Drawing on data from a longitudinal study of 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers, their mother figures, and their children, the current investigation examined (a) adolescent mothers' educational re-engagement and attainment beginning during their pregnancy and ending when their child was 5 years old; and (b) the influence of the family economic…

The current study investigated the development of global and domain (academic, physical, same-sex peer relationship, opposite-sex peer relationship) self-esteem from age 10 to 16 in a sample of Mexican-origin adolescents. Participants' (N = 674) responses on the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ; Marsh, 2005) II-S showed moderate rank-order…

The present investigation explored the association of mother--child and father--child emotional expressiveness during toddlerhood to children's prosocial and aggressive behaviour with peers. Data were collected from 62 Mexican-American families with toddlers (29 females, 33 males) during a home visit. Children's peer interactions were also…

This study used an ecological, person-centered approach to identify subgroups of families who had similar profiles across multiple dimensions of Mexican-origin mothers' and fathers' occupational characteristics (i.e., self-direction, hazardous conditions, physical activity) and to relate these subgroups to families' sociocultural…

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of discrimination and "familismo" on internalizing mental health symptoms among two generations of Latinos, youth and their parents, residing in the Southwest region of the United States. Data from the Latino Acculturation and Health Project was used to determine the direct and moderation…

A burgeoning body of research documents links between sleep and adjustment in adolescence, but little is known about the role of the social ecology in promoting healthful sleeping habits. This study was aimed at identifying the socio-cultural correlates of adolescents' sleep, including average nighttime sleep duration, average daytime napping, and…

Purpose: This study describes the perceptions of brain health among older Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans who reside in colonia areas of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Design and Methods: In 2007, 33 Mexican American older adults (9 men and 24 women) were recruited by "promotoras" (community health workers) from clusters of…

This paper examines the predictors and indicators of immigrant children's school achievement, using the two of the most predominant groups of American immigrants (103 Koreans and 100 Mexicans). Regression analyses were conducted to determine which independent variables (acculturation, parenting school involvement, parenting style, parent…

Everyday parent-child conversations may support children's scientific understanding. The types and frequency of parent-child science talk may vary with the cultural and schooling background of the participants, and yet most research in the USA focuses on highly schooled European-American families. This study investigated 40 Mexican-descent…

The cultural backgrounds and experiences of Mexican-origin mothers and fathers (including their Anglo and Mexican cultural orientations and their familism values) and their socioeconomic background (parental education, family income, neighborhood poverty rate) are linked to the nature of their involvement in adolescent peer relationships.

Concerns about the heightened prevalence of behavior problems among adolescents from low-income families have prompted researchers to understand processes through which economic variables influence functioning within multiple domains. Guided by a stress process framework and social contextual theory, this study examines processes linking perceived…

Among Chicano and Mexican-born residents of five states, surveyed in 1979, inclusion of Spanish literacy produced a higher literacy rate than is generally cited for this population. Biliteracy and Spanish literacy were associated with educational achievement, family income, employment, and political participation. Associations with gender, age,…

This research brief summarizes a recent report on the educational advances of the second and third generations of California's immigrants, "Educational Progress Across Immigrant Generations in California," by PPIC researchers Deborah Reed, Laura E. Hill, Christopher Jepsen, and Hans P. Johnson, shed new light on California's immigrant…

This statistical brief provides an overview of Latino history in Nebraska and includes data tables that compare Latinos with other population groups in Nebraska and with Latinos in other parts of the Midwest. The first Europeans in the Midwest were Spanish, but they later abandoned their Midwest colonies, and today the Latinos in Nebraska are…

Summarizes information on the numbers of foreign-born children in the United States in 1980 and data on immigrant children 1980-85. Examines census data on the language characteristics, educational attainment, and economic status of recent immigrants from Mexico and 11 other countries. Contains 8 data tables. (Auth/SV)