocial functioning for male adolescents. Controlling for Time 1 psychosocial functioning, relatively few direct effects of ethnic and cultural identification variables predicted psychosocial functioning longitudinally, but discrimination experiences demonstrated strong and consistent longitudinal links with boys' substance use. Finally, interaction effects assessing the moderating influence of ethnic and cultural identification on negative links between discrimination and psychosocial functioning suggested that embeddedness in and connection to Navajo culture and, in some cases, connection to White American culture, served as a buffer to the negative effects of discrimination experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural and contextual influences in mental health help seeking: A focus on ethnic minority youth.

In this article, a mental health help-seeking model is offered as a framework for understanding cultural and contextual factors that affect ethnic minority adolescents' pathways into mental health services. The effects of culture and context are profound across the entire help-seeking pathway, from problem identification to choice of treatment providers. The authors argue that an understanding of these help-seeking pathways provides insights into ethnic group differences in mental health care utilization and that further research in this area is needed, (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body dissatisfaction, ethnic identity, and disordered eating among African American women.

Initial research suggested that only European American women developed eating disorders (Garner, 1993), yet recent studies have shown that African American women do experience them (e.g., Lester & Petrie, 1998b; Mulholland & Mintz, 2001) and also may be negatively affected by similar sociocultural variables. In this study, we examined a sociocultural model of eating disorders for African American women but included the influences of ethnic identity (e.g., Hall, 1995; Helms, 1990). Participants (N = 322) were drawn from 5 different universities. They completed measures representing ethnic identity, societal pressures regarding thinness, internalization of societal beauty ideals, body image concerns, and disordered eating. Structural equation modeling revealed that ethnic identity was inversely, and societal pressures regarding thinness directly, related to internalization of societal beauty ideals. Societal pressures regarding thinness was also related to greater body image concerns. Both internalization of societal beauty ideals and body image concerns were positively associated with disordered eating (R2 = .79). Overall, the final model fit the data well, supporting its generalizability and the importance of ethnic identity in determining risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family roots of empathy-related characteristics: The role of perceived maternal and paternal need support in adolescence.

Theories on empathy development have stressed the role of socialization in general and the role of parental support in particular. This 3-wave longitudinal study of middle adolescents (N = 678) aimed to contribute to the extant research on the socialization of empathy (a) by examining the relative contribution of perceived maternal and paternal need supportive parenting on over-time changes in adolescents' emotional and cognitive aspects of empathy (i.e., empathic concern and perspective taking, respectively) and (b) by considering the possibility of reciprocal relations between perceived parenting and adolescent empathy. Whereas paternal need support consistently predicted over-time changes in perspective taking in both sons and daughters, perceived maternal need support predicted changes in empathic concern among daughters only. In addition, although less consistently so, empathy dimensions also predicted over-time changes in perceived parenting. Results are discussed in terms of the nature of empathy and in the light of domain-specific effects of each parent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)