Building a nest in a storm: The impact of immigration-related stress on Latino mothers' parenting.

Latina/o immigrant mothers in the United States (U.S.) often experience discrimination, which results in deleterious impacts on their parenting practices. Because of the cumulative impact of immigration-related stress, there is a need for research aimed at identifying specific contextual stressors that have the greatest impact on Latina/o immigrant parenting. Further, given significant barriers to access mental health services, there is an urgency to comprehend how pre-existing family strengths might counteract these parenting shortcomings in Latina/o families. Accordingly, we examined in these investigation-specific pathways through which immigration-related stress affects maternal parenting practices, and how emotional and relational processes within families might act as predecessors to positive parenting practices within a context of adversity. This study is embedded within a larger program of research aimed at culturally adapting evidence-based parenting programs for low-income Latina/o immigrants. Our sample consisted of 71 Mexican-origin Latina/o mothers, residents of an urban setting in the Midwest. According to Bayesian estimated path analysis, immigration-related stress was associated with parenting stress and emotional support, while emotional support, parenting stress, and the co-parenting alliance were associated with positive parenting practices. Indirect effects demonstrate that immigration-related stress is negatively associated with positive parenting practices when mediated by parenting stress and emotional support. Current findings highlight the need to carefully examine the impact of immigration-related stress on the parenting practices of Latina/o immigrant families and the need to inform parent training interventions accordingly.

Two pathways to Mexico: Forced deportation or voluntary return of parents and US citizen children.

Hundreds of thousands of undocumented Mexican immigrants were deported from the United States or returned to Mexico voluntarily in the past two decades, taking with them their US-born citizen children (USCC). A family's relocation-forced deportation or voluntary return-and the subsequent settlement and adjustment to Mexico affect everyone's well-being. We interviewed 18 USCC whose parents were forcibly deported and 18 whose parents returned voluntarily about their circumstances, experiences, and perceptions. Four categories of relocation and adjustment issues emerged. USCC with deported parents felt the sudden and harsh arrest, detention, deportation, and separation from parents, and family reunification after deportation. Those in the voluntary-return group told of concerns about the planned separation and relocation to Mexico. Both groups experienced issues of family reintegration and adjustment to a new environment. While relocation prompted similarities and differences in families' settlement, issues unique to families played a part in children's adjustment. Clinicians in both the United States and Mexico must take into consideration the nature of the relocation, families' distinctive reactions, and the individual child's experience as some USCC will remain in Mexico and others will return to the US Mexican clinicians will encounter USCC still settling and adjusting to Mexico, and USCC who decide to remain permanently in Mexico. US clinicians may encounter USCC facing the challenges of re-entering American society, joining educational institutions, and becoming part of the labor force. USCC forming families may feel the impact of their pasts in parenting dynamics.

Building bridges through cultural adaptation: Examining the initial impact of a culturally adapted parent training intervention for the Chilean context.

Child exposure to maltreatment and neglect constitutes a significant public health problem throughout Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Although evidence-based parent training (PT) interventions constitute an empirically demonstrated alternative to prevent child maltreatment and neglect, multiple implementation barriers have prevented the large-scale dissemination of evidence-based PT interventions across LAC countries. This selective prevention study consisted of an exploratory quasi-experimental design implemented in Chile, aimed at examining the initial impact of a culturally adapted version of the evidence-based PT intervention known as GenerationPMTO©. The parenting intervention was adapted in a previous pilot study, according to a rigorous model of cultural adaptation. Based on self-reports completed by 281 caregivers, when compared to baseline measurements, significant improvements at intervention completion were observed in the majority of caregivers' parenting practices, as well as child internalizing and externalizing problematic behaviors. This study provides promising initial empirical evidence that efficacious PT interventions developed in the US can be transported to Latin American contexts, as long as they are thoroughly adapted to achieve high contextual and cultural relevance. The rates of child maltreatment across LAC countries constitute an urgent and permanent call for strongly promoting this line of prevention research.

A Culturally Adapted Parenting Intervention for Mexican-Origin Immigrant Families with Adolescents: Integrating Science, Culture, and a Focus on Immigration-Related Adversity.

