Mayra Y. Bámaca-Colbert

To advance our understanding of the social and emotional development of minoritized youth in new destination areas, we examined whether same-day links between positive interactions with friends and mood vary by two contextual factors—(a) the racial–ethnic composition of adolescents’ close friends, and (b) the quality of parent–adolescent interactions—among Black and Latiné adolescents living in United States. Data were obtained from two daily diary studies, one of 36 Black adolescents (44% male; 11 to 17 years old; M = 13.65, SD = 2.29), and one of 21 Latiné adolescents (52% male; 11 to 14 years old; M = 12.76, SD = 1.00). Across 10 school days, youth completed afternoon reports of positive interactions with friends and bedtime reports of mood and positive parent–youth interactions; the race–ethnicity of the friend group were assessed at baseline. Multilevel models separated day-level from person-level effects and tested moderation by the racial–ethnic composition of friends and parent–youth interactions. For Black adolescents with few same-race friends (0 to 1 out of max 3), when youth reported more positive friend interactions, they reported lower positive mood. The opposite was true for Black youth with more same-race friends; when youth reported more positive friend interactions, they reported more positive mood at the end of the day. Among Black youth with higher mean levels of positive parent interactions, when youth reported more positive friend interactions, they reported lower negative mood. Results from the analysis of Latiné youth did not support study hypotheses. Findings extend cultural–ecological–transactional frameworks of development by showing that the short-term emotional yield of supportive interactions with friends hinges on contextual vulnerabilities and assets, such as peer group composition and family relationship quality, especially for Black youth.

Existing frameworks of task values have called for greater attention to contextual factors that inform decision-making. A critique of this research is a lack of attention to the cultural and situational milieu embedded in motivational theories. Investigating the development of academic values through obligations to the family and self-perceptions of academic ability adds to our understanding of the broader factors that drive student motivation in STEM. This paper explored the roles of family-related obligations associated with the motivational utility values of college STEM majors and the mediating role of academic efficacy. College students at two large ethnically diverse public research institutions shared their experiences in an initial survey as part of a larger longitudinal study on student adversity, motivation, and persistence in STEM (N = 1571, Mage = 20.41). The results revealed that academic efficacy weakens the roles of caregiving obligations on the perceived utility of their STEM major. The role of financial obligations to the family on students’ utility values operated indirectly through self-efficacy. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

This exploratory pilot study examined how Latine adolescents’ ethnic–racial identity (ERI)—specifically, centrality, private regard, and public regard—was shaped by parents’ gender role socialization (GRS) beliefs and perceptions of neighborhood connectedness and problems. Sixty Latine parent–adolescent dyads living in a Northeastern new destination context participated. Hierarchical regression models were used to test whether GRS beliefs moderated the effects of neighborhood on adolescents’ ERI. Traditional GRS beliefs moderated associations between neighborhood problems and ERI dimensions, such that adolescents whose parents endorsed stronger traditional GRS beliefs reported lower ERI centrality, private regard, and public regard in neighborhoods with more problems. These associations were not significant for neighborhood connectedness and did not differ by child gender. Findings suggest that parent beliefs about gender may shape identity development in environments perceived as risky or under-resourced. The context-dependent nature of socialization and the adaptive nature of parenting processes in emerging Latine communities are discussed.

This study examined the moderating role of parental monitoring in the relation between neighborhood structural characteristics, social processes, and Black and Latinx youth's deviant behavior in new destination neighborhoods, areas with limited historical immigrant migration, and few co‐ethnic immigrants reside. The study included 120 self‐identified Black (N = 55) and Latinx (N = 65) youths and 120 corresponding caregivers. Path analysis and multi‐group analysis were conducted to test the hypothesized relations. The results suggested that parental monitoring moderated the relation between adolescent neighborhood racial‐ethnic concentration and adolescent deviant behavior (β = −0.21, p < 0.05). Furthermore, there was no difference in the relation between Black and Latinx youth's structural and perceived neighborhood characteristics, parental monitoring, and deviant behavior. Notably, parental monitoring had a stronger link to reducing Black youth's deviant behavior compared to Latinx youth. The findings provide a stepping stone for understanding Black and Latinx youth's development and the role of parenting and neighborhood social processes in new destination neighborhoods.

