About a decade ago, as we moved into a new millennium, demographers and journalists galore noted that the "look" of America was changing. But, not a one of them would have predicted that this new look would be seen so soon in the face of our nation's President.The Presidency of a bi-racial Black man, part of an extended family that he described as a "mini-United Nations" and that includes Kansonians, Southeast Asians, Ethiopians, Christians, and Muslims, was not easily predictable, especially by those in the baby-boom or pre-boomer generations. Yet, from a demographic perspective, there is nothing anomalous about his background. Not only does President Obama's multiracial background foreshadow the look of the future, it is what present day America already looks like for those of us who work with youth. For example, Fig. 1 shows the racial and ethnic distribution of the US population under 18 based on present census data and on projections for 2020. Fueled by immigration and larger family sizes, racial and ethnic minorities already account for more than 40% of today's youth. In a quarter of US counties, such youth are already a majority, and no longer a minority (Roberts, 2008).Is this majority-minority future something to look forward to, or something to worry about and fear? This chapter will address this question by first focusing on adolescence as a critical life stage, especially for minority youth. We first examine behavioral, educational, and related indices of well-being among this age group and then move on to review the literature on two key factors that affect youth development-the neighborhood/school context, and the family context and parenting styles. These factors can serve to increase the risk for negative developmental outcomes or to mitigate the risk and lead to resilience. They were chosen because they serve as good examples of factors at different points along the ecological continuum, with neighborhood and school more distal influences, and parenting acting as a more proximal influence. Throughout we focus on African-Americans and Latinos, the two minority groups that our research teams have worked with most closely, and groups where the data base is strongest, albeit still more limited than desirable. At various points, we will use the Obama story, which has been told and re-told so often these last few years, to illustrate how these general processes might play out in the life of a specific individual and family. While science necessarily focuses on understanding general principles, it is applying these principles in order to enhance the lives of individuals that ultimately is of interest to us. Adolescence as a Critical Life StageAdolescence holds a special role in virtually all cultures as a time of transition between childhood and adulthood. It is time of rapid physical and cognitive growth, second only to

Prior research suggests that acculturation may influence relationship outcomes among Mexican-origin married couples, including marital adjustment and distress. Despite much theory and research on parent-child cultural differences and disruptions in the parent-child relationship, no previous research has investigated possible associations between husband-wife cultural differences and marital relationship quality. With a sample of Mexican-origin married couples (N = 398), the current study investigated the relations between husband-wife differences in acculturation (American orientation) and enculturation (Mexican orientation) with husband and wife reports of positive marital qualities (warmth and relationship satisfaction). To clarify and extend previous research, the current study also investigated within-person models of cultural orientation domains as related to positive marital quality. Results provide partial evidence showing that dyadic cultural differences are associated with lower positive marital quality while cultural similarity is associated with higher positive marital quality; however, the relations are complex and suggest that the associations between wife cultural orientation and positive marital quality may depend on husband cultural orientation (and vice versa). Findings also implicate the importance of assessing spouse bidimensional cultural orientation by showing that the relation between spouse acculturation level and relationship quality may depend on his or her enculturation level. Additional nuances in the findings illustrate the importance of assessing multiple domains of cultural orientation, including language use and cultural values. We highlight several future directions for research investigating nuances in spouse cultural dynamics and relationship processes.

Collaborative (or therapeutic) assessment is an empirically supported procedure that involves the client as an active participant in the assessment process. Clients discuss data they provide with the assessor in a collaborative manner designed to provide insights and assist in setting mutually agreeable treatment goals. Internet-based procedures allow for ongoing (including daily) tracking of psychological variables and provision of immediate graphic feedback to therapists, clients, and clinical supervisors. As an example, we describe one such system: Evidence-Based Assessment System for Clinicians (EAS-C) that contains more than 30 brief and empirically validated assessment instruments that can be completed via the internet or smartphone. We also provide examples from a stress management intervention demonstrating how single-client data from a web-based daily stress and coping diary tied to the EAS-C were utilized to provide clients with individualized feedback, assess progress, identify idiographic patterns of cognitions, affect, and coping strategies, and test clinical hypotheses. Internet- and computer-based technological advances can improve service delivery and help bridge the gap that currently exists between science and practice.

In an effort to better understand possible pathways that lead to a relatively high incidence of depressive symptoms among Mexican American youth, an interpersonal stress model of depression was tested using a community sample of 674 Mexican American mothers and their 5th grade children. Structural equation analyses revealed that maternal depression was positively related to mothers’ interpersonal stress in their relationships. Additionally, maternal poor parenting quality was associated with three child outcomes: lower social competence, higher interpersonal stress, and higher depressive symptoms. Child difficulties with peers, however, were not related to child depression. Overall, evidence suggests that familial factors, rather than peer factors, were related to child depression for these study participants.