Socioenvironmental Risk and Adjustment in Latino Youth: The Mediating Effects of Family Processes and Social Competence

• NCJ Number: 218637
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 465-476
• Author(s): Hazel M. Prelow; Alexandra Loukas; Lisa Jordan-Green
• Date Published: May 2007
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 5 R01-HD36093; 5 R37 HD25936; 3R01 HD36093-04S1; 97.3022; P0044188; 200010007; 2 R44 HD37292
• Sponsoring Agency: W.K. Kellogg Foundation; David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined effects of socioenvironmental risk of the internalizing and externalizing problems among Latino youths.

Abstract

The results suggest that family processes play an important role in the well-being of adolescents and may be particularly important for youth living in high-risk environments. The findings indicated an indirect path predicting adolescent externalizing behaviors and a series of direct pathways predicting internalizing behaviors among Latino youths. Specifically, family routines mediated the relationship between socioenvironmental risk and youths’ social competence. Social competence, in turn, influenced youth’s externalizing behaviors. These findings are consistent with previous research that has suggested financial strain disrupts family processes. Other findings indicate that maternal monitoring is directly associated with youth social competence, which is related to externalizing behavior in adolescents. Thus, family processes and youth social competence may decrease externalizing behaviors among youths living in at-risk environments. Future research should include a larger sample with a greater number of Latino nationalities in order to assess the generalizability of the current findings. Participants were 464 Latino mother and child dyads who were recruited to complete interviews for the “Welfare, Children & Families: A Three City Study,” a longitudinal analysis that focused on adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Data for the current analysis were drawn from Waves 1 and 2, which included interview data on 464 Latino adolescents aged 10 to 14 years and their mothers residing in low-income, inner city neighborhoods. Variables under analysis for this study included acculturation issues, socioenvironmental risk, perceived financial strain, maternal psychological distress, maternal parenting stress, family routines, neighborhood problems, maternal monitoring, and youth social competence. A series of statistical measures were used to analyze the data, including multi-group path analysis, calculations of the maximum likelihood estimates, and a covariance matrix. Figures, tables, references