Access to institutional resources as a measure of social exclusion: relations with family process and cognitive development in the context of immigration

Few studies have examined how experiences associated with being an undocumented immigrant parent affects children's development. In this article, the authors apply social exclusion theory to examine how access to institutional resources that require identification may matter for parents and children in immigrant families. As hypothesized, groups with higher proportions of undocumented parents in New York City (e.g., Mexicans compared to Dominicans) reported lower levels of access to checking accounts, savings accounts, credit, and drivers' licenses. Lack of access to such resources, in turn, was associated with higher economic hardship and psychological distress among parents, and lower levels of cognitive ability in their 24-month-old children.     

Migration Factors in West African Immigrant Parents’ Perceptions of Their Children's Neighborhood Safety

Immigrants make up large proportions of many low‐income neighborhoods, but have been largely ignored in the neighborhood safety literature. We examined perceived safety's association with migration using a six‐item, child‐specific measure of parents’ perceptions of school‐aged (5–12 years of age) children's safety in a sample of 93 West African immigrant parents in New York City. Aims of the study were (a) to identify pre‐migration correlates (e.g., trauma in home countries), (b) to identify migration‐related correlates (e.g., immigration status, time spent separated from children during migration), and (c) to identify pre‐migration and migration correlates that accounted for variance after controlling for non‐migration‐related correlates (e.g., neighborhood crime, parents’ psychological distress). In a linear regression model, children's safety was associated with borough of residence, greater English ability, less emotional distress, less parenting difficulty, and a history of child separation. Parents’ and children's gender, parents’ immigration status, and the number of contacts in the U.S. pre‐migration and pre‐migration trauma were not associated with children's safety. That child separation was positively associated with safety perceptions suggests that the processes that facilitate parent–child separation might be reconceptualized as strengths for transnational families. Integrating migration‐related factors into the discussion of neighborhood safety for immigrant populations allows for more nuanced views of immigrant families’ well‐being in host countries.     

Parent–Adolescent Conflict,Negative Emotion,and Estrangement From the Family of Origin

Adolescence is a developmental period in which parents and children renegotiate roles in light of the children's blossoming individuality and autonomy on one hand and parent–child emotional connectedness on the other hand. The renegotiation process often involves difficulties in communication, which generate tension and conflict and also amplify emotional intensity. In this study, I examined sociocontextual differences between families who maintain contact during the child's young adulthood and those who "repair" the relationship only through separation or detachment. Three waves of panel data I utilized for this investigation reveal that emotional closeness to a parent during adolescence and a rewarding romantic relationship and religiosity during young adulthood play protective roles in maintaining the parent–child relationship beyond adolescence. A parent's alcohol use, high levels of parent–adolescent conflict, family economic hardship during adolescence, and delinquent behavior and depressive symptoms in the adolescent increase the risks for termination of the parent–child relationship. The findings provide evidence for the long-term impact of parent–child conflict and negative emotion during adolescence.     

Parental Health and Children’s Functioning in Immigrant Families: Family Roles and Perceived Treatment at School

Although parents’ health condition is generally thought to be related to their involvement in their children’s functioning, the possible dynamics behind the scenes in school contexts with immigrant children has received little attention. This study examined the association between parents’ health condition and their children’s academic and behavioral functioning, as well as the mediation effects of parents’ school engagement and children’s perceived treatment at school among 607 immigrant families with 10- to 12-year-old children. Using structural equation modeling, the results indicated that parents’ poor health condition was associated with children’s increased behavioral problems. Parents’ school engagement fully mediated the association between parental health condition and children’s academic achievement and partially mediated the association between parental health condition and children’s behavior problems. Notably, higher levels of parents’ school engagement were associated with increased behavior problems, demonstrating a unique feature in these immigrant children’s developmental functioning. Higher levels of perceived harsh treatment by peers at school due to children’s immigrant identity were associated with these children’s greater risks of behavior problems. The results suggested what may lie behind the scenes in these children’s behavioral problems is that many of these children who act out and are brought to the school office for disciplinary issues may suffer from perceived discrimination and bad treatment by their peers. The findings provide important implications for researchers, healthcare practitioners, and educators seeking to understand this subpopulation and to design and implement family support and prevention programs for young adolescents from immigrant backgrounds.     

