Mark A. Fine

RECKLESS DRIVING IN ADOLESCENCE: 'STATE' AND 'TRAIT' FACTORS

Reckless driving practices were studied among 139 high school students aged 17-18. A majority of both boys and girls reported driving at high speeds, and a majority of boys reported racing in a car and passing in a no-passing zone. About one-quarter of boys and girls reported driving while intoxicated. Sensation seeking and aggressiveness were found to be related to reckless driving practices. Fifty-nine of the students kept a log of their driving episodes over a 10-day period. Analysis of these data indicated that the participants drove faster when in an angry mood than when in any other mood. Also, they drove faster when alone or with friends than when their parents were present.

Examining Ethnic Identity among Mexican-Origin Adolescents Living in the United States

This study used structural equation modeling to test a model of ethnic identity development among 513 Mexican-origin adolescents living in the United States. The model examined the influence of ecological factors, familial ethnic socialization, and autonomy on adolescents’ ethnic identity achievement. Findings indicated that lower percentages ofMexican-origin individuals attending adolescents’schools and fewer members of adolescents’ immediate family born in the United States were each associated with greater familial ethnic socialization; furthermore, familial ethnic socialization was positively related to ethnic identity achievement. These findings suggest that ecological factors indirectly influence ethnic identity achievement through their influence on familial ethnic socialization.

Correlates and Consequences of Spanking and Verbal Punishment for Low-Income White, African American, and Mexican American Toddlers

This study examined the prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of spanking and verbal punishment in 2,573 low-income White, African American, and Mexican American toddlers at ages 1, 2, and 3. Both spanking and verbal punishment varied by maternal race/ethnicity. Child fussiness at age 1 predicted spanking and verbal punishment at all 3 ages. Cross-lagged path analyses indicated that spanking (but not verbal punishment) at age 1 predicted child aggressive behavior problems at age 2 and lower Bayley mental development scores at age 3. Neither child aggressive behavior problems nor Bayley scores predicted later spanking or verbal punishment. In some instances, maternal race/ethnicity and/or emotional responsiveness moderated the effects of spanking and verbal punishment on child outcomes.

Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem of Latino Adolescents: Distinctions among the Latino Populations.

This article reviews 21 empirical studies in which the relationship between self-esteem and ethnic identity among Latino adolescents was examined. This analysis indicates that for some conceptualizations of ethnic identity there has been a positive relationship between ethnic identity and self-esteem, whereas with other conceptualizations the relationships between ethnic identity and self-esteemhave been inconsistent. The methodological limitations of the existing work are also examined. Despite the differences in conceptualization and the methodological limitations, the existing research suggests a positive relationship between degree of ethnic identification and self-esteemfor Latinos who live in areas where their Latino group composes the majority of the Latino population.

Methodological Implications of Grouping Latino Adolescents into One Collective Ethnic Group

This study examined the methodological appropriateness of categorizing Latinos as a homogenous population when assessing ethnic identity, self-esteem, emotional autonomy, and familial ethnic socialization. Reliability coefficients of Phinney’s Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Steinberg and Silverberg’s Emotional Autonomy Measure, and Umaña-Taylor’s Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM) were compared among Colombian, Guatemalan, Honduran, Mexican, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican, and Salvadoran adolescents (N = 1,176) living in the United States. The measures demonstrated moderate to strong coefficients for certain Latino populations but considerably lower coefficients for other Latino groups. Furthermore, the concurrent validity of the MEIM and the FESM varied across Latino groups. Nationality, immigration history, and generational status are discussed as possible reasons for the divergent findings among groups. These findings call into question the grouping of Latino nationals into one homogenous population and have implications for researchers who study pan-ethnic populations (i.e., Latinos, Asians).

Stepparents' Affinity-Seeking and Affinity-Maintaining Strategies With Stepchildren

The purposes of this study were to examine the strategies that stepparents use to develop and maintain affinity with stepchildren and the effects that these strategies have on the development of stepparent-stepchild relationships. Data were collected via interviews with members of 17 stepfamilies in which there was at least one stepchild between the ages of 10 and 19 living in the household. Stepparent-stepchild relationships are characterized by liking and affection when stepparents focus on developing friendships with stepchildren and when they continue those efforts after they begin sharing a residence together. We identified 31 affinity-seeking strategies. Dyadic activities worked best, but it is important that stepchildren recognize affinity-seeking attempts. The success of affinity-seeking and affinity-maintaining strategies are contingent on the interpersonal and intrapersonal contexts within which they occur. In the stepfamilies in which step-relationships were poor, there was competition from the nonresidential parent, the stepparents had take-charge personalities, and the stepchildren did not recognize the stepparents affinity-seeking efforts.

The relation between gender and negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians: Do gender role attitudes mediate this relation?

This study examined whether traditional gender role attitudes mediated the relation between gender and negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. One hundred and fifty-five heterosexual college students (59% female; 97% Caucasian) completed questionnaires that assessed their attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and their gender role attitudes. Although males reported more negative attitudes toward gay men than females, there were no gender differences in attitudes toward lesbians. Traditional gender role attitudes mediated the relation between gender and attitudes toward gay men. These findings suggest that attitudes toward gay men are more strongly related to gender role attitudes than to gender.

The Relation Between Family Structure and Young Adolescents' Appraisals of Family Climate and Parenting Behavior

Young adolescents (mean age = 11.99 years) who lived with both biological parents (BP), a single divorced mother (DM), a single divorced father (DF), a mother and stepfather (SF), a father and a stepmother (SM), or a multiply divorced parent (MD) (ns = 681, 78, 21, 146, 36, and 55, respectively) appraised dimensions of family climate (supervision, warmth, conflict, and order) and dimensions of parenting (permissive, authoritatian, and authoritative). Differences among these six family structures were found on warmth (BP > SF), conflict (BP < SM, SF; DM < SM), permissive parenting (BP < DF, MD; SM < DM, DF, SF, MD), and authoritarian parenting (DM, SF, MD < DF). Gender did not moderate family structure differences. The findings are consistent with the view that different family structures vary on dimensions of family process.

Relations between parental control and warmth and child well-being in stepfamilies.

Examined type-of-stepfamily differences in child well-being and parenting behaviors and how child well-being in stepfamilies relates to parenting behaviors. Data were drawn from the National Survey of Families and Households (J. A. Sweet et al, 1988) and included fathers and mothers in 448 stepfather, 76 stepmother, and 41 complex stepfamilies. Biological parents in stepfamilies perceived themselves as having higher quality relationships with their children than stepparents reported having with their stepchildren. Although stepfathers reported behaving less positively toward their children than did other fathers, stepmothers reported responding as positively to their stepchildren as did biological mothers in stepfamilies. In general, child well-being was positively related to perceptions of parental warmth. The relations between parental control and child well-being varied for different dimensions of well-being and in different types of stepfamilies.

Modeling parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers across the child's second and third years: Factors accounting for stability and change.

This study investigated parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers and the factors that are associated with change and stability of parenting stress as children aged from 14 to 36 months old. With a sample of 580 young mothers who applied to the Early Head Start Program, growth mixture modeling identified 3 trajectory classes of parenting stress: a chronically high group (7% of the sample), an increasing group (10% of the sample), and a decreasing group (83% of the sample). Maternal personal resources distinguished between the increasing and decreasing classes, whereas maternal personal resources, child characteristics, and contextual influences explained differences between the chronically high and decreasing trajectory classes. Findings suggest that for interventions to be effective, programs need to assess maternal, child, and contextual factors to better address the particular unique needs of young mothers.