ABSTRACT
Using a sample of 193 Mexican American adolescents (M age at Wave 1 = 14) and three waves of data over two years, this study longitudinally examined the effects of parent-youth acculturation differences, relative to no differences, on parent-adolescent relationship quality and youth problem behavior. We examined parent-youth differences in overall acculturation, Mexican acculturation, and American acculturation. We differentiated between cases in which the adolescent was more acculturated than the parent and cases in which the parent was more acculturated than the adolescent. Adolescents were more commonly similar to their parents than different. Where differences existed, adolescents were not uniformly more American than their parents, no type of difference was associated with parent-adolescent relationship quality, and no type of difference in overall acculturation was associated with youth problem behavior. One type of difference by dimension (adolescent had less Mexican acculturation than mother) was associated with less risk of problem behavior.
ABSTRACT
Adolescents may seek to understand family conflict by seeking out confidants. However, little is known about whom adolescents seek, whether and how such support helps youth, and the factors that predict which sources are sought. This chapter offers a conceptual model of guided cognitive reframing that emphasizes the behavioral, cognitive, and affective implications of confidant support as well as individual, family, and cultural factors linked to support seeking. The authors present empirical data from 392 families of seventh graders of Mexican and European ancestry to predict whether adolescents seek mothers, coresident fathers, and other sources and provide directions for subsequent research.
