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Using a population-based sample of 1,311 seventh graders in an urban school district in the South Central United States, we examined the associations between early-life trauma, anger regulation, and early adolescent perceptions about sex and parenthood. Girls and boys with more trauma exposure were more likely to perceive adolescent parenthood as ideal for them (odds ratio [OR] = 1.29, p < 0.01 and OR = 1.24, p < 0.01, respectively). Childhood trauma was also associated with increased perceived pressure to have sex for both girls and boys (OR = 1.23, p < 0.001 and OR = 1.22, p < 0.001) and to have a baby (OR = 1.51, p < 0.001 and OR = 1.46, p < 0.001). Anger regulation mediated the association between childhood trauma and perceiving teen parenthood as ideal for both girls and boys, but not of felt pressures. Our results suggest that anger regulation skills may offer insight for trauma-informed adolescent pregnancy prevention efforts and these efforts need to begin early, before adolescents start engaging in risky behaviors.

Latino parents have lower levels of school involvement compared to other ethnic groups, which is often attributed--though not tested--to low English language proficiency. Using a population-based sample of 637 7th grade Latino youth attending an urban school district, we find no significant difference in maternal school involvement when mothers and students are either both fluent in English or both non-fluent. When students are more fluent than their mothers, however, maternal school involvement is significantly lower, suggesting that schools may need to take additional steps to encourage parental involvement when there is language dissonance between parents and their children.

Teacher expectations of students have been consistently linked with student academic achievement. What is less known is how students' actual behaviors and performance shape teachers' perceptions of them, particularly when considering student gender and race/ethnicity. A diverse dyadic sample of 1,653 seventh graders with 63 reporting teachers was used to examine how teaching experience, student behavioral citations, and grade point average were related to teachers' perceptions of each student's antisocial behavior, academic motivation, and likelihood of graduating high school. Results showed that more experienced teachers perceived students more positively, which in turn shaped more favorable perspectives of student graduation. Unsurprisingly, when students were cited for behavioral disruptions, they were perceived more negatively by teachers. Similarly, when students were more academically successful, teachers perceived them more positively. However, several nuances were found based on student gender and race/ethnicity that point to a potentially significant role of teacher expectations in student outcomes.

Research suggests that Latino adolescents face challenges with respect to their perceptions of success in academia while falling behind in school competencies. This study examines pathways between parent characteristics, adolescent perceptions of parental academic importance, school connectedness, and academic aspirations/expectations for Latinos using a structural equation model. The entire population of seventh grade students was surveyed in the Oklahoma City Public School District (N = 1,832). The final model included Latino students (N = 661). Results found that 51.1% of all Latino adolescents identified as having an undocumented parent(s). Findings indicate that parental documentation was significantly associated with academic aspirations/expectations beyond being Latino. Parental documentation poses limitations on parents' ability to become actively involved in their adolescents' academics. Findings suggest efforts to increase academic aspirations/expectations should come from adolescent experiences (i.e., school connectedness) as citizenship issues are difficult to mitigate. Results should be used as support for such programs in targeting at-risk Latinos.

High parental involvement has consistently been shown to enhance academic achievement among Latino youth. Still, some youth continue to thrive academically despite low parental involvement. The Theory of Rationality suggests that the impact of even potentially negative behaviors depends on how the behavior is interpreted. To test the application of this theory to parental "noninvolvement" among Latinos, we assessed how adolescent rationales about their parents' noninvolvement in their schooling affected grade point average (GPA). Results showed that parental lack of transportation and feeling unwelcomed at school as reasons for noninvolvement were significantly and negatively related to GPA, and conflict with work schedule was significantly and positively related to GPA. Other reasons for noninvolvement were not significantly associated with GPA. Findings indicate that the meaning adolescents attribute to parental behavior may be a stronger predictor of academic achievement than the amount of involvement alone.

Interpersonal traumas experienced early in life adversely impact psychological well-being in children and adolescents, yet the specific role that social support can have in reducing negative outcomes following trauma exposure is unclear. Using a general population sample of seventh-grade students in an urban public school district in the South Central United States (n = 1,712), we examined the effects of early life interpersonal trauma exposure on adolescents' depressive symptoms and examined moderating effects of two types of social support, perceived parent and school connectedness. Findings suggest that early life trauma is common among young urban adolescents. Linear regression findings indicate that cumulative trauma exposure is associated with greater levels of depressive symptoms. Greater parent and school connectedness are associated with reduced depressive symptoms, and there was a moderating effect for parent connectedness; trauma exposure was significantly associated with depressive symptoms only when parent connectedness was low, indicating a protective effect of high parent connectedness for early adolescents exposed to trauma.

Although attitudes strongly predict later sexual behaviors, few studies have investigated the factors that influence early adolescent attitudes toward sex. Using a general population sample of urban seventh-grade students (N = 1,736), we examined how supportive parenting, television viewing, perceived social norms, and having a friend and/or sibling who is a teen parent were uniquely associated with the probability and extent that early adolescents endorse favorable attitudes toward sexual activity. Supportive parenting was negatively associated with the probability of endorsement but not the strength of the endorsement. Perceived social norms and having a friend who is a teen parent were positively associated with both probability and strength of endorsement. Having a sibling who is a teen parent and greater television viewing were significantly and positively associated with the probability and extent of favorable attitudes toward sexual activity for females. Implications for prevention efforts targeting parenting and school policies are discussed.

