A COMPARISON OF WHITE AND HISPANIC WOMEN'S STORIES OF ADJUSTMENT TO THE BIRTH OF A CHILD

As part of a larger project designed to inform prevention and treatment of postpartum depression and promote positive mother–child relationships in diverse families, this study describes personal stories of postnatal adjustment from 14 White and 9 Hispanic women recruited from prenatal care clinics. Qualitative interviews conducted in the mothers’ primary language (English or Spanish) were analyzed using a modified grounded theory content‐analysis approach. The coding scheme developed to capture the women's discourse about their experiences included child temperament and health; intergenerational patterns; work demands and job loss; schedule changes; increased responsibilities; difficulties with parenting tasks; emotional distress; social stressors and resources; coping strategies; and changes in work, personal, social, and marital domains. More White mothers than Hispanic mothers reported changes in time structure, work stressors, use of psychotropic medication, informational support, and social support from other mothers and professionals; however, within‐group differences were more evident than were cross‐group ethnic differences. Analyses of qualitative interviews led to the integration of Belsky's Determinants of Parenting Model (1984) and the Double ABCX Model of Family Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & Patterson, 1983) into a hybrid third theoretical framework.     

The Abbreviated Dimensions of Temperament Survey: Factor Structure and Construct Validity Across Three Racial/Ethnic Groups

The factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of an abbreviated version of the Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey (DOTS–R) were evaluated across Black, Hispanic, and White early adolescents. Primary caregivers reported on 5 dimensions of temperament for 4,701 children. Five temperament dimensions were identified via maximum likelihood exploratory factor analysis and were labeled flexibility, general activity level, positive mood, task orientation, and sleep rhythmicity. Multigroup mean and covariance structures analysis provided partial support for strong factorial invariance across these racial/ethnic groups. Mean level comparisons indicated that relative to Hispanics and Blacks, Whites had higher flexibility, greater sleep regularity, and lower activity. They also reported higher positive mood than Blacks. Blacks, relative to Hispanics, had higher flexibility and lower sleep regularity. Construct validity was supported as the 5 temperament dimensions were significantly correlated with externalizing problems and socioemotional competence. This abbreviated version of the DOTS–R could be used across racial/ethnic groups of early adolescents to assess significant dimensions of temperament risk that are associated with mental health and competent (healthy) functioning.     

Parenting Stress, Social Support, and Depression for Ethnic Minority Adolescent Mothers: Impact on Child Development

Rates of teenage pregnancies are higher for African American and Latina adolescents compared to their White peers. African American and Latina adolescent mothers also experience more adversities than their White peers, such as higher rates of depression, school dropout, and economic disadvantage. Furthermore, children of adolescent mothers are at higher risk for adverse development. Parenting stress and social support can impact outcomes experienced by adolescent parents and their children. The present study examined the influence of adolescent mothers’ parenting stress and perceived social support on maternal depression at baseline (6 months after birth), and its impact on infant development 1 year later (18 months after birth). Participants were 180 adolescent mothers of African American or Latino/Hispanic descent. Results suggest that higher levels of parenting stress and less perceived social support were associated with higher levels of depression in the adolescent mothers at baseline. Higher levels of maternal depression were also associated with more developmental delays in infants 1 year post-baseline. Additionally, depression mediated the relationship between parenting stress and later child outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of examining parenting factors such as parenting stress, social support, and maternal depression in ethnic minority adolescent parents, and provide valuable information regarding unique risk and protective factors associated with positive maternal outcomes for ethnic minority adolescent parents and healthy development for their children.     

Configural Approaches to Temperament Assessment: Implications for Predicting Risk of Unintentional Injury in Children

ABSTRACT This study used two configural approaches to understand how temperament factors (surgency/extraversion, negative affect, and effortful control) might predict child injury risk. In the first approach, clustering procedures were applied to trait dimensions to identify discrete personality prototypes. In the second approach, two- and three-way trait interactions were considered dimensionally in regression models predicting injury outcomes. Injury risk was assessed through four measures: lifetime prevalence of injuries requiring professional medical attention, scores on the Injury Behavior Checklist, and frequency and severity of injuries reported in a 2-week injury diary. In the prototype analysis, three temperament clusters were obtained, which resembled resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled types found in previous research. Undercontrolled children had greater risk of injury than children in the other groups. In the dimensional interaction analyses, an interaction between surgency/extraversion and negative affect tended to predict injury, especially when children lacked capacity for effortful control.     

