Cultural conflicts and problem behaviors of Latino adolescents in home and school environments

Abstract

This empirical study examines the behavioral sequelae of acculturation strains among Latino adolescents in home ans school settings. Two theoretically derived hypotheses are tested. First, low acculturation Latinos experiencing strains associated wsith rapid cultural and language transitions will have more behavior problems reported by their parents and teachers. Second, highly acculturated Latinos reporting more acculturation strains. associated with perceptions of prejudical treatment and internalization of inority status will have more behavior problems reported by aprents and teachers. The data were taken from the self‐reports of 2,360 adolescents in the greater Miami (Florida) area, ans their teacher ans parent reports. problem behaviors were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist and the Teacher Report Form. Strain measures included language conflicts, acculturation conflicts, perceived discrimination, and perception of a closed society. Results indicated general confirmation of both hypotheses. Among immigrant adolescents only language confilicts were associated with reported behavior problems reported by teachers and parents. Among the U.S. born, language conficts, perceived discrimination, and perceptions ofa closed society were associated with behavior problems reported by teachers but not by parents. The central finding is that both immigrant and nonimmigrant Latino adolescents are likely to experience a variety of acculturative strains in the school setting that may affect role performance and lower educational aspirations.

The Social Development of Immigrant Children: A Focus on Asian and Hispanic Children in the United States

“…Studies have found that Chinese American adolescents report being discriminated against by teachers or other adults at schools (Qin, Way, & Rana, 2008 ), and racial discrimination is positively associated with behavior problems among Latino American adolescents (Vega, Khoury, Zimmerman, & Gil, 1995 ). Importantly, immigrant children from different ethnic backgrounds may have varying types of racial discrimination experiences.…”

Mexican American Adolescents’ Cultural Orientation, Externalizing Behavior and Academic Engagement: The Role of Traditional Cultural Values

“…However, it should be noted that the ARSMA-II focuses primarily on behavioral indicators of cultural orientation, such as language use and ethnic affiliation. Like most scales used in prior research on acculturation (e.g., Marin & Gamba, 1996), the ARSMA-II does not measure underlying values associated with these behavioral indicators, despite the fact that many theorists maintain that traditional value shifts may better account for psychological functioning and risk behavior for Latinos (Marin, 1992;Vega, Khoury, Zimmerman, Gil, & Warheit, 1995).…”

The Nature and Correlates of Mexican‐American Adolescents' Time With Parents and Peers

“…In their work with Cuban Americans, for example, Szapocznik and Kurtines (1993) proposed that discrepancies between parents and youth in acculturation contribute to problematic parent -adolescent relationships and youth maladjustment. Other researchers have highlighted the potential negative implications of intergenerational discrepancies for parent -child relationships in immigrant families (Phinney, Ong, & Madden, 2000;Rumbaut, 2005;Vega, Khoury, Zimmerman, Gil, & Warheit, 1995).…”

“…In their work with Cuban Americans, for example, Szapocznik and Kurtines (1993) proposed that discrepancies between parents and youth in acculturation contribute to problematic parent -adolescent relationships and youth maladjustment. Other researchers have highlighted the potential negative implications of intergenerational discrepancies for parent -child relationships in immigrant families (Phinney, Ong, & Madden, 2000;Rumbaut, 2005;Vega, Khoury, Zimmerman, Gil, & Warheit, 1995).Building on these ideas, we hypothesized that incongruence between parents' cultural orientations and adolescents' peer time would be associated with more problematic adjustment and less parental acceptance. Specifically, we examined two types of mismatches between parents' cultural orientations and adolescents' time spent with peers: parents' Mexican orientations and adolescents' time with non-Mexican peers and parents' Anglo orientations and adolescents' time with Mexican peers.…”