To Play or Not to Play: Diverse Motives for Latino and Euro‐American Parent–Child Play in a Children's Museum

A popular social discourse in the United States is that play is important for children's learning and that parental involvement maximizes play's learning potential. Past research has concluded that parents who hold this view of play are more likely to play with their children than those who do not. This study investigated the prevalence of this view among Euro‐American and immigrant Latino parents of young children in order to illuminate the extent to which it uniquely and uniformly motivates parent–child play. Parents' models of play were assessed through interviews and naturalistic observations in a children's museum. Analysis revealed ethnic group differences in parent–child play that corresponded with parental beliefs about play. Within‐group analysis, however, revealed diversity in the ways that these play behaviours and beliefs came together to comprise parents' models of play. Discussion focuses on the social nature of play, the dynamic nature of culture, and the issue of individual subject validity. Implications for the interpretation of parent–child play in early childhood settings are considered. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parent–Child Conflict Profiles in Chinese American Immigrant Families: Links to Sociocultural Factors and School‐Age Children's Psychological Adjustment

Research suggests that parent–child conflict is a salient family process in Asian immigrant families and often a stressful experience for Asian American youth due to value discrepancies between Asian and Western cultures. The present study examined ratings of parent–child conflict across conflict topics from parents' and children's perspectives in a sample of Chinese American immigrant families with school‐age children (N = 239; age = 7.5–11 years). Latent profile analyses identified three parent‐rated conflict profiles and four child‐rated conflict profiles. Parent and child conflict profiles were unrelated to each other and differentially related to family sociocultural factors and children's psychological adjustment. Parents' moderate conflict profile scored highest on parent‐rated child behavior problems and had the highest household density and lower parent Chinese orientation. Children's moderate‐specific and high conflict profiles scored higher on child‐reported behavior problems than the low conflict profile. These results highlight the need to assess family conflict from both parents' and children's perspectives and target parent–child conflict communication as a pathway to prevent or reduce behavioral problems in Chinese American children of immigrant families.     

Boys' and girls' perceptions of parental discipline in transgression situations

Children's perceptions of parental discipline methods and their perceptions of child gender differences in their parents' choices of discipline methods were assessed. One hundred and seventy 8‐year‐old children (78 boys, 92 girls) in two‐parent families were asked about disciplinary behaviour in five transgression situations. The results pointed to gender differences when the children were talking about themselves. Boys believed that they would receive more physical punishment, milder requests and less induction than girls. Children also indicated that their parents would choose a different response if they (themselves) were of the other sex. Both boys and girls reported that their parents would treat boys more severely than they would girls. The results showed that the responses of those children with a sibling of the other sex did not reveal any gender‐differentiated experience of their parents' discipline strategies. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factors associated with parent labeling of children referred for conduct problems

Clinicians have suggested that in some cases normal children have been inappropriately labeled as deviant by their parents and taken to psychological clinics for treatment. Reasons given for such inappropriate labeling have included factors such as the parents' marital distress and intolerance of normal child behavior. This study provided an empirical examination of the appropriateness or inappropriateness of parent labeling of 5–12-year-old children referred by their parents for treatment of conduct problems. The definition of inappropriate labeling derived by the present investigators required that the relationship between the child's actual behavior and the parent's negative label be so imperfect as to raise questions about the justification for the label, and that some identifiable factors other than the child's behavior account for the negative label. Three parent factors evaluated for their contribution to the parent negative label were marital distress, parent negative behavior toward the child, and parent distress about child deviant behavior. The statistical model of hierarchical multiple regression permitted analysis of this definition. The association found between observed child deviant behavior and the parent negative label suggested that parents of this sample perceived their children reasonably accurately. The three parent factors were found to be negligibly related to the parent label. Therefore, the conditions for inappropriate labeling of the children by the parents of this sample were not met.     

Latin American immigrant parents and their children's teachers in U.S. early childhood education programmes

For many immigrants, their children's schools offer their first sustained interaction with the major societal institutions of their new countries, and so exploring the ways in which immigrant parents manage their children's educational experiences offers insight into how they adapt to new cultural norms, customs and expectations and how they are treated in return. This study delved into the involvement of Latin American immigrant parents in U.S. education, shifting the traditional focus down from elementary and secondary school to early childhood education. Statistical analysis of nationally representative data revealed that Latina immigrants had lower frequencies of most home‐ and community‐based involvement behaviours than U.S.‐born and foreign‐born parents of varying racial/ethnic backgrounds but higher frequencies of involvement behaviours requiring participation in early childhood education programmes. As a window into these national patterns, qualitative data from an early childhood programme in an immigration‐heavy state revealed that Latina immigrant mothers and their children's teachers often talked about each other as partners in supporting children's educational experiences but that their actual interactions tended to socialise mothers into being more passive recipients of teachers' directives.     