Asian Indian Immigrant and White American Maternal Emotion Socialization and Child Socio-Emotional Functioning

Previous research provides an inadequate account of parental emotion socialization and its relation to child functioning among ethnic minority groups in the United States. This study compared reports of Asian Indian immigrant and White American mothers’ emotion socialization and examined relations between mothers’ emotion socialization and child outcomes in these two groups. Indian immigrant (n = 34) and White American (n = 38) mothers completed measures of child behavior problems and social competence, as well as self-report measures of two types of emotion socialization, responses to children’s negative emotions and emotion expressivity. Children completed a self-report measure of social competence. Results revealed that Indian immigrant mothers were more likely than White American mothers to report responding nonsupportively to their children’s negative emotions. However, reports of mothers’ nonsupportive responses were not related to child outcomes in the Indian immigrant group. In the White American group, reports of mothers’ nonsupportive responses were positively related to child behavior problems. Mothers’ self-reported negative emotion expressivity was positively related to child behavior problems and negatively related to mother-rated child social competence for Indian immigrants, while no significant relation was found between mothers’ negative emotion expressivity and child outcomes for White Americans. Moderation analyses were performed with these variables but were nonsignificant. Results are discussed in the context of cultural influences on emotion socialization and subsequent impact on child functioning.     

Adolescent perception of mothers' parenting strengths and needs: a cross-cultural approach to curriculum development for parent education

Black, Hispanic, and White American early adolescents (N = 573) were administered the Parent Success Indicator. The performance of their mothers was rated for 60 items, included within six subscales, that consider Communication, Use of Time, Teaching, Frustration, Satisfaction, and Information Needs. Each racial group described favorable attributes of mothers and noted realms of learning where further growth seemed warranted. Statistically significant main effects for race, time spent together, and presence of an adult at home when the adolescent returned from school were reported. No significant main effects for child gender were reported. Based on perceptions of the participants, topics were identified for a common parent curriculum that can serve mothers of each racial group. Additional topics, based on the ratings within each race, were recommended to meet the distinctive learning needs of Black, Hispanic, and White mothers of early adolescents.     

BLACK AND WHITE COLLEGE WOMEN'S PERCEPTIONS OF EARLY MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT

Black ( n = 89) and White ( n = 121) female students rated their perceptions of the mother of a one-year-old infant as a function of the mother's race (Black/White) and employment role (employment/nonemployment after the birth of her child). Results showed that White, compared to Black, students anticipated comparatively more role-related costs for the employed than the nonemployed mothers. Furthermore, Blacks, but not Whites, expected more role-related emotional rewards for the employed than the nonemployed mothers. The data are linked to previous findings concerning Whites' and Blacks' attitudes toward role integration.     

Racial/ethnic differences in the influence of cultural values, alcohol resistance self-efficacy, and alcohol expectancies on risk for alcohol initiation

Prior research has reported racial/ethnic differences in the early initiation of alcohol use, suggesting that cultural values that are central to specific racial/ethnic groups may be influencing these differences. This 1-year longitudinal study examines associations between two types of cultural values, parental respect (honor for one's parents) and familism (connectedness with family), both measured at baseline, and subsequent alcohol initiation in a sample of 6,054 (approximately 49% male, 57% Hispanic, 22% Asian, 18% non-Hispanic White, and 4% non-Hispanic Black) middle school students in Southern California. We tested whether the associations of cultural values with alcohol initiation could be explained by baseline measures of alcohol resistance self-efficacy (RSE) and alcohol expectancies. We also explored whether these pathways differed by race/ethnicity. In the full sample, adolescents with higher parental respect were less likely to initiate alcohol use, an association that was partially explained by higher RSE and fewer positive alcohol expectancies. Familism was not significantly related to alcohol initiation. Comparing racial/ethnic groups, higher parental respect was protective against alcohol initiation for Whites and Asians, but not Blacks or Hispanics. There were no racial/ethnic differences in the association between familism and alcohol initiation. Results suggest that cultural values are important factors in the decision to use alcohol and these values appear to operate in part, by influencing alcohol positive expectancies and RSE. Interventions that focus on maintaining strong cultural values and building strong bonds between adolescents and their families may help reduce the risk of alcohol initiation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Exploring the Relationships Between Maternal Mental Health Symptoms and Young Children’s Functioning in a Low-Income,Minority Sample

