Impact of COVID social distancing measures on eating and exercise behaviors among a sample of Hispanic parents of young children in the United States.

Background: In the United States, healthy behaviors, such as eating fruits/vegetables and exercise, are well below recommended levels, particularly for Hispanics. The COVID pandemic may have exacerbated existing health behavior disparities. The current study examines the impact of COVID social distancing measures on Hispanic parents' eating and exercise behaviors, and how the impact may differ by socioeconomic status (SES) and distress levels. Design and methods: This cross-sectional logistic regression study utilized data from a sample of Hispanic parents in Texas (n = 237). COVID-related questions were collected in Summer 2020. Dependent variables included self-reported changes in exercise and eating behaviors due to the pandemic (i.e. got better or got worse). Primary independent variables included family-SES, neighborhood-SES, and distress due to COVID. Results: More than half (60%) of parents reported that their eating and exercise behaviors worsened. Results showed a significant relationship between distress due to COVID and both dependent variables; changes in eating (OR = 1.38, 95% CI [1.20, 1.58]) and changes in exercise (OR = 1.28, 95% CI [1.11, 1.48]). There were no observed differences by SES. Conclusions: Results suggest distress due to COVID was associated with worsening of eating and exercise behaviors, regardless of SES. The direction of the relationship between distress and healthy eating and exercise behaviors requires further attention.

Early Emotion Knowledge and Later Academic Achievement Among Children of Color in Historically Disinvested Neighborhoods.

This study examined longitudinal relations between emotion knowledge (EK) in pre-kindergarten (pre-K; Mage  = 4.8 years) and math and reading achievement 1 and 3 years later in a sample of 1,050 primarily Black children (over half from immigrant families) living in historically disinvested neighborhoods. Participants were part of a follow-up study of a cluster randomized controlled trial. Controlling for pre-academic skills, other social-emotional skills, sociodemographic characteristics, and school intervention status, higher EK at the end of pre-K predicted higher math and reading achievement test scores in kindergarten and second grade. Moderation analyses suggest that relations were attenuated among children from immigrant families. Findings suggest the importance of enriching pre-K programs for children of color with EK-promotive interventions and strategies.

PERSISTENT CONCERNS: QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH ON ETHNIC-RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT.

Research on ethnic-racial identity (ERI) and its development has increased exponentially over the past decade. In this paper we discuss five questions that the Lifespan ERI Study Group grappled with in our effort propose a lifespan model of ERI: (1) When does ERI development begin and end? (2) How do we account for age-dependent and contextually-initiated factors in ERI? (3) Should there be a reference point for healthy ERI, and if so, what is it? (4) How do the multiplicities of identity (intersectionality, multiracialism, whiteness) figure into our conceptualization of ERI? (5) How do we understand the role of ERI in pursuit of equity, diversity, and social justice? We note that these are persistent questions in ERI research, and thus our goal is to present our collective reckoning with these issues as well as our ponderings about why they persist. We conclude with recommendations forthe kinds of research questions, designs, and methods that developmental science, in particular, needs to pursue.

Longitudinal Pathways to Educational Attainment for Youth in Mexican and Central American Immigrant Families.

Mexican and Central American-origin youth in immigrant families, the fastest growing segment of the K-12 school population, experience considerably worse educational outcomes than do youth from other Latino national origins and other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Socioeconomic factors, as well as length of U.S. residence, have important implications for youth's academic success. The present study uses longitudinal structural equation modeling techniques to identify how parents' socioeconomic status (SES) and youth's length of U.S. residence are associated with adolescent academic outcomes and, in turn, educational attainment in adulthood. The sample included 1,207 Mexican- and Central American-origin youth participants in the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS). Youth completed surveys at times corresponding roughly to ages 13 to 15 (Time 1), 16 to 18 (Time 2), and 23 to 25 (Time 3). When compared with youth with a longer duration of U.S. residence, young people who had lived in the U.S. for less than 5 years at Time 1 reported higher educational attainment at Time 3 by way of a better grade-point average (GPA) and higher educational expectations at Time 1. Parent SES was associated directly and indirectly with higher educational attainment through youth's greater educational expectations at Times 1 and 2. Although recent immigrant youth experienced sharper declines in GPA and educational expectations from Time 1 to Time 2 than youth with a longer duration of U.S. residence, newcomer youth's early academic success appears to have lasting benefits for educational attainment.

