Externalizing and internalizing pathways to Mexican American adolescents’ risk taking

Abstract

This study used four waves of data from a longitudinal study of 749 Mexican origin youths to test a developmental cascades model linking contextual adversity in the family and peer domains in late childhood to a sequence of unfolding processes hypothesized to predict problem substance use and risky sexual activity (greater number of sex partners) in late adolescence. Externalizing and internalizing problems were tested as divergent pathways, with youth reported and mother-reported symptoms examined in separate models. Youth gender, nativity, and cultural orientation were tested as moderators. Family risk, peer social rejection, and their interaction were prospectively related to externalizing symptoms and deviant peer involvement, although family risk showed stronger effects on parent-reported externalizing and peer social rejection showed stronger effects on youth-reported externalizing. Externalizing symptoms and deviant peers were related, in turn, to risk-taking in late adolescence, including problem alcohol-substance use and number of sexual partners. Peer social rejection predicted youth-reported internalizing symptoms and internalizing was related, in turn, to problem alcohol and substance use in late adolescence. Tests of moderation showed some of these developmental cascades were stronger for adolescents who were female, less oriented to mainstream cultural values, and more oriented to Mexican American cultural values.

Biological and Psychosocial Processes in the Development of Children’s Appetitive Traits: Insights from Developmental Theory and Research

“…The recent literature contains many other examples of developmental cascades [ 129 , 130 ]. Elam et al [ 129 , 131 ] raise possibilities of cascade effects on parenting and child development arising from child impulsivity or behavioral under-control that could extend into the domain of appetitive traits such as disinhibited eating. It should be recognized, however, that there are also likely to be effects of the early parent-child relationship (such as attachment security) on the development of self-regulation [ 132 ].…”

Polygenic risk, family cohesion, and adolescent aggression in Mexican American and European American families: Developmental pathways to alcohol use

“…Broadly, low levels of positive family functioning (e.g., cohesion, warmth, and routine) have been found to predict drinking in Mexican American, Cuban, and Guatemalan adolescents (Mouttapa, Weiss, & Hermann, 2009). Similarly, negative family functioning (e.g., family conflict and harsh parenting) predicts greater externalizing symptoms in Mexican American adolescents, which are subsequently associated with greater drinking (Gonzales et al, 2017). In particular, low and high family cohesion have been found to predict greater and lower respective risk for drinking during adolescence in Mexican American adolescents (Marsiglia, Kulis, Parsai, Villar, & Garcia, 2009).…”

The Vicious Cycle: Problematic Family Relations, Substance Abuse, and Crime in Adolescence: A Narrative Review

“…Concomitantly, many physical, behavioral, and cognitive changes occur in the teenage years. Moreover, risk-taking behavior is common and is often associated with the engagement in unlawful acts and conducts ( Gonzales et al, 2017 ).…”