Nancy A. Gonzales

Family, peer, and neighborhood influences on academic achievement among African-American adolescents: One-year prospective effects

Using a 1-year prospective design, this study examined the influence of family status variables (family income, parental education, family structure), parenting variables (maternal support and restrictive control), peer support, and neighborhood risk on the school performance of 120 African American junior high school students. In addition to main effects of these variables, neighborhood risk was examined as a moderator of the effects of parenting and peer support. Family status variables were not predictive of adolescent school performance as indexed by self-reported grade point average. Maternal support at Time 1 was prospectively related to adolescent grades at Time 2. Neighborhood risk was related to lower grades, while peer support predicted better grades in the prospective analyses. Neighborhood risk also moderated the effects of maternal restrictive control and peer support on adolescent grades in prospective analyses. These findings highlight the importance of an ecological approach to the problem of academic underachievement within the African American community.

The Mexican American cultural values scale for adolescents and adults

This research evaluates the properties of a measure of culturally linked values of Mexican Americans in early adolescence and adulthood. The article discusses the items derived from qualitative data provided by focus groups in which Mexican Americans’ (adolescents, mothers, and fathers) perceptions of key values were discussed. The focus groups and a preliminary item refinement result in the 50-item Mexican American Cultural Values Scale (MACVS; identical for adolescents and adults) that includes 9 subscales. Analyses of data from two large previously published studies sampling Mexican American adolescents, mothers, and fathers provide evidence of the expected two correlated higher order factor structures, reliability, and construct validity of the subscales of the MACVS as indicators of values that are frequently associated with Mexican/Mexican American culture. The utility of this measure for use in longitudinal research and in resolving some important theoretical questions regarding dual cultural adaptation is discussed.

Multiple Mediators of the Effects of Acculturation Status on Delinquency for Mexican American Adolescents

Research has shown that more acculturated Latino adolescents are at increased risk for delinquent behavior relative to their less acculturated counterparts. The present study examined the mediating effects of seven variables hypothesized to account for the empirical link between acculturation status and delinquent activity for a sample of Mexican American adolescents. Mediational analyses provided support for four of the putative mediators which included family conflict, maternal monitoring, inconsistent discipline, and negative peer hassles. Examined together, these variables totally mediated the effect of acculturation status on delinquent behavior. In addition, family conflict and maternal monitoring uniquely accounted for a significant proportion of the mediated variance above that explained by the other variables in the model. Adolescents cultural identity, perceived discrimination, and maternal acceptance were not supported as mediators.

On the Limits of Coping: Interaction between Stress and Coping for Inner-City Adolescents.

This study examined the effects of four coping dimensions—active coping, avoidance, distraction, and support—on conduct problems, depression, and achievement in a multiethnic, inner-city sample of early adolescents. The main effects of coping were examined, along with stress X coping interactions. For girls, active coping interacted with family and community stress to predict conduct problems and grades, respectively, and with community stress to predict depression. These interactions revealed a classic stress-buffering effect for active coping. For boys, although active coping interacted with community and peer stress to predict depression and with community and family stress to predict grades, these findings did not support the stress-buffering effect. Although avoidant coping was positively associated with depression and poor grades at low levels of stress, it was associated with more adaptive functioning on these outcomes at higher levels of stress.

Familism Values as a Protective Factor for Mexican-Origin Adolescents Exposed to Deviant Peers

This study examined interactive relations between adolescent, maternal, and paternal familism values and deviant peer affiliations in predicting adolescent externalizing problems within low-income, Mexican-origin families (N = 598). Adolescent, maternal, and paternal familism values interacted protectively with deviant peer affiliations to predict lower levels of externalizing problems according to two independent teacher reports. These relations were not found with parent reports of adolescent externalizing problems although these models showed a direct, protective effect of maternal familism values. Consistent with the view that traditional cultural values are protective for Latino adolescents, these results suggest that supporting familism values among Mexican-origin groups is a useful avenue for improving adolescent conduct problems, particularly in a school context.

Family Conflict and Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior: Protective Factors

The current investigation examined whether the positive association of family conflict to adolescent depression and conduct problems is attenuated by maternal, paternal, and peer attachment, and maternal and paternal monitoring, within a low-income, multiethnic sample of 284 adolescents. Parental attachment and monitoring moderated the link from family conflict to conduct problems but not depression; the relationships among family conflict, the hypothesized protective factors, and conduct problems were further modified by adolescent gender but not ethnicity. In general, higher levels of the hypothesized protective factors attenuated the relationship between family conflict and conduct problems for girls but exacerbated this relationship for boys. These findings suggest that, in general, parental attachment and monitoring served as protective factors for girls while serving as additional risk factors for boys in conflictual families.

