RESUMO
This longitudinal study documents the key role of early joint engagement in the language and early literacy development of Mexican-American children from low-income households. This rapidly growing population often faces challenges as sequential Spanish-English language learners. Videos of 121 mothers and their 2.5-year-old children interacting in Spanish for 15 min were recorded in 2009-2011 in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Researchers reliably rated general dyadic features of joint engagement-symbol-infused joint engagement, shared routines and rituals, and fluency and connectedness-that have been found to facilitate language development in young English-speaking children. The construct respeto, a valued aspect of traditional Latino parenting, was also rated using two culturally specific items-the parent's calm authority and the child's affiliative obedience. In addition, three individual contributions-maternal sensitivity, quality of maternal language input, and quality of child language production-were assessed. General features of joint engagement at 2.5 years predicted expressive and receptive language at 3.6 years and receptive language and early literacy at 7.3 years, accounting for unique variance over and above individual contributions at 2.5 years, with some effects being stronger in girls than boys. The level of culturally specific joint engagement did not alter predictions made by general features of joint engagement. These findings highlight the importance of the quality of early communication for language and literacy success of Mexican-American children from low-income households and demonstrate that culturally specific aspects of early interactions can align well with general features of joint engagement.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in low-income Latino children and examine differences in the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences by immigrant generational status. STUDY DESIGN: This is a secondary data analysis of the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health, a telephone survey of parents/caregivers of a nationally representative sample of US children. The study sample was limited to Latino children in households with an annual income ≤200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) whose parents responded to a 9-item inventory of adverse childhood experiences. Descriptive statistics estimated the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and examined differences in prevalence by immigrant generational status. RESULTS: Of 22 297 children, 29% (n = 6483) were Latino (9% first generation, 57% second generation, 30% third or higher generation); 25% (n = 1692) of all Latino children were exposed to 2 or more adverse childhood experiences. Latino immigrant children had a lower prevalence (13%; n = 801) compared with nonimmigrant Latino children (40%; n = 772). The most common adverse childhood experiences were financial hardship and parent divorce/separation. The total number and mean number of adverse childhood experiences differed by child generational status, and the differences persisted after stratification by age and FPL. The prevalence of exposure to adverse childhood experiences was highest among third- or higher-generation nonimmigrant children and lowest among second-generation immigrant children. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in low-income Latino children is similar to the prevalence for all US children; however, the prevalence is significantly higher in nonimmigrant children. Targeted screening to address adverse childhood experiences, policy changes, and guidance regarding care practices to address adverse childhood experiences in Latino children are needed.