Prospective Relationships Between Ethnic Discrimination and Substance Use by Mexican-American Adolescents.

Guided by the integrative model (García Coll et al., 1996), this study examines prospective associations between perceived ethnic discrimination by peers, parental support, and substance use from 7th to 11th grades (Mage  = 12.3-16.3 years) in a community sample of 674 Mexican-American adolescents. Results from a cross-lagged panel model indicate that discrimination predicts relative increases in adolescent substance use. Results also revealed a transactional relation between substance use and supportive parenting over time. Supportive parenting was associated with reductions in substance use, but adolescent substance use also predicted lower levels of later parental support. The findings suggest reducing discrimination by peers and supportive parenting as potential targets for intervention in the prevention of substance use.

Adolescent Externalizing Problems: Contributions of Community Crime Exposure and Neural Function During Emotion Introspection in Mexican-Origin Youth.

Models of the etiology of adolescent antisocial behavior suggest that externalizing problems may reflect a susceptibility to crime exposure and a diminished capacity for emotion introspection. In this study, adolescents of Mexican origin completed a neuroimaging task that involved rating their subjective feelings of sadness in response to emotional facial expressions or a nonemotional aspect of each face. At lower levels of neural activity during sadness introspection in posterior cingulate and left temporoparietal junction, and in left amygdala, brain regions involved in mentalizing and emotion, respectively, a stronger positive association between community crime exposure and externalizing problems was found. The specification of emotion introspection as a psychological process showing neural variation may help inform targeted interventions to positively affect adolescent behavior.

Do Hostile School Environments Promote Social Deviance by Shaping Neural Responses to Social Exclusion?

The present study examined adolescents' neural responses to social exclusion as a mediator of past exposure to a hostile school environment (HSE) and later social deviance, and whether family connectedness buffered these associations. Participants (166 Mexican-origin adolescents, 54.4% female) reported on their HSE exposure and family connectedness across Grades 9-11. Six months later, neural responses to social exclusion were measured. Finally, social deviance was self-reported in Grades 9 and 12. The HSE-social deviance link was mediated by greater reactivity to social deviance in subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, a region from the social pain network also implicated in social susceptibility. However, youths with stronger family bonds were protected from this neurobiologically mediated path. These findings suggest a complex interplay of risk and protective factors that impact adolescent behavior through the brain.

Promoting Strengths and Resilience in Single-Mother Families.

Mothering can be particularly demanding for single women who are more vulnerable to a variety of risks ranging from economic hardship to poor psychological functioning. These risks place their children at higher risk of experiencing maladjustment. Examining factors that contribute to the well-being of single mothers and, in turn, their parenting may be one of the most effective ways of contributing to children's adjustment. This article highlights two factors, perceived social support and specific internal resources, that (a) substantially contribute to single mothers' well-being, (b) are linked to positive parenting behaviors, and (c) are amenable to change. The authors highlight the current research in these focus areas and explore how these two particular risk modifiers have potential to be changed via behavioral interventions.

Cultural Orientation Trajectories and Substance Use: Findings From a Longitudinal Study of Mexican-Origin Youth.

Cultural adaptation may influence Latino youth substance use (SU) development, yet few longitudinal studies have examined cultural change over time and adolescent SU outcomes. Using longitudinal data collected annually across ages 10-16 from 674 Mexican-origin youth (50% female), the authors characterized cultural adaptation patterns for language use (English and Spanish use), values (American values and familism values), and identity (ethnic pride), and examined whether these cultural adaptation patterns were associated with differential SU risk. Youth with increasing bilingualism and high/stable family values had lower SU risk compared to youth who primarily spoke English and endorsed decreasing family values, respectively. Ethnic pride trajectories were not associated with SU. Findings highlight the importance of considering cultural change related to Latino youth SU.

Disrupting intergenerational continuity in harsh parenting: Self-control and a supportive partner.

