Familism is a key cultural value that emphasizes support and attachment, loyalty, honor, and obligation to the family and is hypothesized to be critical in shaping family dynamics and individual adjustment among Hispanic/Latino individuals. To advance the field, we drew from cultural-ecological and developmental models to examine familism as a cultural promotive and risk factor for individual adjustment and family relationship quality. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis via a search between 2017 and 2020 and identified 126 records (23% unpublished dissertations) from 73 independent studies (12% longitudinal) in PsycINFO/Proquest, PubMed, and ERIC databases between 1993 and 2019. The multilevel meta-analysis revealed significant effects: educational outcomes, r = .16, 95% CI [.08, .23]; family relationships, which included warmth/support, r = .24, 95% CI [.19, .29], and conflict/negativity, r = −.13, 95% CI [−.23, −.02]; internalizing symptoms, r = −.12, 95% CI [−.16, −.09]; and externalizing symptoms, r = −.10, 95% CI [−.18, −.03]. We tested conceptually driven moderators and found significant variation by sample (e.g., nativity, developmental period) and context characteristics (i.e., U.S. states characterized as “established” or “new/emerging” for Hispanic/Latino populations). Findings suggest that familism may function more as a promotive and less as a risk factor and that continued attention is needed to the conditions that strengthen or weaken these associations. Although conclusions are limited because most effect sizes were from cross-sectional designs with U.S. Mexican-origin participants and relied on self-reports, findings highlight the complex associations between familism and adjustment/relationship quality and can guide future research.

The cultural differences hypothesis is the assertion that there are large differences between Whites and racial/ethnic minorities in the United States, while there are small differences between- (e.g., African Americans and Latinos) and within- (e.g., Latinos: Mexican Americans and Cuban Americans) minority groups. Conversely, the cultural similarities hypothesis argues that there are small differences between Whites and minorities, and these differences are equal or smaller in magnitude than differences between and within minorities. In this study, we conducted a second-order meta-analysis focused on psychopathology, to (a) test these hypotheses by estimating the absolute average difference between Whites and minorities, as well as between and within minorities, on levels of psychopathology, and (b) determine if general and meta-analytic method moderators account for these differences. A systematic search in PsycINFO, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertations identified 16 meta-analyses (13% unpublished) on 493 primary studies (N = 3,036,749). Differences between Whites and minorities (d+ = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [0.18, 0.28]), and between minorities (d+ = 0.30, 95% confidence interval [0.12, 0.48]) were small in magnitude. White–minority differences remained small across moderators. These findings support the cultural similarities hypothesis. We discuss their implications and future research directions.

Objectives: It is crucial to examine how research on culture is fueled by assumptions, policies, and practices. The goal of this article is to promote meta-research on culture, the critical study of how investigations on culture are performed and interpreted, how scientific knowledge about culture is produced and transmitted, and the importance of scrutinizing assumptions, policies, and practices in a way that challenge views of minoritized groups as deviant and pathological. Method: We define key concepts, such as meta-research, culture, and meta-research on culture. Results: We approach cultural research as a system of people (researchers, participants), places (academic institutions, journals), practices (sampling, comparing groups), and power (legitimizing some groups as normative and others as deviant). We discuss assumptions, policies, and practices, and review landmark studies and methods. Conclusions: Meta-research on culture is an emerging field that can improve scientific understanding of human culture, guide efforts to elevate the perspectives of people who have historically experienced marginalization, inform institutional support and the creation of nurturing academic spaces, and guide the implementation of better research and training practices. Public Significance StatementIt is critical to study of how investigations on culture are performed and interpreted, how scientific knowledge about culture is produced and transmitted, and the importance of scrutinizing assumptions, policies, and practices in a way that challenge views of minoritized groups as deviant and pathological.

A cultural-ecological approach posits that multiple sources of relational support can contribute to youths’ strengths development. Some such strengths are positive future expectations (PFE) and hope, both of which represent beneficial, future-oriented cognitive-motivational constructs; however, they have not been fully explored among Latinx youth. Furthermore, it is unknown how different socializing agents (i.e., family, teachers, friends) influence youths’ PFE, hope, and academic achievement, and if relations differ by gender and special education (SPED) designation. The present study (5th–12th grade Latinx students living in the Southwest U.S.; n = 748; 49% male; 15% SPED) investigated whether students’ relational supports longitudinally related to their PFE (for education/work, self-satisfaction, community involvement), hope, and academic achievement 1 year later. In the non-SPED designated sample, family support related to PFE for work/education and self-satisfaction for boys. Conversely, teacher support related to PFE for work/education and self-satisfaction for girls. PFE for community involvement was low across the sample. The same pattern emerged for hope, with family support significant for boys and teacher support for girls. For achievement, teacher support related positively across gender. Friend support had few significant associations overall, although a significant negative relation emerged between friend support and achievement for SPED students. SPED students had a positive path between family support and PFE for work/education. Findings support a multidimensional approach to increasing strengths and resilience through increased attention to family, teacher, and friend support across unique groups of Latinx youth.

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