Early Puberty and Adolescent Pregnancy: The Influence of Alcohol Use

Objective. Early pubertal timing predicts deleterious outcomes for young girls, including substance use, risky sexual behavior, and pregnancy. In turn, adolescent pregnancy predicts long-term negative consequences such as reduced educational attainment and income-earning potential. Despite evidence of the direct links between early puberty and negative outcomes, this study is the first to examine the role that alcohol plays in the timing of sexual intercourse and pregnancy among early-maturing females. Design. Participants were 666 females, aged 18 to 22 years, from 4 major ethnic groups in Arizona (non-Hispanic white, black, Latino, and Native American). All women included in the sample had experienced a pregnancy in their teens or early 20s. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire that inquired about their timing of menarche, sexual initiation, first alcohol use, and age at first pregnancy. A mediating model predicting age at pregnancy was tested by using path modeling. Results. Early puberty was found to be associated with earlier age of alcohol use and sexual initiation, which in turn predicted early pregnancy. Age at first sexual intercourse and age at first substance use significantly mediated the relation between age at menarche and age at first pregnancy. The results did not vary by ethnic group. Conclusions. Girls who mature early are more likely to engage in early substance use and sexual intercourse, which in turn puts them at greater risk for adolescent pregnancy. It is important that health care providers are sensitive to the risks associated with early maturation among young girls and provide preventive screening, education, and counseling related to alcohol use and sexual initiation for this group.

A mediational model of the impact of interparental conflict on child adjustment in a multiethnic, low-income sample

Path analysis was used to determine whether the effects of interparental conflict on childrens depression and conduct disorder are mediated by 3 dimensions of parenting: acceptance, inconsistent discipline, and hostile control. The study extends the literature by testing this mediational model with a low-income, predominantly ethnic minority sample of preadolescent children and by examining the effects of multiple dimensions of interparental conflict from the childs perspective. Results supported the mediational model when analyses were based on childs reports of all variables but not when mothers reports were used to assess child depression and conduct problems. Exploratory analyses revealed unique mediational paths associated with conflict frequency and resolution, which were examined along with intensity as distinct dimensions of interparental conflict.

Adolescent problem behavior: the effect of peers and the moderating role of father absence and the mother-child relationship.

Examined the effect of peer problem behavior, the absence of a father or equivalent in the home, and the mother-adolescent relationship as predictors of adolescent problem behavior in a sample of 112 African American adolescents. Statistical analyses compared a moderator model to a mediational model and a cumulative risk model. As predicted, the moderator model was superior to the alternative models. Specifically, whereas the mediational model predicted that the effect of father absence and the mother-child relationship upon adolescent problem behavior would be mediated by peer problem behavior, neither effected peer problem behavior or adolescent problem behavior. Similarly, a cumulative risk index did not predict either child or parent reports of problem behavior and was not sensitive to specific contingencies that existed between the predictor variables. In contrast, an interactive, moderator model described the data quite well. This model suggested that father or equivalent absence magnifies the negative impact of peer problem behavior, while a positive mother-adolescent relationship attenuates this risk. A strong mother-adolescent relationship also served to protect adolescents in father-absent homes from the risk of peer problem behavior.

Adolescent Temperament Moderates the Relation of Parenting to Antisocial Behavior and Substance Use

Although some studies have found that parental support and control are related negatively to adolescent problem behaviors, little research has examined factors that may qualify the magnitude of those relations. The present study tests whether adolescent temperament moderates the relations of parenting to antisocial behavior and substance use within a community sample (N = 631). The joint and unique contributions of parenting and temperament in the prediction of those problem behaviors were also examined in this study. Results indicate that parenting and temperament evidenced significant joint and unique relations with adolescent antisocial behavior and substance use. Furthermore, temperament moderated the relations between parenting and adolescent problem behaviors, wherein parenting showed stronger relations with antisocial behavior and substance use at higher levels of temperamental risk. The findings supported the contention that individual differences moderate the relations between parenting and problem behaviors and indicate several directions forfuture research.