Measurement invariance of language brokering extent and attitudes in linguistic minority adolescents: Item response theory analyses.

OBJECTIVE: Using item response theory, we sought to evaluate measurement invariance of language brokering extent and attitudes in 3 linguistic minority groups of adolescents. METHOD: The sample included 765 (302 Chinese American, 327 Korean American, and 136 Mexican American; 57% females) ninth graders from immigrant families. RESULTS: Differential item functioning was detected for several items, and we retained items with equivalent parameters across 3 groups. The final items showed adequate internal consistency reliability and criterion validity. CONCLUSION: The refined scale is cross-ethnically invariant and appropriate for use with Chinese-American, Korean-American, and Mexican-American adolescents to compare their language brokering experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent-Adolescent Relationships among Chinese Immigrant Families: An Indigenous Concept of Qin.

This study investigated cultural meanings of positive Chinese parent-child relationships through exploration of an indigenous concept, qin, as experienced by Chinese American adolescents of immigrant parents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15, first- and second-generation Chinese American high school students of immigrant parents, focusing on adolescents' descriptions of the meaning of qin and parental behaviors that foster this quality. According to the Chinese American adolescents who were interviewed, being qin with parents was characterized as closeness to parents and a general sense of togetherness and harmony; showing parents their love through respect, obedience, academic effort, and appreciation; and open communication with the parents particularly about school. This relationship is primarily fostered by parental devotion and sacrifice, particularly for the child's education, future opportunities, success, and needs. The results highlight the role of child reciprocation of love and devotion for the parents in a qin relationship.

Language Brokering and Adjustment among Chinese and Korean American Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Perceived Maternal Sacrifice, Respect for the Mother, and Mother-Child Open Communication.

Asian American adolescents often language broker for their immigrant parents. Using a two-wave sample of Chinese American (n = 237; average age at W1 = 14.65, SD = .68) and Korean American (n = 262; average age at W1 = 14.72, SD = .69) adolescents, this study examined a culturally relevant conditional mechanism through which language brokering may contribute to lower levels of internalizing/externalizing problems. Results suggested that language brokering for the mother was associated with perceived maternal sacrifice, which was in turn associated with respect for the mother, which was eventually associated with lower levels of externalizing problems (but not internalizing problems) in the adolescents. Moreover, the indirect effect was conditional on the level of mother-child open communication. With a lower level of open communication, the indirect effect of language brokering on externalizing problems became stronger. Results indicate that interventions designed to reduce Asian American adolescent language brokers' externalizing problems may be effective if they target adolescents' perception of parental sacrifice and respect for parents, especially for those adolescents experiencing a low level of parent-child open communication. At the same time, increasing open communication within the family may also ultimately reduce adolescent externalizing problems.

Intergenerational cultural dissonance in parent-adolescent relationships among Chinese and European Americans.

Generational cultural gaps (assessed as the mismatch between adolescents' ideals and perceptions of the parent-adolescent relationship) were investigated among Chinese youth with immigrant parents and their European American counterparts who have been in the United States for generations and assumingly do not have intergenerational cultural gaps. The authors of the study examined the associations of such generational gaps with adolescents' behavioral problems and whether youth's appreciation of Chinese parent-adolescent relationships (parental devotion, sacrifice, thoughtfulness, and guan) described by the notion of qin would moderate the relationship between discrepancies and youth's adjustment. A total of 634 high school students (M = 15.97 years; 95 and 154 first- and second-generation Chinese American respectively, and 385 European Americans) completed measures of parental warmth, parent-adolescent open communication, qin, and psychological adjustment. The U.S.-born Chinese American adolescents' ideals exceeded perceptions of parents' warmth and open communication to a greater degree than it did for European American adolescents (ps < 0.05). Such discrepancies in parental warmth were related to greater internalizing symptoms for second-generation Chinese American youth than for their European American peers. In addition, for second-generation Chinese, their perceptions of qin, particularly parents' devotion and sacrifice, had stronger moderating effects, diminishing the associations between generational cultural gaps and youth's behavioral problems compared with those of European American and first-generation Chinese youth. Parental thoughtfulness also played a similar beneficial role, but did so for all youth.

Interpretations of parental control by Asian immigrant and European American youth.

Although studies have reported ethnic and cultural differences in the effects of parenting on adolescent well-being, rarely have they included specific examinations of the cultural processes underlying these differences. This study examined adolescents' affective interpretations of parents' control (i.e., feelings of anger toward control) and how these interpretations may moderate the relationship between control and adolescents' behavioral adjustment. The study comprised 1,085 immigrant youth of Chinese, Korean, and Filipino descent, and also European American youth from high schools in the greater Los Angeles area. Differences were found between European American and Asian immigrant youth in the effects of both behavioral control and psychological control. Furthermore, among European Americans only, as adolescents' feelings of anger increased, the beneficial consequences of behavioral control decreased, whereas the negative effects of psychological control on behavior problems decreased. The results suggest that feeling anger toward parents' use of psychological control may serve a protective function for European American youth but not for Asian immigrant youth. In contrast, feeling angry about behavioral control seems to reduce the beneficial consequences of control among European Americans but not Asian immigrants.

Heritage language fluency, ethnic identity, and school effort of immigrant Chinese and Mexico adolescents.

The assumption that heritage language fluency is an essential component of ethnic identity, and that both factors are important predictors of school effort, was tested across two ethnic groups spanning multiple generations of immigrants. The sample consisted of 207 immigrant Chinese (first- and second-generation) and 354 Mexican (first-, second-, and third-generation) adolescents. The findings demonstrate that heritage language fluency is an important component of ethnic identity for second-generation Mexican adolescents, but not for second-generation Chinese adolescents. Thus, for this latter group, it may not be appropriate to use identity measures that assess heritage language fluency as a part of the general dimension of ethnic identity. The findings also show that higher reading and writing skills in Spanish are significant predictors of school effort for all three generations of Mexican adolescents; in addition, higher ethnic identity exploration is related to the school effort of second-generation Mexican adolescents.

An ecological perspective on smoking among Asian American college students: the roles of social smoking and smoking motives.

Using electronic diaries, the present study examined the roles of social smoking and smoking motives in relation to cigarette use patterns among Asian American college smokers. Multilevel modeling results showed that participants smoked more cigarettes when smoking with peers than when smoking alone. Participants' coping (but not social) motives moderated the within-person associations between smoking with peers and the cigarettes smoked during a smoking episode. The findings support the utility of an ecological perspective in examining the dynamic interaction between smoking motives and the social settings of cigarette use, and call for further research on the social smoking behaviors in diverse populations.

Race, ethnicity, and culture in child development: contemporary research and future directions.

The editors of this special issue reflect on the current status and future directions of research on race, ethnicity, and culture in child development. Research in the special issue disentangles race, ethnicity, culture, and immigrant status, and identifies mediators of sociocultural variables on developmental outcomes. The special issue includes important research on normal development in context for ethnic and racial minority children, addresses racial and ethnic identity development, and considers intergroup processes. The methodological innovations as well as challenges of current research are highlighted. It is recommended that future research adhere to principles of cultural validity described in the text.