Daily hassles, mother-child relationship, and behavior problems in Muslim Arab American adolescents in immigrant families.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study examines reciprocal and dynamic relations among daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems and whether the relations differed by sociodemographic variables. METHOD: Three waves of data about adolescent daily hassles, quality of the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems were collected from 454 Arab Muslim adolescents and their immigrant mothers over a 3-year period. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine reciprocal relations among the study variables. RESULTS: Relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems were reciprocal, with a poor mother-child relationship contributing to greater behavior problems and behavior problems contributing to a decline in the quality of the mother-child relationship. Relations involving daily hassles were unidirectional: A better mother-child relationship contributed to fewer daily hassles and behavior problems contributed to more daily hassles but daily hassles did not contribute to more behavior problems. Father's education was the only sociodemographic variable that was significant: Adolescents with more highly educated fathers had a better mother-child relationship and fewer behavioral problems. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that Arab American Muslim adolescents with behavior problems are differentially exposed to daily hassles but daily hassles are not the best point of intervention. Bidirectional relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems suggest intervening to improve the mother-child relationship and manage symptoms of adolescent behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record

Longitudinal study of daily hassles in adolescents in Arab Muslim immigrant families.

This study investigated which daily hassles (i.e., parent, school, peer, neighborhood, and resource) were perceived by Arab Muslim immigrant adolescents as most stressful over a three-year time period and according to child's gender and mother's immigration status (i.e., refugee or non refugee). Data were collected at three time points during adolescence and analyzed using doubly multivariate analysis of covariance with linear and quadratic trends. School and parent hassles were greater than other hassles at every time point. Main effects of time, immigration status, and father's employment, but not child's gender, were statistically significant. School and parent hassles increased while peer and resource hassles decreased over time. Adolescents with refugee mothers reported greater school and neighborhood and fewer parent hassles than those with non refugee mothers. Adolescents with unemployed fathers reported significantly more school and neighborhood hassles. Study findings identify two at risk subgroups: those adolescents with refugee mothers and/or those adolescents with unemployed fathers; and pinpoint problematic daily hassles. Additional research is needed to explore vicarious trauma effects as a potential underlying reason for the pattern of daily hassles noted in adolescents with refugee mothers.

A model of mother-child adjustment in Arab Muslim immigrants to the US.

We examined the mother-child adjustment and child behavior problems in Arab Muslim immigrant families residing in the U.S.A. The sample of 635 mother-child dyads was comprised of mothers who emigrated from 1989 or later and had at least one early adolescent child between the ages of 11 and 15 years old who was also willing to participate. Arabic speaking research assistants collected the data from the mothers and children using established measures of maternal and child stressors, coping, and social support; maternal distress; parent-child relationship; and child behavior problems. A structural equation model (SEM) was specified a priori with 17 predicted pathways. With a few exceptions, the final SEM model was highly consistent with the proposed model and had a good fit to the data. The model accounted for 67% of the variance in child behavior problems. Child stressors, mother-child relationship, and maternal stressors were the causal variables that contributed the most to child behavior problems. The model also accounted for 27% of the variance in mother-child relationship. Child active coping, child gender, mother's education, and maternal distress were all predictive of the mother-child relationship. Mother-child relationship also mediated the effects of maternal distress and child active coping on child behavior problems. These findings indicate that immigrant mothers contribute greatly to adolescent adjustment, both as a source of risk and protection. These findings also suggest that intervening with immigrant mothers to reduce their stress and strengthening the parent-child relationship are two important areas for promoting adolescent adjustment.

Development and psychometric evaluation of an Arab version of the Family Peer Relationship Questionnaire.

Little is known about parent and peer relationships in immigrant adolescents due to a dearth of culturally sensitive measures. We adapted the Family Peer Relationship Questionnaire (FPRQ) for Arab immigrant mothers and their adolescents. Mothers and adolescents completed parallel versions of the Arab FPRQ and measures of child behavior problems, child social relations, and maternal depression. Data analyses included confirmatory factor analysis and concurrent validity. The proposed four-factor structure was replicated in both the mother and child forms. Scores from the Arab FPRQ subscales and the other measures provided evidence of concurrent and discriminant validity, suggesting that the Arab FPRQ is a viable assessment tool.

Social network structure and social support in HIV-positive inner city mothers.

It has been documented that social support influences health outcomes of persons with chronic illnesses. The incidence of HIV and AIDS among minority women is growing at an alarming rate, but little is known about social support in this vulnerable population, and even less is known about the social network conveying that support. Guided by the convoy of social networks model, this study describes the social networks in a sample of HIV-positive, urban-dwelling mothers (N = 147) by stage of disease (i.e., asymptomatic, symptomatic, AIDS) and examines relationships between social network structure and social support. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that women's social networks were disproportionately populated by children, and network members of women with AIDS were significantly older than network members of HIV-positive women with or without symptoms. Profile analyses showed that women's perceptions of the quality of social support differed according to the proportion of family members populating different segments of the social network.

A model of mother-child coping and adjustment to HIV.

An increasing proportion of newly diagnosed AIDS cases is being reported among African American urban women. Recent research regarding the psychosocial and behavioral impact of a mother's HIV status on her uninfected children as well as a growing body of clinical evidence suggest that these children are extremely vulnerable and at risk for problems in psychosocial adjustment. The present paper reports the results of research designed to examine the pathways by which a mother's HIV-positive status affects the psychosocial adjustment of her uninfected school-age child. The principal predictor variables of the model are family sociodemographic characteristics, social support available to mother and child, HIV-related symptom distress in the mother, coping strategies of both mother and child, emotional distress of the mother, and quality of the parent-child relationship. The dependent variable is the psychosocial adjustment of the child. Data were collected on 147 mother-child dyads using standardized questionnaires and personal interviews. Eighty-six percent of the mothers were African American and over 96% were on public assistance. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model of mother-child coping and adjustment. After adding three paths, the model had a good fit to the data (comparative fit index=0.94; root mean square estimate of error=0.06). Five model constructs accounted for 36% of the variance in child adjustment. The constructs in order of importance were maternal HIV-associated stressors, maternal emotional distress, child social support, child coping, and quality of parent-child relationship.