Objective: This study assesses the psychometric properties of the four‐ and eight‐item versions of the Patient‐Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Psychological Stress Measure (PPSM) for use with Latino immigrant adolescents. Background: Immigrant Latino youth are exposed to numerous stressors that can have consequences affecting health well into adulthood. However, few studies have assessed the suitability of psychosocial measures for this group. Methods: Participants included 286 first‐ and second‐generation immigrant Latino youth in middle school in an urban school district in the United States. Analyses included tests for reliability, validity, item characteristics, and measurement invariance across differing levels of acculturation and gender groups. Results: Both the four‐ and the eight‐item PPSM are internally consistent, have strong construct validity, and strict factorial invariance across differing levels of acculturation. The four‐item PPSM demonstrates strict invariance, but the eight‐item version shows only configural invariance by gender. Conclusion: The PPSM is a rigorous measure when assessing immigrant Latino youth stress level. The four‐item PPSM is brief, simple to administer, and appropriate for use with Latino youth across differing levels of acculturation and gender groups. Implications: The four‐item PPSM lessens respondent fatigue and may be incorporated into tools practitioners and researchers use to assess perceived stress among immigrant Latino youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study reports on the psychometric properties of a new instrument to assess family fear of deportation in two versions (binary and polytomous response options). Background: The impact of fear of deportation extends beyond foreign‐born youth to U.S. citizen children in families with unauthorized members, and negatively affects their academic achievement and their physical, mental, and behavioral health. A measure assessing levels of fear of deportation among youth is lacking. Methods: Participants were first‐ and second‐generation Latino immigrant youth (N = 145 in Study 1 and N = 107 in Study 2). Item response theory (IRT), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), correlation analysis, and reliability tests were used to assess the scale's psychometric properties. Results: The results supported a five‐item binary version and a six‐item polytomous version of the scale. Both demonstrated excellent model fit, good reliability, and criterion validity. Conclusions: The six‐item polytomous version is slightly more parsimonious than the five‐item binary version scale, has better internal consistency, and captures a modestly wider range of the construct. The binary version may be preferable for immigrant youth who prefer straightforward response options. Implications: Researchers and practitioners can use either version of the Family Fear of Deportation Scale with confidence to assess deportation‐related fear among Latino immigrant youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of Snyder's Children's Hope Scale (CHS) with first‐ and second‐generation Latino immigrant youth, using item response theory, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and measurement invariance tests. Background: Stress experienced by youth in 2020 has heightened interest in resilience factors such as hope. The CHS is widely used to measure hope but has not been validated for longitudinal assessments with immigrant populations. Methods: Participants were 233 low socioeconomic status first‐ and second‐generation Latino immigrant youth (50.43% female, 62% U.S.‐born, and 81% of Mexican heritage). Data were collected at two timepoints spanning 4 weeks. Results: Rather than the original six‐item two‐dimensional scale, our results supported a four‐item one‐dimensional scale, with excellent model fit, strong invariance across time, by gender and generation status, good reliability (α =.81), and the expected negative association with stress. Conclusions: The four‐item Hope scale is suitable for longitudinal assessments with first‐ and second‐generation Latino immigrant populations and can be used for examining differences by gender and generation status in research and practice to assess youth resilience. Implications: This study underscores the need for practitioners and researchers to rigorously investigate the psychometric properties of a measure before its use with diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latino youth are more likely than any other ethnic group to drop out of high school in the United States. Though some research has helped us understand the factors leading to dropout, very few studies have assessed Latino student's opinions of services and factors that would help them stay in school (e.g., family, school, peers, and policies). This study presents the results of an in-depth survey of 501 Latino students in North Carolina public schools. Findings suggest that Latino youth drop out because of the difficulty of their school work, personal problems (e.g., pregnancy or problems at home), the need to work to support their family economically, and peer pressure. Students suggest improved academic and personal support in the form of tutoring, mentoring, after-school programs; improved English as a second language classes; and more Spanish-speaking staff/teachers. Recommendations for intervention and policy are suggested.