Poor maternal mental health, including depression and high stress levels, can negatively impact many domains of child development, particularly among low-income, ethnic minority families experiencing multiple stressors. Low-income minority mothers, particularly Hispanic mothers, are also at increased risk of experiencing exposure to community violence and other types of trauma. However, studies exploring the additional impact of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s functioning are rare. This study aims to address this gap by examining the impact of maternal trauma symptoms on young children’s functioning in a low-income, predominantly Hispanic sample through the mechanisms of maternal depressive symptoms, and mother’s experiences of parenting stress and strain. The sample consisted of 158 biological mothers (58% Hispanic, 13% African American, 5.7% White American) who were participating in community-based mental health treatment for their children (M_AGE?=?3.7, SD?=?1.2). Mothers completed questionnaires providing information on their children’s behaviors and their own mental health and stress levels at intake. Path analysis indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s behavior problems through maternal depressive symptoms and maternal stress in the parent-child relationship (β?=?0.09, p?<?0.01). In addition, there was a direct effect of maternal trauma symptoms on children’s behavior problems (β?=?0.32, p?<?0.001). The results suggest that maternal trauma symptoms, in addition to maternal depressive symptoms, contribute to poor maternal and child functioning.     

Ethnic and Racial Differences in Life Stress Among High School Adolescents

L. A. Slavin, K. L. Rainer, M. L. McCreary, and K. K. Gowda's (1991) Multicultural Model of the Stress Process was used as the basis for exploring ethnic and racial differences in the life stress process among 103 Black, 129 Hispanic, and 105 White high school students from a multiethnic, predominantly minority, large urban school district. Cross-group comparisons were made on life stress exposure, appraisal of negative event impact, social support, and psychological symptomatology. White adolescents reported more negatively impactful stressful life events and lower levels of received social support than did Black or Hispanic adolescents. Minority status predicted ethnic and racial differences independent of socioeconomic status.     

Newspaper coverage of injuries affecting the Spanish surname population in two counties in Colorado

The present study assessed newspaper reports of injuries affecting individuals with Spanish surnames and compared newspaper reports to hospital injury discharge data in two counties in Colorado. Newspaper reports came from 12 daily and weekly newspapers. Hospital discharge data were obtained from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment. Motor vehicle crashes, assault and legal intervention, and suicide and suicidal acts were counted. A higher proportion of people with Spanish surnames were reported in newspapers than expected based on the hospital discharge data. Motor vehicle injuries were far more frequent based on hospital discharge data than in newspaper reports. Assault and legal intervention injuries were similarly represented by Hispanic ethnicity and absolute numbers in both reporting sources. Suicide and suicidal acts were not often reported in newspapers relative to hospital discharge data; however, the proportion of Hispanics was not significantly different. These findings suggest that the use of newspapers for surveillance of injuries may be helpful, but should not be used in the absence of other data sources.     

Mothers' responses to sons and daughters engaging in injury-risk behaviors on a playground: implications for sex differences in injury rates

Videotapes of children engaging in injury-risk activities on a playground were shown to mothers, who were asked to intervene by stopping the tape and saying whatever they would to their child in the situation shown. Results revealed that mothers of daughters were more likely to judge behaviors as posing some degree of injury risk, and they intervened more frequently and quickly than mothers of sons. Mothers' speed to intervene positively correlated with both children's injury history and their risk-taking tendencies, indicating that mothers of children who were previously injured and who often engaged in injury-risk behaviors had a higher degree of tolerance for children's risk taking than mothers of children who experienced fewer injuries and less frequently engaged in injury-risk behaviors. Mothers' verbalizations to children's risk taking revealed that daughters received more cautions and statements communicating vulnerability for injury, whereas sons received more statements encouraging risk-taking behavior.     

The relations between temperament and empathy in 2-year-olds.

