To address a significant gap in the literature on normative processes in minority families, the authors studied adolescents' sibling relationships in two-parent Mexican American families and explored connections between sibling relationship characteristics and familism. Participants were 246 adolescent Mexican American sibling pairs who participated in (a) home interviews during which adolescents described their sibling relationships and familism values and (b) a series of 7 nightly phone calls during which adolescents reported their daily activities, including time spent with siblings and family members. Siblings described their relationships as both intimate and conflictual, and daily activity data revealed that they spent an average of 17.2 hr per 7 days in shared activities. Sibling relationship qualities were linked to familism values and practices, and stronger patterns of association emerged for sisters than brothers. Discussion highlights the significance of studying the processes that underlie within-group variations among families of different cultural backgrounds. Keywords sibling relationships; Mexican American families; adolescence; familismSisters and brothers are a prominent part of family life in Mexican American households. According to U.S. census data, because of higher fertility rates and larger family sizes, Mexican American children grow up with more siblings than do their European American counterparts (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Further, a growing literature on the characteristics of Mexican American families highlights cultural values, beliefs, and practices that may promote close relationships between sisters and brothers. Specifically, an emphasis on family support and loyalty and on interdependence among family members, captured in the construct of familismo or familism and thought to characterize Mexican American family life (e.g., Baca Zinn, 1994; Cauce & Domenech-Rodríguez, 2002;Marín & Marín, 1991), means that sibling relationships may be an especially influential part of children's and adolescents' lives in this cultural setting. Census Bureau, 2000). Despite these demographic trends, estimates are that only 5% to 10% of published articles in family and developmental journals focus on Latino youth and families, and fewer than 2% of these investigations examine normative family and developmental processes (Hagen, Velissaris, & Nelson, 2004;McLoyd, 1998). Scholars in the area of minority youth and families also have called for ethnic-homogeneous designs (e.g., McLoyd, 1998), designs that promote understanding of the diversity of experiences within cultural groups and the cultural and ecological factors that give rise to within-group variations in family processes. The present study answers the call for research on normative family dynamics and analysis of within-group diversity among minority populations in its examination of Mexican American adolescents' sibling relationships. Specifically, the goals of this study were (a) to describe adolescents' sibling relationships in...

This study examined associations between Mexican-origin spouses' conflict resolution strategies (i.e., nonconfrontation, solution orientation, and control) and (a) gender-typed qualities and attitudes, (b) cultural orientations, and (c) marital quality in a sample of 227 couples. Results of multilevel modeling revealed that Mexican cultural orientations were positively associated with solution orientation, and Anglo cultural orientations were negatively associated with nonconfrontation. Expressive personal qualities were negatively associated with control, whereas instrumental qualities were positively related to control. Links between conflict resolution and marital quality revealed that control and nonconfrontation were associated with spouses' ratings of marital negativity. In some cases, different patterns emerged for husbands and wives. Discussion highlights the role of culture and gender dynamics in marital relationships.

Drawing on cultural -ecological and person -environment fit perspectives, this study examined links among Mexican-American adolescents' time with peers and parents, parents' cultural orientations, and adolescents' psychosocial adjustment and cultural orientations. Participants were 492 MexicanAmerican adolescents (Ms = 15.7 and 12.8 years for older siblings and younger siblings) and their parents in 246 families. Family members described their family relationships, cultural orientations, and psychosocial functioning in home interviews, and time-use data were collected during a series of nightly phone calls. Mexican-American adolescents spent the majority of their peer time with Mexican youth. Some support was found for the hypothesis that the mismatch between parents' cultural orientations and adolescents' peer involvement is linked to adolescents' psychosocial functioning.Adolescents' daily activities are important contexts for development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Grounded in an ecological perspective, a growing body of work documents that how and with whom youth spend their time has important implications for their psychosocial functioning (e.g., Larson & Verma, 1999;McHale, Crouter, & Tucker, 1999;Osgood, Wilson, O'Malley, Bachman, & Johnston, 1996). As yet, however, we know little about the nature and developmental significance of Latino adolescents' activities, despite the fact that they are part of the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States (Ramirez & Patricia de la Cruz, 2002).Scholars interested in minority youth and families have called for more research on normative socialization processes, noting that most research on minority youth focuses on risk and pathology (García Coll et al., 1996; Hagen, Nelson, & Velissaris, 2004;McLoyd, 1998). In addition, these researchers highlight the importance of ethnic-homogeneous designs, designs that illuminate the diversity of experiences within cultural groups, and the cultural and ecological factors that give rise to within-group variations in youth development. Ethnichomogeneous designs move the field away from pathologizing minority youth (García Coll et Social Contexts of Mexican-American Adolescents' Daily ActivitiesEcological and cultural frameworks posit that activities are building blocks of development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979): Daily activities provide opportunities for developing interpersonal bonds, for learning skills, and for forming a self-identity (Bronfenbrenner, 1979;Larson & Verma, 1999). Elaborating on ecological and contextual paradigms, Szapocznik and Kurtines (1993) drew attention to the multicultural settings in which individuals' and families' lives are embedded and underscored the significance of the "culturally pluralistic milieu" (pp. 401 -402) that is an everyday reality for minority youth. To better understand the social milieu of Latino youth, our first goal was to describe Mexican-American adolescents' time spent in Mexican, non-Mexican, and ethnically heterogeneous peer groups as well as adolesce...

This study examined the links between sibling relational aggression and other sibling relationship qualities (i.e., intimacy, negativity, and temporal involvement) and broader parenting dynamics. Participants included 185 adolescent sibling pairs and their mothers and fathers. Data were gathered during home interviews and a series of nightly phone calls with adolescents and parents. Findings revealed that sibling relational aggression was related to sibling intimacy and negativity. In addition, connections emerged between relational aggression and qualities of the parent-child relationship, parents' differential treatment, and parents' strategies for handling sibling conflict.

This study was designed to describe the conflict resolution practices used in Mexican American adolescents' friendships, to explore the role of cultural orientations and values and gender-typed personality qualities in conflict resolution use, and to assess the connections between conflict resolution and friendship quality. Participants were 246 Mexican American adolescents (M = 12.77 years of age) and their older siblings (M = 15.70 years of age). Results indicated that adolescents used solution-oriented strategies most frequently, followed by nonconfrontation and control strategies. Girls were more likely than boys to use solution-oriented strategies and less likely to use control strategies. Familistic values and gender-typed personality qualities were associated with solution-oriented conflict resolution strategies. Finally, conflict resolution strategies were related to overall friendship quality: solution-oriented strategies were positively linked to intimacy and negatively associated with friendship negativity, whereas nonconfrontation and control strategies were associated with greater relationship negativity.