Upon initiating school, immigrant children begin to lose much of their heritage language (HL) abilities, resulting in the erosion of a common shared language with their parents. Although communication is fundamental to positive parent–child relationships, research on the effects of navigating two languages is missing from most family theories regarding immigrant populations. This scoping review provides a comprehensive overview of the literatures from family science, child development, communication, and applied linguistics regarding how immigrant families navigate the adoption of a host country's language and the maintenance of their HL, and how this process impacts parent–child relationships. Results indicate that (a) the literature is relatively small and underdeveloped; (b) there is a limiting focus on individual language proficiency rather than a dyadic or familial communicative process; and (c) child HL proficiency is strongly correlated with healthier parent–child relationships and child outcomes. Limitations and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early initiation of alcohol or other substance use places adolescents at high risk for subsequent substance use disorders. Research on preventing substance use among Latino youth significantly lags behind the growth of this population.Objectives: To assess the effects of a family-based intervention on past 30-day substance use in a population of Latino early adolescents (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03642106).Methods: A first study followed a sample of 265 Latino adolescents (51% female) over 4 years (7th thru 10th grades) using an interrupted time series design to compare pre- to post-intervention trajectories. The second study compared post-trajectory slopes from the intervention group to a subsample of participants from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY) who identified as Latino and were matched on age and gender. Both studies used a zero-inflated Poisson modeling approach.Results: A piecewise random intercept growth model showed non-significant differences between pre- to post-intervention trajectories for both the probability and frequency of alcohol (p =.30,.47) and tobacco use (p =.10,.37), and a significant increase in the probability of illegal drug use (p <.01) but not frequency (p =.65). The NLSY group significantly increased their probability of use across substances (all p <.01), and increased their frequency of use for alcohol (p <.05) and tobacco (p <.01).Conclusion: Longitudinal assessments comparing Latino youth to a non-equivalent control group indicate that strengthening family involvement in youths' schooling and promoting youth personal agency can prevent and/or reduce substance use during a developmental period in which use traditionally increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The literature has been mixed regarding how parent–child relationships are affected by the acculturation process and how this process relates to alcohol use among Latino youth. The mixed results may be due to, at least, two factors: First, staggered migration in which one or both parents arrive to the new country and then send for the children may lead to faster acculturation in parents than in children for some families. Second, acculturation may have different effects depending on which aspects of alcohol use are being examined. This study addresses the first factor by testing for a curvilinear trend in the acculturation-alcohol use relationship and the second by modeling past year alcohol use as a zero inflated negative binomial distribution. Additionally, this study examined the unique and mediation effects of parent–child acculturation discrepancies (gap), mother involvement in children’s schooling, father involvement in children’s schooling, and effective parenting on youth alcohol use during the last 12 months, measured as the probability of using and the extent of use. Direct paths from parent–child acculturation discrepancy to alcohol use, and mediated paths through mother involvement, father involvement, and effective parenting were also tested. Only father involvement fully mediated the path from parent–child acculturation discrepancies to the probability of alcohol use. None of the variables examined mediated the path from parent–child acculturation discrepancies to the extent of alcohol use. Effective parenting was unrelated to acculturation discrepancies; however, it maintained a significant direct effect on the probability of youth alcohol use and the extent of use after controlling for mother and father involvement. Implications for prevention strategies are discussed.

Abstract Background The strongest causal evidence that customary spanking increases antisocial behavior is based on prospective studies that control statistically for initial antisocial differences. None of those studies have investigated alternative disciplinary tactics that parents could use instead of spanking, however. Further, the small effects in those studies could be artifactual due to residual confounding, reflecting child effects on the frequency of all disciplinary tactics. This study re-analyzes the strongest causal evidence against customary spanking and uses these same methods to determine whether alternative disciplinary tactics are more effective in reducing antisocial behavior. Methods This study re-analyzed a study by Straus et al.1 on spanking and antisocial behavior using a sample of 785 children who were 6 to 9 years old in the 1988 cohort of the American National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The comprehensiveness and reliability of the covariate measure of initial antisocial behavior were varied to test for residual confounding. All analyses were repeated for grounding, privilege removal, and sending children to their room, and for psychotherapy. To account for covarying use of disciplinary tactics, the analyses were redone first for the 73% who had reported using at least one discipline tactic and second by controlling for usage of other disciplinary tactics and psychotherapy. Results The apparently adverse effect of spanking on antisocial behavior was replicated using the original trichotomous covariate for initial antisocial behavior. A similar pattern of adverse effects was shown for grounding and psychotherapy and partially for the other two disciplinary tactics. All of these effects became non-significant after controlling for latent comprehensive measures of externalizing behavior problems. Conclusions These results are consistent with residual confounding, a statistical artifact that makes all corrective actions by parents and psychologists appear to increase children's antisocial behavior due to child effects on parents. Improved research methods are needed to discriminate between effective vs. counterproductive implementations of disciplinary tactics. How and when disciplinary tactics are used may be more important than which type of tactic is used.

Teacher expectations of students have been consistently linked with student academic achievement. What is less known is how students' actual behaviors and performance shape teachers' perceptions of them, particularly when considering student gender and race/ethnicity. A diverse dyadic sample of 1,653 seventh graders with 63 reporting teachers was used to examine how teaching experience, student behavioral citations, and grade point average were related to teachers' perceptions of each student's antisocial behavior, academic motivation, and likelihood of graduating high school. Results showed that more experienced teachers perceived students more positively, which in turn shaped more favorable perspectives of student graduation. Unsurprisingly, when students were cited for behavioral disruptions, they were perceived more negatively by teachers. Similarly, when students were more academically successful, teachers perceived them more positively. However, several nuances were found based on student gender and race/ethnicity that point to a potentially significant role of teacher expectations in student outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]