The role of infant and toddler temperament in the prediction of empathy in 2-year-old children was examined. Assessments of temperament included reactivity and affect observed at 4 months of age, as well as inhibition at Age 2. Empathy was measured in 2-year-old children's responses to simulations of distress performed by their mothers and by an unfamiliar person. Children showed relatively more concern for the mother's distress, but they were also responsive to unfamiliar victims. Infants who were unreactive and showed little affect also showed less empathy toward the unfamiliar adult almost 2 years later. Inhibition toward an unfamiliar adult (but not toward the mother) at 2 years of age was negatively related to empathy. Inhibited temperament may thus have a major impact on young children's empathy in unfamiliar contexts. Findings also highlight the need to consider early underarousal as another dimension of temperament that may dampen expressions of empathic concern.     

The parenting dimensions of British Pakistani and White mothers of primary school children

There is increasing emphasis internationally on the use of parenting programmes to support the development of appropriate social behaviour in children. However, in such programmes diversity is often ignored. Research into the parenting styles and practices (dimensions) of different ethnic groups is needed in order to investigate the applicability of universal programmes, to guide their design and implementation in the future. Thirty‐four British Pakistani and 34 British White mothers of primary aged children, comprising equal numbers of males and females, completed English or Urdu versions of the Parental Dimensions Inventory—Short Version (PDI‐S), (Power, Int. J. Behav. Dev. 67 : 302–313) and a child behavioural screening instrument, the SDQ (Goodman, J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 38 : 581–586). More similarities than differences between the parenting dimensions of Pakistani and White mothers were found overall. However, compared with White mothers, Pakistani mothers reported more ‘following through on discipline’ as well as ‘reminding’ as a disciplinary action. Further, Pakistani mothers reported following through on discipline more with boys than White mothers did and the more they reported inconsistent parenting, the more their children reportedly had behaviour problems. It is concluded that while these findings provide some support for the cross‐cultural applicability of generic parenting programmes, programme efficacy studies are also needed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A multilevel model of educational expectations of secondary school students in the United States

Using the Educational Longitudinal Survey of 2002, we investigate variation in factors that contribute to Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White students’ educational expectations. Separate multilevel models demonstrate group variation in student and school-level influences. Academic and school factors explained the most variation in White students’ expectations. School characteristics were least predictive of Black student expectations. For Hispanic students, the overall influence of family socioeconomic status (SES) was explained by school level SES. These results support research on student-level predictors of expectations and present new evidence of school-level predictors. The impact of academic track perceptions on expectations is established, as are the effects of certain experiences and school contexts, especially sports participation and Catholic/private school attendance. A model comparing all four groups supported the separate group models and also revealed that student-level factors have a weaker influence on Asians and high crime neighborhoods inflate the expectations of Hispanics but not similarly situated Black students.     

Examining Influences on Problem Recognition and Help-Seeking for Child Externalizing Behaviors Among African American Mothers

Childhood behavior problems are one of the most common clinical referrals. If left untreated, these behaviors can result in detrimental consequences to the child’s development (Wehmeier et al., 2010; Scholtens et al., 2012). Behavior parent training has been identified as first-line treatment for oppositional behavior; however, many racial minority families fail to enroll in behavior parent training. The current study examines maternal help-seeking for children displaying oppositional behavior in hopes to delineate variables that might influence parent training enrollment among African American families. Participants were 112 African American mothers who were provided child behavior vignettes and completed measures assessing factors related to problem recognition, parental attributions, child rearing values, mental health stigmatization, racial identity, and treatment utilization. Results found that when presented with a child displaying clinically significant externalizing child behaviors, slightly more than half of African American mothers recognized clinically significant child behavior problems. Mothers were more likely to engage in behavioral parent training if problematic behavior was recognized. Additionally, mothers’ attributions of child behavior, cultural values, and mental health stigmatization were influential to help seeking. This study supports the importance of considering cultural variables that impact problem recognition and subsequent treatment utilization among African American families.     