Harsh, abusive, and rejecting behavior by parents toward their children is associated with increased risk for many developmental problems for youth. Children raised by harsh parents are also more likely to treat their own children harshly. The present study addresses conditions that would break this intergenerational cycle of harsh parenting. Data come from a three-generation study of a cohort of 290 adolescents (Generation 2 [G2], 52% female) grown to adulthood and their parents (Generation 1 [G1]). During adolescence, observers rated G1 harsh parenting to G2. Several years later observers rated G2 harsh parenting toward their oldest child (Generation 3 [G3]). Several adaptive systems fundamental to human resilience attenuate intergenerational continuity in harshness. G2 parents were relatively less harsh to G3 children (notwithstanding a history of harshness from G1) when G2's romantic partner (a) communicated positively with G2 and (b) had a good relationship with G3, and (c) when G2 was high on self-control. Interventions that target all of these protective factors may not only break but also reverse the intergenerational cycle of child maltreatment.

Mother-Adolescent Proficiency in a Common Language Facilitates Socialization Among Mexican-Origin Families.

The primary goal of this study was to test how mother and adolescent proficiency in a common language moderates the link from parenting to adolescent development. A sample of Mexican-origin fifth-grade adolescents (N = 674, 50% female) was measured longitudinally on self-control and aggression. Mothers were rated on observed positive discipline, warmth, and harsh discipline. Positive discipline and warm parenting predicted increases in self-control and decreases in aggression, but only among mother-adolescent dyads who were proficient in a common language. Harsh parenting predicted decreases in self-control and increases in aggression, but only among dyads who were not proficient in a common language. Similar results were found in a conceptual replication among a second sample of 167 Mexican-origin adolescents.

Developmental Outcomes of School Attachment Among Students of Mexican Origin.

We used a longitudinal community study of 674 grade school children (Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8; 337 males, 337 females) of Mexican origin to examine outcomes of school attachment. Attachment to school is important in this population given the high level of school dropout rates of Mexican-origin students. Results indicated that, on average, school attachment from fifth to sixth grade remains stable, but declines from sixth to eighth grade. Boys had lower levels of school attachment at fifth grade but followed similar patterns of change as girls did. Attachment to teachers, peer competence, school aspirations and expectations, and substance-use cognitions emerged as longitudinal outcomes of level or changes in school attachment. Gender moderated associations of school attachment.

Unsupervised self-care predicts conduct problems: The moderating roles of hostile aggression and gender.

Despite widespread speculation about the detrimental effect of unsupervised self-care on adolescent outcomes, little is known about which children are particularly prone to problem behaviors when left at home without adult supervision. The present research used data from a longitudinal study of 674 Mexican-origin children residing in the United States to examine the prospective effect of unsupervised self-care on conduct problems, and the moderating roles of hostile aggression and gender. Results showed that unsupervised self-care was related to increases over time in conduct problems such as lying, stealing, and bullying. However, unsupervised self-care only led to conduct problems for boys and for children with an aggressive temperament. The main and interactive effects held for both mother-reported and observational-rated hostile aggression and after controlling for potential confounds.

Longitudinal Dynamics of Substance Use and Psychiatric Symptoms in Count Data with Zero Inflation.

We examine the dynamics of substance use and psychiatric symptoms from childhood to adolescence using a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin families (N = 674). We present a longitudinal model capturing the trajectories of substance use and psychiatric symptoms (depression, conduct disorder), as well as the interrelations between these trajectories over time. Such a model is an extension of latent change score models designed to account for the occurrence of psychiatric symptoms while also accommodating a large amount of zeros for nonoccurrence and characterizing the changes over time in the count data. We compare this model with a more traditional approach based on a log transformation of the data. We describe differences between these approaches and highlight the benefits of using the two-part model when the data include a large amount of zeros for nonoccurrence of the behavior.

Population frequencies of the Triallelic 5HTTLPR in six Ethnicially diverse samples from North America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

Genetic differences between populations are potentially an important contributor to health disparities around the globe. As differences in gene frequencies influence study design, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the natural variation of the genetic variant(s) of interest. Along these lines, we characterized the variation of the 5HTTLPR and rs25531 polymorphisms in six samples from North America, Southeast Asia, and Africa (Cameroon) that differ in their racial and ethnic composition. Allele and genotype frequencies were determined for 24,066 participants. Results indicated higher frequencies of the rs25531 G-allele among Black and African populations as compared with White, Hispanic and Asian populations. Further, we observed a greater number of 'extra-long' ('XL') 5HTTLPR alleles than have previously been reported. Extra-long alleles occurred almost entirely among Asian, Black and Non-White Hispanic populations as compared with White and Native American populations where they were completely absent. Lastly, when considered jointly, we observed between sample differences in the genotype frequencies within racial and ethnic populations. Taken together, these data underscore the importance of characterizing the L-G allele to avoid misclassification of participants by genotype and for further studies of the impact XL alleles may have on the transcriptional efficiency of SLC6A4.