Low-income Latina/o immigrants are very likely to experience intense contextual challenges in the USA, such as limited exposure to culturally relevant parent training (PT) prevention interventions. This prevention study consisted of an exploratory randomized controlled trial, aimed at empirically testing the implementation feasibility and initial efficacy of a culturally adapted version of the evidence-based PT intervention known as GenerationPMTO©. The parenting intervention was adapted to overtly address immigration-related stressors, discrimination, and challenges associated with biculturalism. Seventy-one Mexican-origin immigrant mothers participated in this study and were allocated to one of two conditions: (a) culturally adapted GenerationPMTO (i.e., CAPAS-Youth) or (b) wait-list control. Measurements were completed at baseline (T1) and intervention completion (T2). When compared to mothers in the control condition at T2, CAPAS-Youth participants reported significant improvements on four of the core parenting practices delivered in the CAPAS-Youth intervention. As hypothesized, no significant differences in limit-setting skills were identified at T2. With regards to adolescents' outcomes, mothers exposed to CAPAS-Youth reported significant improvements in youth internalizing and externalizing behaviors at T2 when compared to a wait-list control condition. Mothers in both conditions also reported significant reductions in levels of immigration-related stress. Current findings indicate the feasibility of implementing CAPAS-Youth within a context of considerable adversity, as well as the beneficial impacts of the parent-based intervention on salient parenting and youth outcomes.

Parental Practices and Maternal Warmth as Protective Factors for Problem Behaviors in Mexican Preadolescents.

Epidemiological estimates indicate that approximately 12% of children and adolescents in Mexico are in clinical ranges for psychological disorders. Low-income families in need of psychological support generally encounter understaffed and sometimes inefficient public health services and thus, families frequently constitute the primary source of support for individuals affected by mental health disorders. Empirical studies in the Mexican context have demonstrated that positive parental practices are associated with positive developmental outcomes and low levels of problem behaviors for both children and adolescents. This study aims to identify if such practices act as protective factors for problem behaviors in 306 Mexican students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades from 3 public elementary school s in Mexico City. Practices of maternal autonomy and communication as well as maternal warmth were found to significantly diminish internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors, while parental involvement and communication only reduced externalizing problem behaviors. Findings have implications for social welfare programs that target positive youth development and supportive parenting.

Well-being and contexts of development of U.S. citizen children in Mexico following parental deportation or voluntary relocation.

When undocumented immigrant parents are deported from the United States, they must decide whether or not to take their U.S.-born and undocumented immigrant children with them, often to countries the children have never visited or know little about. Other parents do not wait to be deported by the government and decide to relocate to their home countries with or without their children. Both sets of families experience relocation but under different circumstances. These differences deserve exploration to understand the psychological and emotional effects on children's well-being. In this cross-sectional study, we explored differences in self-concept, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, as well as the perception of the home, school, and neighborhood contexts of 178 U.S. citizen children (USCC) whose parents returned to Mexico forcibly and voluntarily. Through snowball sampling, we recruited the sample from two bordering Mexican states, Michoacán and the State of Mexico. Significant estimated marginal mean differences in internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, unhappiness, as well as parent-child conflict and support were found between USCC who relocated due to a parental deportation and those USCC whose parents relocated to Mexico voluntarily. Implications for clinicians in Mexico and the United States include recognizing the reasons, timing, decisions, events, and contexts of relocation. Findings can help inform immigration policies, practices, and future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The impact of a parent-based prevention intervention on Mexican-descent youths' perceptions of harm associated with drug use: Differential intervention effects for male and female youths.

Parent training (PT) interventions reduce the likelihood of youth problematic behaviors, including drug use. However, the dissemination of culturally adapted PT interventions in low-income Latina/o immigrant communities remains scarce. In this selective prevention study, we examined the extent to which exposure to CAPAS-Youth, a culturally adapted version of the PT intervention known as GenerationPMTO© , resulted in increased adolescent perception of harm associated with use of alcohol and other drugs. In a randomized controlled trial with 71 Latina/o immigrant families (95% of parents self-identified as Mexican origin, n = 98), 37 families were allocated to the CAPAS-Youth intervention condition versus wait-list control (n = 34 families). According to adolescents' reports at intervention completion, significant increased levels of perceived harm associated with drug use were found for female youths, but not for males. Differential results indicate the importance of tailoring PT prevention interventions according to youths' sex differences (i.e., males vs. females).