Maternal Style in Reminiscing: Relations to Child Individual Differences

Past research indicates that parents show distinct differences in style while reminiscing with their preschool children; across families, both fathers and mothers tend to be more elaborative (i.e., provide more contextual support) with daughters than with sons. Further, these differences in style are related to children's performance in such conversations. This study examines within-family similarity in maternal style and the relations between maternal style and child gender and temperament. Mothers from 16 families, each with one male and one female child aged 3 and 5 years, participated individually in memory conversations. Results indicated that mothers showed similar use of elaborations across children but used more repetitions and evaluations in conversations with younger children. Contrary to previous research, maternal style was not related to child gender; however, relations were found between child temperament and maternal style. Results are discussed in relation to the social interaction model of autobiographical memory.     

Religio-cultural variation in childbearing practices

A sample of 300 mothers aged 20-35 years from Bihar city in Bhagalpur, India, was drawn to reflect similar ages, education, family income, number of children, and residence for each religious group: Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. The hypothesis was that childbearing mothers would differ significantly in their child rearing methods and attitudes toward their children. The Child Care Schedule asked questions about methods of feeding, weaning, toilet training, and bed habit training. The Parent Attitude Schedule measures mother's attitudes: restrictive-permissive, loving-rejecting, and protecting-neglecting. The results indicated that 78% of Christian mothers breast fed compared to 75% of Muslim mothers and 58% of Hindu mothers. There were significant differences between groups in feeding practices (x2= 11.18, df=2, p.01). 77.3% of Christian mothers practiced a 3-hour feeding schedule, compared to 52% of Muslim mothers and 50% of Hindu mothers; 49.5% of Hindu mothers preferred a 4-hour feeding schedule. These differences were also significant. 54% of HIndu mothers wean before 12 months, and only 33% of Muslim and 35% of Christian mothers did. A greater proportion of Muslim mothers (58%) wean between 13 and 24 months. Differences again were significant. 66% or more of the mothers in each group practiced gradual weaning rather than forced or casual weaning. There were significant differences in toilet training habits and training in washing and bathing among the 3 groups of women. All 3 groups believed in moderate training in bathing. There were insignificant differences in bed habit training and the age at which training began. About 75% of all mothers followed moderate approaches to bed habit training. There were significant differences in child rearing attitudes between Hindus and Muslims. Hindu mothers were the least restrictive, and Christian mothers were the most restrictive. The same pattern applied to loving-rejecting and protecting-neglecting. Christian mothers were the most loving, and Muslim mothers were the least loving. Christian mothers were the most protective and Muslim mothers the least protective. In Hindu families with early weaning and toilet training, the joint family system helps to dissipate frustration caused by early practices. Further research on cultural differences in personality and cultural variations in child rearing is needed.     

Maternal perceptions and adolescent self-esteem: a six-year longitudinal study

A six-year longitudinal study investigated the development of self-esteem in relation to mother's child-rearing attitudes, role satisfaction, and perceived temperament of the child. Participants were two age cohorts of girls and boys from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study, being 6 (n = 416) and 9 years old (n = 408) at the beginning of the study (baseline). Scores regarding mother's hostile child-rearing attitudes, mother's low role satisfaction, and maternal perceptions of child's difficult temperament (high activity, negative emotionality, and low cooperativeness) were obtained at baseline and three years later. Self-esteem was measured by self-reports six years later, at the ages of 12 and 15. The results indicated considerable gender differences. Among girls nearly all childhood variables individually predicted self-esteem, whereas among boys the associations were less evident. Additionally, perceived difficult temperament at baseline predicted hostile child-rearing attitudes at first follow-up, which further predicted low self-esteem among girls only.     

Teacher Ratings of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Hispanic Children

This study compared teacher's ratings of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in groups of nonreferred Hispanic and non-Hispanic White children via the Teacher Report Form, the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Scales—IV, and the Conners Abbreviated Teacher Rating Scale. A total of 61 non-Hispanic White teachers completed behavior ratings of 61 Hispanic and non-Hispanic White children between 6 and 11 years old. Significant differences were found between boys and girls, with girls showing fewer behavior problems and fewer hyperactive/inattentive symptoms compared to boys. In addition, Hispanics scored similar or lower than non-Hispanic Whites on multiple subscales measuring symptomatology related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and overall behavioral disorders. In no instance did Hispanic children score as more pathological than non-Hispanic White children. The need to consider the rater's ethnicity is discussed, and findings are explained in terms of childhood socialization patterns that might help to discern the behavior displayed by Hispanic children in classroom settings.