Effects of parenting,father absence,and affiliation with delinquent peers on delinquent behavior among African-American male adolescents

This study examined the effects of different aspects of parenting, father absence, and affiliation with delinquent peers on delinquent behavior in a cohort of African-American male adolescents. One round of survey data was collected from the youths' mothers or mother surrogates (N = 175) and two rounds of survey data were collected from the adolescents themselves. Analyses revealed that mothers' perceived control of sons' behavior was a deterrent of delinquent behavior, while other aspects of parenting (e.g., mother-son communication and relations) were not. The effect of mothers' perceived control was not mediated by adolescents' affiliation with delinquent peers. The effects of mothers' parenting variables and peer affiliation did not vary significantly by family structure, but socioeconomic disadvantage was more strongly associated with delinquent behavior in father-absent families. Though parenting effects were modest, this study suggests that African-American male adolescents are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior if they are closely monitored and supervised by their parents.     

Gendered Processes of Adaptation: Understanding Parent–Child Relations in Chinese Immigrant Families

Drawing on 5-year longitudinal interview data on 72 Chinese immigrant children and their parents in the U.S., this paper addresses the following research question: How does Chinese immigrant fathers’ and mothers’ adaptation after migration influence their relations with their children? Guided by grounded theory, data analyses show that parental adaptation difficulty, particularly among fathers, influences their physical and psychological presence in their children’s lives. This, combined with parents’ exceedingly high academic expectations, could result in estranged parent–child relations in families. This paper also illustrates how parental efforts to be good providers for their children and children’s hope for parents as a source of emotional support can lead to parent–child alienation in immigrant families.     

Perinatal positive parenting: Parent support groups

Parent-infant support groups offer first-time parents an opportunity to share their experiences and concerns with each other. This paper discusses the parent groups component of Perinatal Positive Parenting, a program for parents who deliver their first-born children at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Formation of the support groups follows the program's hospital and in-home components. Group organization, structure, and meeting format are described and the volunteer group leader's role as facilitator is examined.     

Immigrant and Native-born Mexican-American parents' involvement in a public school: a preliminary study

Mexican-American parents of Texas elementary school students were surveyed to compare the types of school involvement in which immigrant and U.S.-born parents engage. Those completing the questionnaire included 246 mothers and 39 fathers born in Mexico as well as 95 mothers and 13 fathers born in the United States. More immigrant parents than U.S.-born parents indicated they helped their children with school work, attended school board meetings, volunteered at school, participated in parent-teacher conferences, went to school functions, served as room mother, engaged in school fundraising, and were present during parent advisory committee meetings.     

Predictors of school engagement among same-sex and heterosexual adoptive parents of Kindergarteners

Little research has explored parental engagement in schools in the context of adoptive parent families or same-sex parent families. The current cross-sectional study explored predictors of parents' self-reported school involvement, relationships with teachers, and school satisfaction, in a sample of 103 female same-sex, male same-sex, and heterosexual adoptive parent couples (196 parents) of kindergarten-age children. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about positive or neutral topics (e.g., their child's good grades) reported more involvement and greater satisfaction with schools, regardless of family type. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about negative topics (e.g., their child's behavior problems) reported better relationships with teachers but lower school satisfaction, regardless of family type. Regarding the broader school context, across all family types, parents who felt more accepted by other parents reported more involvement and better parent–teacher relationships; socializing with other parents was related to greater involvement. Regarding the adoption-specific variables, parents who perceived their children's schools as more culturally sensitive were more involved and satisfied with the school, regardless of family type. Perceived cultural sensitivity mattered more for heterosexual adoptive parents' relationships with their teachers than it did for same-sex adoptive parents. Finally, heterosexual adoptive parents who perceived high levels of adoption stigma in their children's schools were less involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma, whereas same-sex adoptive parents who perceived high levels of stigma were more involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma. Our findings have implications for school professionals, such as school psychologists, who work with diverse families.     

