Ethnicity-based negative treatment during the transition to college may affect the long-term adjustment of ethnic-minority youth. We examined within-person changes in youths' perceptions of overt discrimination and their sense of their ethnic group being devalued by the larger society among 563 Latino, European, Asian, and other ethnic minority…

Understanding adolescents' use of ethnic labels is a key developmental issue, particularly given the practical significance of identity and self-definition in adolescents' lives. Ethnic labeling was examined among adolescents in the traditional immigrant receiving area of Los Angeles (Asian n = 258, Latino n = 279) and the non-traditional…

Previous research has consistently demonstrated the importance of parents' expectations and adolescents' expectations on adolescents' academic achievement. Less is known, however, about the reciprocal relationships among these constructs. To address this issue, we analyzed two waves of data from the "National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988"…

Existing research rarely considers important ethnic subgroup variations in violent behaviors among Latino youth. Thus, their risk for severe violent behaviors is not well understood in light of the immense ethnic and generational diversity of the Latino population in the United States. Grounded in social control theory and cultural analyses of…

Cultural factors are often neglected in studies of suicidal behavior among emerging adults. The present study examined acculturative stress and perceived discrimination as statistical predictors of a suicide attempt history among an ethnically diverse sample of 969 emerging adults, ages 18-25 (M = 18.8). Females made up 68% of the sample, and the…

Although the number of students who complete high school continues to rise, dramatic differences in school success remain across racial/ethnic groups. The current study addressed Hispanic adolescents' academic performance by investigating the relationships of parental involvement, culturally responsive teaching, sense of school belonging, and…

Previous research has consistently documented the importance of VIPs (mentors or important non-parental adults) in the lives of adolescents. Little is known, however, about whether VIPs play the same important roles across ethnic groups and whether VIPs remain influential when adolescents are older and involved in romantic relationships. The…

Ethnic and American identity were studied as predictors of self-esteem for 372 Latino, 232 African American, and 65 White high school students. For all groups, ethnic identity was a significant predictor of self-esteem, although it accounted for a relatively small portion of the variance. (SLD)

Analyses of data from 12,386 adolescents showed that ethnic identity is an important qualifier of the relationships between independent variables of ethnicity and gender and dependent variables of self-esteem, academic self-confidence, and purpose in life. Whites and Native Americans had lower ethnic identity, and Blacks and Hispanics had higher…

A survey of 23 White and 58 Hispanic adolescent mothers (up to 17 years old) indicated that over 50 percent used cigarettes, marijuana, or alcohol before 12-16 weeks of pregnancy, but most substance use ceased after 12-16 weeks of pregnancy. No significant differences existed between ethnic groups in substance use. (SLD)

The effects of family structure and family environment on the initiation of illicit drug use were studied with 3413 U.S. and foreign-born Hispanic, African American, and White adolescent boys. Findings indicate a great deal of instability in family structures. Differences among ethnic groups in relationships among family characteristics and drug…

The impact of race/ethnicity on depressed mood among adolescents and whether pubertal development influences depressed mood was studied with 877 adolescents, 728 mothers, and 447 fathers. Latino adolescents reported more symptoms of depressed mood, a finding independent of socioeconomic status. Effects of puberty are discussed. (SLD)

Studied suicidal ideation among 20 male and 20 female high school students from each of 3 ethnic groups: African American, Hispanic, and White. Ideation did not vary by ethnicity, but females, substance abusers, and those with greater tolerance toward suicide, higher family coping, and lower self-esteem were more likely to report suicidal…

The present study examined the association between body dissatisfaction and adjustment, and the role physical development plays in this association, in an ethnically diverse sample of over 1100 urban, ninth grade boys and girls (M age = 14). More similarities than differences were found across ethnic groups: Caucasian, African American, Latino,…

Interpersonal and intrapersonal risk for substance use were investigated for 1,170 Caucasian and Hispanic American sixth and seventh graders, equally divided by gender. Mean use levels did not differ for ethnic groups. Across both gender and ethnicity, susceptibility to peer pressure and peer alcohol use were the best predictors of substance use.…