The Effects of Parenting Styles on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: A Mexican Preadolescents Study.

Parental practices such as inconsistent discipline, psychological control, and imposition have been linked to the development of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in preadolescents. This study aimed to identify the association these practices had on Mexican preadolescent problem behaviors through Structural Equation Modeling. The sample consisted of 306 elementary students from three public schools in Mexico City (age M = 10, SD = 0.92). Students completed subscales from the Parental Practice Scale, the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Paternal imposition and maternal psychological control were significant predictors for internalizing problems, while inconsistent discipline was a significant predictor of externalizing problems. The results highlight that although parental practice values might differ across cultures, their association to problem behaviors are similar.

Las prácticas parentales como disciplina inconsistente, control psicológico e imposición se han vinculado con el desarrollo de problemas de conducta internalizada y externalizada en preadolescentes. Este estudio buscó identificar la asociación de estas prácticas en el desarrollo de problemas de conducta en preadolescentes mexicanos, a través de ecuaciones estructurales (306 estudiantes de primarias públicas en la Ciudad de México, Edad M = 10, DE = 0.92). Los estudiantes completaron Escalas de Prácticas Parentales, el Cuestionario de Parentalidad de Alabama, así como el Cuestionario de Fortalezas y Dificultades. La imposición paterna y el control psicológico materno predijeron problemas internalizados, mientras que la disciplina inconsistente fue un predictor de externalizados. Los resultados demuestran que aunque los valores detrás de las prácticas parentales difieran entre culturas, sus asociaciones con los problemas de conducta son similares.

The Psychosocial Factors of Academic Achievement: Three Different Theoretical Models / Factores Psicosociales del Logro Académico: Tres Modelos Teóricos Diferentes

Abstract Within individual factors that affect academic achievement, personality traits have been the least explored even though there is evidence that suggest conscientiousness, neuroticism and self-efficacy are direct contributors of academic achievement. We used a sample of 725 Mexican public high school students (M age =18, SD age =1.09, 59% female) to test three Path Analysis models based on those proposed by Stajkovic, Bandura, Locke, Lee and Sergent, (2018). Although the models present very similar fit statistics and explanatory power, the intrapersonal model is more parsimonious, presents better fit indices and was therefore chosen as our final model. The model identifies middle school GPA, self-efficacy, neuroticism and conscientiousness as direct predictors of high school academic achievement, and both extraversion and academic self-concept as indirect predictors when mediated by self-efficacy. Students can use the power of their own self-efficacy beliefs as support for staying in school, boosting their aptitudes and enhancing previously acquired knowledge. We would suggest the addition of stronger correlates to high school academic achievement such as self-control as well as experimental data on how easy cognitions and capabilities can change in the sample.

Resumen Dentro de los factores académicos que afectan el logro académico, los rasgos de personalidad son de los factores menos explorados, aunque hay gran cantidad de evidencia que sugiere que la escrupulosidad, el neuroticismo y la autoeficacia contribuyen directamente al logro académico. Se utilizó una muestra de 725 estudiantes de escuelas preparatorias públicas (M edad =18, DE edad =1.09, 59% mujer) para poner a prueba tres modelos de trayectorias basados en los propuestos por Stajkovic, Bandura, Locke, Lee y Sergent, (2018). Aunque los modelos muestran índices de ajuste muy similares y poder explicativo, el modelo intrapersonal es más parsimonioso, presenta mejores índices de ajuste y por ende fue elegido como el modelo final. El modelo identifica el promedio de secundaria, la autoeficacia, el neuroticismo y la escrupulosidad como predictores directos del logro académico en preparatoria, y tanto la extroversión como el autoconcepto académico son predictores indirectos cuando son mediados por la autoeficacia. Los estudiantes pueden utilizar el poder de las creencias de su propia autoeficacia como apoyo para permanecer en la escuela, potenciando sus aptitudes y promoviendo el conocimiento adquirido previamente. Se sugiere la adición de correlatos más sólidos para el logro académico de preparatoria, tales como el autocontrol, así como datos experimentales para ver qué tan fácilmente pueden cambiar en la muestra, las cogniciones y capacidades.