Los jóvenes de familias inmigrantes de origen mexicano y centro-americano, el segmento de la población escolar K-12 que más rápido crece, experimentan claramente peores resultados académicos que los jóvenes de otros orígenes latinos y de otros orígenes raciales y étnicos. Los factores socioeconómicos, así como el tiempo de residencia en los Estados Unidos (EEUU), tienen importantes implicaciones para el éxito académico de los jóvenes. El presente estudio utiliza técnicas longitudinales del modelo de ecuaciones estructurales para identificar cómo el estatus socioeconómico de los padres (SES) y el tiempo de residencia de los jóvenes en EEUU durante los años de adolescencia están asociados con los resulted académicos y, por tanto, con el rendimiento educativo alcanzado por estos jóvenes en la edad adulta. La muestra incluyó 1207 jóvenes de origen mexicano y centro-americano participantes en el Estudio Longitudinal de Hijos de Inmigrantes. Los jóvenes completaron cuestionarios aproximadamente entre los 13 y 15 años de edad (Tiempo 1), 16 y 18 (Tiempo 2) y 23 y 25 (Tiempo 3). Comparados con los jóvenes con más tiempo de residencia en los EEUU, los jóvenes que habían vivido en los EEUU menos de 5 años en el Tiempo 1 presentaron mayor rendimiento educativo por medio de una mayor GPA y una mayor expectativa educativa en el Tiempo 1. Mayor SES estuvo directamente e indirectamente asociado con mayor rendimiento educativo a través de una mayor expectativa educativa de los jóvenes en Tiempo 1 y 2. Aunque los jóvenes inmigrantes recién llegados experimentaron un descenso más brusco tanto en GPA como en expectativa educativa desde el Tiempo 1 al Tiempo 2 en comparación con los jóvenes con períodos de residencia más largos en EEUU, los resultados académicos positivos en el Tiempo 1 de los jóvenes inmigrantes recién llegados parecen tener beneficios duraderos para el rendimiento educativo en la edad adulta.

Early childhood obesity prevention in low-income, urban communities.

Given the disproportionately high rates of obesity-related morbidity among low-income, ethnic minority youth, obesity prevention in this population is critical. Prior efforts to curb childhood obesity have had limited public health impact. The present study evaluates an innovative approach to obesity prevention by promoting foundational parenting and child behavioral regulation. This pre-post intervention study evaluated an enhanced version of ParentCorps with 91 families of pre-Kindergarten students in low-income, urban communities. Assessments included tests of knowledge and parent report. Consistent with findings from two randomized controlled trials of ParentCorps, parent knowledge and use of foundational parenting practices increased and child behavior problems decreased. Child nutrition knowledge and physical activity increased and television watching decreased; for boys, sleep problems decreased. Comparable benefits occurred for children at high risk for obesity based on child dysregulation, child overweight, and parent overweight. Results support a "whole child," family-centered approach to health promotion in early childhood.

Test of a cultural framework of parenting with Latino families of young children.

This study examined the mental health and academic functioning of 442 4- and 5-year old children of Mexican (MA) and Dominican (DA) immigrant mothers using a cultural framework of Latino parenting. Data were collected on mothers' self-reported acculturative status, parenting practices and cultural socialization, and on children's behavioral functioning (mother- and teacher-report) and school readiness (child test). Results provide partial support for the validity of the framework in which mothers' acculturative status and socialization of respeto (a Latino cultural value of respect) and independence (a U.S. American cultural value) predict parenting practices. For both groups, English language competence was related to less socialization of respeto, and other domains of acculturative status (i.e., U.S. American/ethnic identity, and U.S. American/ethnic cultural competence) were related to more socialization of respeto and independence. Socialization of respeto was related to the use of authoritarian practices and socialization of independence was related to the use of authoritative practices. Socialization of respeto was also related to lower school readiness for DA children, whereas socialization of independence was related to higher school readiness for MA children. Independence was also related to higher teacher-rated externalizing problems for MA children. For both groups, authoritarian parenting was associated with more parent-reported internalizing and externalizing problems. The discussion focuses on ethnic subgroup differences and similarities to further understanding of Latino parenting from a cultural perspective.