In this 14‐day study, we tested whether Latinx adolescents’ (M_age = 12.76 years, 52% female; 52% U.S. born; N = 21) and parents’ (95% female; 24% U.S. born) daily discrimination experiences were associated with their own and other’s daily affective states. Results indicated that on days when adolescents reported discrimination, they reported higher negative affect and marginally lower positive affect and, interestingly, parents reported higher positive affect. On average (i.e., across the 2‐week period), adolescents’ discrimination was associated with higher adolescent negative affect and lower parent positive affect. Together, findings suggest that Latinx adolescents’ discrimination experiences are linked to their own affective states and their parents’. Results underscore how discrimination is linked to the affective states present in family contexts.

Recent critiques suggest family science is operating on a narrow definition of family that privileges US/western‐centric perspectives and White, heteronormative, and nuclear families. Understanding that self‐assessment is key to scientific growth, this study systematically assessed the publication patterns of the top six family science journals across 10 years (2008–2018) along two dimensions: the socio‐demographics (continent/country, ethnic‐racial group, and LGBTQ) and family subsystems studied (couple, parent–child, coparental, sibling, kin, and overall family context). Of the 3932 coded studies, 85% included North American and Western European samples. Within U.S.‐based studies, White samples made up more than half of all research. Less than 3% of all coded studies focused on LGBTQ families. Most research focused on the parent–child and couple subsystems and less than 5% focused on kin or siblings. We provide a critical discussion regarding the need for more representation in family science journals, and recommendations for research methods, publication, and reporting requirements.

The intersection of a family's heritage culture and mainstream cultural norms results in person‐to‐person differences in values, beliefs, and behaviors, particularly among immigrant families. These differences often lead to divergent cultural views and patterns of behavior both within and between family members. According to the acculturation‐gap distress hypothesis, cultural orientation gaps between family members have consequences for family functioning, particularly adolescents' adjustment. Studies supporting this notion have primarily focused on processes in parent–adolescent dyads. Although scholarship on family cultural gaps emerged from a systems perspective, applications of key systems tenets are notably limited in existing work. In this article, we review the background and current state of research on family cultural gaps, provide an overview of key principles of systems perspectives, and integrate the literature on cultural gaps with key systems principles to identify future directions in research and theory.

The contribution that parental educational expectations for youth and youth’s perceptions of academic competence can have on youth’s own educational expectations across early to late adolescence is not well-understood. In a sample of Mexican-origin families, the current study examined longitudinal (from early to late adolescence) associations among mothers, fathers, and youth’s educational expectations, how youth’s educational expectations were associated with perceived academic competence, and the potential mediating role of youth’s perceived academic competence. Data from two-parent families which included one focal child (7th grade: N= 469; youth: M_age = 12.31, 50% female) at three waves (7th, 9th, and 11th grade) were utilized. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis were implemented to assess the study’s goals. Results revealed significant associations among parents’ 7th grade educational expectations and youth’s 9th and 11th grade educational expectations. The findings also revealed three significant associations among youth’s perceived academic competence and educational expectations between 7th and 11th grade. Specifically, youth’s 7th grade perceived academic competence predicted youth’s 9th grade educational expectations, youth’s 7th grade educational expectations predicted youth’s 9th grade perceived academic competence, and youth’s 9th grade perceived academic competence predicted youth’s 11th grade educational expectations. Multigroup analysis did not reveal gender differences for the associations tested. The findings highlight the long-term significance of parents’ educational expectations on youth’s educational expectations and underscore youth’s academic competence, an individual level factor, as critical to consider for understanding educational expectations across adolescence for Mexican-origin youth.

Using a sample of 279 (52% female) Latino youth in 9th grade (M = 14.57, SD = .56), we examined profiles of family cohesion and parenting practices and their relation to youth adjustment. The results of latent profile analyses revealed four family profiles: Engaged, Supportive, Intrusive, and Disengaged. Latino youth in the Supportive family profile showed most positive adjustment (highest self‐esteem and lowest depressive symptoms), followed by youth in the Engaged family profile. Youth in the Intrusive and Disengaged profiles showed the lowest levels of positive adjustment. The findings contribute to the current literature on family dynamics, family profiles, and youth psychological adjustment within specific ethnic groups.