Longitudinal relations among school context,school-based parent involvement,and academic achievement of Chinese American children in immigrant families

Immigrant families face multiple barriers to engaging with children's schools. Yet, school-based parent involvement has been associated with academic and behavioral benefits for children of immigrant families. Although past research has examined links between family contextual factors and parent involvement, less is known about the links between school contextual factors and parent involvement in immigrant families. Identifying socio-cultural barriers to parent involvement across home and school contexts can inform culturally competent family engagement interventions serving immigrant families. In a two-wave (1.5 years apart) longitudinal study of a community-based sample of Chinese American children (N = 210, beginning age = 5.8–9.1 years) attending over 80 schools in a metropolitan area, we assessed school-based parent involvement behaviors and parent involvement-related psychological processes (i.e., parent-teacher relationship quality, parents' endorsement of schools, teachers' perceptions of parents) using parent and teacher report. First, results indicated that significant positive associations were found between school-based parent involvement behaviors and parent involvement-related psychological processes (rs = 0.36–0.53). Next, multi-level modeling was conducted to test concurrent relations of Wave 1 school contextual factors to all four parent involvement constructs (controlling for family-level factors), as well as testing the prospective relations of parent involvement at Wave 1 to children's academic achievement at Wave 2. Student body diversity of schools was negatively associated with school-based parent involvement (rs = −0.18, −0.17), parent-rated parent-teacher relationship quality (r = −0.18), and parents' endorsement of schools (r = −0.36). The concentration of Asian students at schools and schoolwide achievement were negatively associated with teachers' perceptions of parents (rs = −0.18, −0.20). However, neither school contextual factors nor school-based parent involvement at Wave 1 uniquely predicted children's academic achievement at Wave 2. Implications of findings for understanding and addressing barriers to engaging Chinese American immigrant families in their children's schools are discussed.     

Preschool child care and parents' use of physical discipline

Parenting practices, including the use of physical discipline, are shaped by multiple influences. Although much research focuses on how parent, child, and dyadic characteristics shape parenting practices, extra‐familial resources may also play a role. This paper focuses on how children's experiences of child care during the preschool years may affect one aspect of parenting—discipline practices. Using a rich, nationally representative data set, we explore the correlation between children's participation in centre based care, Head Start, or other non‐parental care arrangements and parents' use of physical discipline, and related phenomena, parents' experience of domestic violence and parenting stress. We conduct probit regressions of parents' use of physical discipline, and parents' experiences of domestic violence, on preschool child care experiences. For disadvantaged groups of children, who have higher risks of experiencing physical discipline and witnessing family violence, we find that Head Start participation is associated with an increase in the likelihood that parents say they never spank their children and reduction in reports of domestic violence. And, for children in two‐parent families, Head Start is associated with an increase in the likelihood that parents say they never spank their children and the likelihood that they do not say they would resort to spanking in a hypothetical situation. However, we find no evidence that non‐parental child care is associated with a lasting reduction in parenting stress. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parental facilitation of children's preparatory play behavior in a stressful situation

Parental behavior has often been cited as a crucial factor in children's ability to cope with stress. However, there has been little study of ways parents help their children adjust to stressful life events. In the present study, 34 parents and children (ages 4–9) were observed preparing for a stressful life event (elective surgery). Parents were asked to prepare their children for the upcoming stress and were given stress-related hospital equipment to use with their child. Specific hypotheses were selected to study the relationships of five parent helping behaviors to children's active preparatory play with stress-relevant materials. Children's preparatory play alone and with an examiner were also observed to test for effects of children on their parents' helping behavior. As expected, parent helping behaviors were significantly related to children's active preparatory play. With the exception of highly directive behavior, however, the relationship of parent helping behavior to child play was dependent on the child's age. This study suggests the importance of further investigating parental involvement in studying the process of children's coping with stress.     

Asian-Indian Parents’ Attributions About the Causes of Child Behavior: A Replication and Extension With Parents From Chennai,India

Using hypothetical vignettes, 152 parents of children 10–17 years old living in Chennai, India, made attributions about whether the origins of 2 positive and 2 negative behaviors performed by their own child or another child were due to the child's personality or the situation, or to parenting or nonparenting influences based on the frequency, intensity, and cross-situational consistency of the behavior. Parents attributed the positive behaviors of all children to the personality of the child and to parenting. Parents attributed negative behavior of their own children to situational influences and nonparenting effects, but attributed the negative behavior of other children to their personality and to parenting, a pattern that enhances and reinforces parent self-esteem. Results were discussed in terms of the self-serving bias and the actor–observer bias, cognitive distortions that protect and enhance parents’ views of themselves and their children.