The present study examined the production of inalienable possession with body parts in Spanish among 20 school-age children of Mexican-born parents born and raised in the United States. The results were compared to those of 20 first-generation immigrant parents (main input providers), 27 Spanish-dominant children of similar age, and 12 Spanish…

Teacher expectancy research has demonstrated the greatest effects for members of racialized groups. Most research has focused on students' near-term abilities; missing are understandings of how teachers perceive their students' future trajectories. Drawing on social mirroring and attribution theories, this study investigates how 14 elementary,…

This article advances a self-socialization perspective demonstrating that children's understanding of "both" gender categories represents an intergroup cognition that is foundational to the development of gender-stereotyped play. Children's (N = 212) gender category knowledge was assessed at 24 months and play was observed at…

Early academic achievement has been shown to predict high school completion, but there have been few studies of the predictors of early academic success focused on Latino students. Using longitudinal data from 750 Mexican and Dominican American families, this study examined a cultural model of parenting and early academic achievement. While Latino…

This morphosyntactic dissertation study compares the use of MOOD (indicative & subjunctive) in first- and second-generation Spanish speakers in New York City. The data for this study are from a transcription of naturalistic Spanish conversations with New Yorkers of different generations, representing the six primary Spanish-speaking groups in…

Parents' socialization goals are important for cultural transmission across generations, but whether such goals vary by ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and change over children's first years of life remains unexamined. In Study 1, African-American, Dominican immigrant, and Mexican immigrant mothers (N = 300) reported on the qualities deemed…

Many young children pass through a stage of gender appearance rigidity; girls insist on wearing dresses, often pink and frilly, whereas boys refuse to wear anything with a hint of femininity. In 2 studies, we investigated the prevalence of this apparent hallmark of early gender development and its relation to children's growing identification with…

Rapid Mexican immigration has challenged host communities to make sense of immigrants' place in New Latino Diaspora towns. We describe one town in which residents often characterize Mexican immigrants as model minorities with respect to work and civic life but not with respect to education. We trace how this stereotype is deployed, accepted, and…

Mothers' spontaneous teaching of their 4-year-olds was observed during block play in 230 dyads from low-income African American, Mexican, Dominican, and Chinese backgrounds. Blocks contained graphics that could be used to teach concepts in literacy, math, construction, or body/color. Coders noted how often mothers taught each of the concepts,…

This article describes the developmental patterns of Hispanic-White math and reading achievement gaps in elementary school, paying attention to variation in these patterns among Hispanic subgroups. Compared to non-Hispanic White students, Hispanic students enter kindergarten with much lower average math and reading skills. The gaps narrow by…

Differences in the incidence and duration of unemployment among Hispanic men and between Hispanics and Anglos were analyzed statistically. The investigation found that Hispanics were far more likely to be unemployed one or more times in 1975 than were Anglos. Differential treatment played a significant role in the higher unemployment of Hispanics,…

Central American immigrants, who have recently entered the United States in large numbers, may become integrated in the social structure, be confined in a low-wage and -status sector, or create an ethnic enclave. They are at high risk for joining Mexican Americans at the bottom of the socioeconomic system. (AF)

The purpose of this article was to report factor structures, reliability, and validity of the Significant Other Academic Support Scale from two different Latino samples of Mexican and Central American origin youth. Self-report data were collected from 394 Mexican and 220 Central American youth from immigrant families living in Los Angeles.…

This study surveyed political values, attitudes, and behavior of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans in the United States. This report describes U.S. Latinos as foreign-born, native (U.S.)-born, non-U.S. citizens, and U.S. citizens. The study used a household, in-person survey, in English or Spanish (interviewee's choice), of 1,546 Mexicans, 589…