Reducing Risk for Substance Use by Economically Disadvantaged Young Men: Positive Family Environments and Pathways to Educational Attainment.

Using prospective, longitudinal data spanning 10 years (age = 10-20) from a study of 295 economically disadvantaged males, the current investigation evaluated a developmental model that links early family environment and later educational aspirations, extracurricular activities, and educational attainment to substance use in early adulthood. The results indicate that a positive family environment during adolescence (low family conflict, high family warmth, and effective child management) predicted educational involvements during adolescence that promoted educational attainment during early adulthood. Finally, higher levels of educational attainment were associated with less substance use in early adulthood, even after controlling for adolescent substance use. These findings suggest that positive parenting promotes educational achievements that increase resilience to substance use for economically disadvantaged males.

Do Parents Foster Self-Esteem? Testing the Prospective Impact of Parent Closeness on Adolescent Self-Esteem.

Close parent-child relationships are viewed as important for the development of global self-esteem. Cross-sectional research supports this hypothesis, but longitudinal studies provide inconsistent prospective effects. The current study uses data from Germany (N = 982) and the United States (N = 451) to test longitudinal relations between parent-child closeness and adolescent self-esteem. The authors used self-, parent-, and observer-reported parent-child closeness and self-reported self-esteem from ages 12 to 16. Results replicated concurrent correlations found in the literature, but six longitudinal models failed to show prospective relations. Thus, the longitudinal effect of parent-child closeness and self-esteem is difficult to detect with adolescent samples. These findings suggest the need for additional theorizing about influences on adolescent self-esteem development and longitudinal research with younger samples.

Social and economic antecedents and consequences of adolescent aggressive personality: Predictions from the interactionist model.

The present study examined the development of a cohort of 279 early adolescents (52% female) from 1990 to 2005. Guided by the interactionist model of socioeconomic status and human development, we proposed that parent aggressive personality, economic circumstances, interparental conflict, and parenting characteristics would affect the development of adolescent aggressive personality traits. In turn, we hypothesized that adolescent aggressiveness would have a negative influence on adolescent functioning as an adult in terms of economic success, personality development, and close relationships 11 years later. Findings were generally supportive of the interactionist model proposition that social and economic difficulties in the family of origin intensify risk for adolescent aggressive personality (the social causation hypothesis) and that this personality trait impairs successful transition to adult roles (the social selection hypothesis) in a transactional process over time and generations. These results underscore how early development leads to child influences that appear to directly hamper the successful transition to adult roles (statistical main effects) and also amplify the negative impact of dysfunctional family systems on the transition to adulthood (statistical interaction effects). The findings suggest several possible points of intervention that might help to disrupt this negative developmental sequence of events.

Early adolescent temperament, parental monitoring, and substance use in Mexican-origin adolescents.

Previous studies suggest that temperamental dispositions are associated with substance use. However, most research supporting this association has relied on European American samples (Stautz & Cooper, 2013). We addressed this gap by evaluating the prospective relations between 5th grade temperament and 9th grade substance use in a longitudinal sample of Mexican-origin youth (N = 674). Effortful control and trait aggressiveness predicted 9th grade substance use, intentions, and expectations, even after controlling for 5th grade substance use. Additionally, we found an interaction between temperament and parental monitoring such that monitoring is a protective factor for early substance use primarily for youth with temperamental tendencies associated with risk for substance use (e.g., low effortful control and aggression). Results add to the growing literature demonstrating that early manifestations of self-control are related to consequential life outcomes.

Life events, genetic susceptibility, and smoking among adolescents.

