Cultural and Contextual Variability in Parenting Impacts on Adolescent Adjustment

Project Number: R40 MC 11269-01
Project Date: 2/1/2009
Grantee: University of Texas School of Public Health
Department/Center: Mgmt, Policy and Comm Health

Final Report

Pending

Principal Investigator

Luisa Franzini Ph.D.,
Associate Professor, University of Texas School of Public Health Mgmt, Policy and Comm Health,
P. O. Box 20036
Houston, Texas 77225-0036
Luisa.Franzini@uth.tmc.edu

Abstract

As the U.S. population is increasingly diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, and immigrant status, research must move beyond European American-centric models of child development and family process which dominate the literature. Not only do African American and Latino youth suffer from disproportionately high rates of school dropout, depressive symptoms, and delinquent behavior, when compared to White non-Hispanic and Asian-American youth, but they are also more likely to experience barriers associated with poverty and low parent education. The proposed study tests hypotheses regarding the culturally and contextually specific nature of social influences on trajectories of health and well being among low-income African American and Latino adolescents. Drawing from theoretical frameworks specific to the development of ethnic minority youth and to neighborhood effects, the present study explores contextual influences on trajectories of positive adjustment (i.e., academic achievement), internalizing (i.e., depressive symptoms), and externalizing behavior (i.e., delinquency) among the two largest racial and ethnic minority populations in the U.S: Latinos and African Americans. The study aims to: 1) Identify universal, context-specific, and culture-specific parenting values, practices and styles associated with health trajectories from early to late adolescence among low-income, urban Latino and African American youth. 2) Examine ways in which neighborhoods modify parenting influences on health trajectories from early to late adolescence and how they vary by gender, race, and ethnicity. This study will follow an established cohort recruited by Healthy Passages, a longitudinal study of a cohort of youth in an urban area of the Southwest interviewed during 5th and 7th grades. Healthy Passages has an excellent retention rate (88%). We will collect contextual, social, and health data among Latinos (n= 671) and African Americans (n = 343) in 10th grade. During an in-person interview in their own home, adolescents and their caregivers will be answering questions about the conditions of their neighborhoods, adaptive culture, family social processes, adolescent’s adjustment (academic achievement, depressive symptoms, and delinquency), and demographic factors. Secondary data from school records and the census will also be obtained. These data will be analyzed using several appropriate statistical models, including structural equation models and latent growth curves models. The combined data (already collected and to be collected) not only provide data points extending into middle and late adolescence but also allow for the assessment of salient cultural values and experiences. Adolescence is a logical developmental period in which to examine contextual impacts on health due to adolescents’ expanding social worlds and because behavioral patterns established during adolescence often impact adults’ mortality and morbidity. By advancing knowledge regarding culture and ethnicity as related to developmental processes, findings from this study can inform interventions that are sensitive and effective for ethnically diverse children. This proposal addresses goals of MCHB’s Strategic Plan FYs 2004-2009 Research Issues #2 and #4 that include foci on health disparities and the healthy development of MCH populations. Study activities targeting these issues are: 1) Examining variations in health outcomes among vulnerable populations of low-income, racial/ethnic minority adolescents and 2) Identifying cultural and contextual distinctions in family influences on trajectories of adolescent health.

Publications

Pending

Keywords

Adolescents, cultural diversity, minority groups, family environment, neighborhoods