Although stressful life events during adolescence are associated with the adoption of unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, both social circumstances and physical traits can moderate the relationship. This study builds on the stress paradigm and gene-environment approach to social behavior by examining how a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR moderates the effect of life events on adolescent smoking. Tests of interaction hypotheses use data from the Family Transitions Project, a longitudinal study of 7th graders followed for 5years. A sibling-pair design with separate models for the gender composition of pairs (brothers, sisters, or brother/sister) controls for unmeasured family background. The results show that negative life events are significantly and positively associated with smoking. Among brother pairs but not other pairs, the results provide evidence of gene-environment interaction by showing that life events more strongly influence smoking behavior for those with more copies of the 5-HTTLPR S allele.

Cultural socialization and ethnic pride among Mexican-origin adolescents during the transition to middle school.

The relation between cultural socialization and ethnic pride during the transition to middle school was examined for 674 fifth-grade students (50% boys; Mage = 10.4 years) of Mexican origin. The theoretical model guiding the study proposes that parent-child relationship quality is a resource in the transmission of cultural values from parent to child and that parental warmth promotes the child's positive response to cultural socialization. Results showed that mother and father cultural socialization predicted youth ethnic pride and that this relation was stronger when parents were high in warmth. The findings highlight the positive role parent cultural socialization may play in the development of adolescent ethnic pride. Furthermore, findings reveal the role of parent-child relationship quality in this process.

The interpersonal legacy of a positive family climate in adolescence.

In this research, we evaluated how well overall levels of positive engagement in adolescents' families of origin, as well as adolescents' unique expressions of positive engagement in observed family interactions, statistically predicted marital outcomes approximately 20 years later. The sample consisted of 288 focal individuals and their spouses, drawn from the Iowa Youth and Families Project (IYFP). Data for focal individuals' family-of-origin positive engagement were taken from IYFP assessments from 1989 to 1991. Data for outcomes of interest, including focal individuals' and spouses' marital behavior, were drawn from the IYFP between 2007 and 2008. Individuals' unique expressions of positive engagement in their families of origin were linked to the degree of positive engagement these adolescents later exhibited toward their spouses. A positive family climate during adolescence for one marital partner was also associated with positive marital outcomes for both partners. Overall, our results suggest that the climate in one's family of origin may have long-term significance for one's interpersonal relationships.

Parental socioeconomic status, communication, and children's vocabulary development: a third-generation test of the family investment model.

This third-generation, longitudinal study evaluated a family investment perspective on family socioeconomic status (SES), parental investments in children, and child development. The theoretical framework was tested for first-generation parents (G1), their children (G2), and the children of the second generation (G3). G1 SES was expected to predict clear and responsive parental communication. Parental investments were expected to predict educational attainment and parenting for G2 and vocabulary development for G3. For the 139 families in the study, data were collected when G2 were adolescents and early adults and their oldest biological child (G3) was 3-4 years of age. The results demonstrate the importance of SES and parental investments for the development of children and adolescents across multiple generations.

Fathering and mothering in the family system: linking marital hostility and aggression in adopted toddlers.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have linked marital conflict, parenting, and externalizing problems in early childhood. However, these studies have not examined whether genes account for these links nor have they examined whether contextual factors such as parental personality or financial distress might account for links between marital conflict and parenting. We used an adoption design to allow for a clear examination of environmental impact rather than shared genes of parents and children, and assessments of parental personality and financial strain to assess the effects of context on relationships between marriage and parenting of both mothers and fathers. METHOD: Participants were 308 adoption-linked families comprised of an adopted child, her/his biological mother (BM), adoptive mother (AM) and adoptive father (AF). BMs were assessed 3-6 and 18 months postpartum and adoptive families were assessed when the child was 18 and 27 months old. Structural equations models were used to examine associations between marital hostility, fathers' and mothers' parenting hostility, and child aggressive behavior at 27 months of age. In addition, the contribution of financial strain and adoptive parent personality traits was examined to determine the associations with the spillover of marital hostility to hostile parenting. RESULTS: A hostile marital relationship was significantly associated with hostile parenting in fathers and mothers, which were associated with aggressive behavior in toddlers. Subjective financial strain was uniquely associated with marital hostility and child aggression. Antisocial personality traits were related to a more hostile/conflicted marital relationship and to hostile parenting. CONCLUSIONS: Results clarify mechanisms that may account for the success of early parent-child prevention programs that include a focus on parental economic strain and personality in addition to parent training.