Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cultural Orientations, Parental Beliefs and Practices, and Latino Adolescents’ Autonomy and Independence

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite the salience of behavioral autonomy and independence to parent–child interactions during middle adolescence, little is known about parenting processes pertinent to youth autonomy development for Latino families. Among a diverse sample of 684 Latino-origin parent–adolescent dyads in Houston, Texas, this study examines how parents’ cultural orientations are associated directly and indirectly, through parental beliefs, with parenting practices giving youth behavioral autonomy and independence. Informed by social domain theory, the study’s parenting constructs pertain to youth behaviors in an “ambiguously personal” domain—activities that adolescents believe are up to youth to decide, but which parents might argue require parents’ supervision, knowledge, and/or decision-making. Results for latent profile analyses of parents’ cultural identity across various facets of acculturation indicate considerable cultural heterogeneity among Latino parents. Although 43 % of parents have a Latino cultural orientation, others represent Spanish-speaking/bicultural (21 %), bilingual/bicultural (15 %), English-speaking/bicultural (15 %), or US (6 %) cultural orientations. Structural equation modeling results indicate that bilingual/bicultural, English-speaking/bicultural, and US-oriented parents report less emphasis on the legitimacy of parental authority and younger age expectations for youth to engage in independent behaviors than do Latino-oriented parents. Parental beliefs endorsing youth’s behavioral independence and autonomy, in turn, are associated with less stringent parental rules (parental report), less parental supervision (parental and youth report), and more youth autonomy in decision-making (parental and youth report). Evidence thus supports the idea that the diverse cultural orientations of Latino parents in the US may result in considerable variations in parenting processes pertinent to Latino adolescents’ development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arends-Tóth, J., & van de Vijver, F. R. (2006). Assessment of psychological acculturation. In D. L. Sam & J. W. Berry (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 142–160). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Barber, B. K., Olsen, J. E., & Shagle, S. C. (1994). Associations between parental psychological and behavioral control and youth internalized and externalized behaviors. Child Development, 65, 1120–1136.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benet-Martinez, V. (2003). The Riverside Acculturation Stress Inventory (RASI): Development and psychometric properties. Technical Report, Department of Psychology, University of California at Riverside.

  • Berry, J. W. (1990). Acculturation and adaptation: A general framework. In W. H. Holtzman & T. H. Bornemann (Eds.), Mental health of immigrants and refugees (pp. 90–102). Austin, TX: Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, S. L., Blair, M. C. L., & Madamba, A. B. (1999). Racial/ethnic differences in high school students’ academic performance: Understanding the interweave of social class and ethnicity in the family context. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 30, 539–555.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, S. L., & Cobas, J. A. (2006). Gender differences in young Latino adults’ status attainment: Understanding bilingualism in the familial context. Family Relations, 55, 292–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulcroft, R. A., Carmody, D. C., & Bulcroft, K. A. (1996). Patterns of parental independence giving to adolescents: Variations by race, age, and gender of child. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 866–883.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buriel, R. (1993). Childrearing orientations in Mexican American families: The influence of generation and sociocultural factors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 55, 987–1000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Céspedes, Y. M., & Huey, S. J., Jr. (2008). Depression in Latino adolescents: A cultural discrepancy perspective. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14, 168–172.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14, 464–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 233–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coatsworth, J. D., Maldonado-Molina, M., Pantin, H., & Szapocznik, J. (2005). A person-centered and ecological investigation of acculturation strategies in Hispanic immigrant youth. Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 157–174.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crean, H. F. (2008). Conflict in the Latino parent-youth dyad: The role of emotional support from the opposite parent. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 484–493.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crockett, L. J., Brown, J., Russell, S. J., & Shen, Y. (2007). The meaning of good parent–child relationships for Mexican American adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17, 639–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuellar, I., Harris, L. C., & Jasso, R. (1980). An acculturation scale for Mexican American normal and clinical populations. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 2, 199–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMent, D. F. (1998). Development, validation, and application of a conflict resolution efficacy scale. (Doctoral dissertation). Retreived from Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering (1998-95022-385).

  • Dixon, S. V., Graber, J. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2008). The roles of respect for parental authority and parenting practices in parent–child conflict among African U.S., Latino, and European American families. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 1–10.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dornbusch, S. M., Carlsmith, J. M., Bushwall, S. J., Ritter, P. L., Leiderman, H., Hastorf, A. H., et al. (1985). Single parents, extended households, and the control for adolescents. Child Develxopment, 56, 326–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll, A. K., Russell, S. T., & Crockett, L. J. (2008). Parenting styles and youth well-being across immigrant generations. Journal of Family Issues, 29, 185–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, S. S., & Rosenthal, D. A. (1990). The acculturation of autonomy expectations in Chinese high schoolers residing in two western nations. International Journal of Psychology, 25, 259–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finkelstein, J. R., Donenberg, G. S., & Martinovich, Z. (2001). Maternal control and adolescent depression: Ethnic differences among clinically referred girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30, 155–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuligni, A. J. (1998). Authority, autonomy, and parent–adolescent conflict and cohesion: A study of adolescents from Mexican, Chinese, Filipino, and European backgrounds. Developmental Psychology, 34, 782–792.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fuligni, A. J., Tseng, V., & Lam, M. (1999). Attitudes toward family obligations among U.S. adolescents with Asian, Latino, and European backgrounds. Child Development, 70, 1030–1044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuligni, A. J., & Yoshikawa, H. (2003). Socioeconomic resources, parenting, and child development among immigrant families. In M. H. Bornstein & R. H. Bradley (Eds.), Socioeconomic status, parenting, and child development (pp. 107–124). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gil, A. G., Vega, W. A., & Dimas, J. M. (1994). Acculturative stress and personal adjustment among Hispanic adolescent boys. Journal of Community Psychology, 22, 43–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golden, R. M. (2000). Statistical tests for comparing possibly misspecified and nonnested models. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 44, 153–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P. M., Suzuki, L. K., & Rothstein-Fisch, C. (2006). Cultural pathways through human development. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 6, pp. 655–699). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, X., Suarez-Morales, L., Schwartz, S. J., & Szapocznik, J. (2012). Some evidence for multidimensional biculturalism: Confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance analysis on the Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire–Short Version. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 1, 52–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (1996). Introduction. In S. Harkness & C. M. Super (Eds.), Parents’ cultural belief systems: Their origins, expressions and consequences (pp. 1–23). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (2001). Culture and Parenting. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting (2nd ed., pp. 253–280). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (2006). Themes and variations: Parental ethnotheories in western cultures. In K. Rubin (Ed.), Parental beliefs, parenting, and child development in cross-cultural perspective (pp. 61–79). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harwood, R., Leyendecker, B., Carlson, V., Asencio, M., & Miller, A. (2002). Parenting among Latino families. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (Vol. 4, pp. 21–46)., Social conditions and applied parenting Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoff-Ginsberg, E., & Tardif, T. (1995). Socioeconomic status and parenting. In M. H. Bornstein & M. H. Bornstein (Eds.), Handbook of parenting (Vol. 2, pp. 161–188)., Biology and ecology of parenting Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, A. (1995). Variations, combinations, and evolutions: Latino families in the United States. In R. E. Zambrana (Ed.), Understanding Latino families: Scholarship, policy and practice (pp. 40–61). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kass, R. E., & Wasserman, L. A. (1995). A reference Bayesian test for nested hypotheses and its relationship to the Schwarz criterion. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 90, 928–934.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laird, R. D., Criss, M. M., Pettit, G. S., Battes, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (2009). Developmental trajectories and antecedents of distal parental supervision. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 29, 258–284.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laursen, B., & Hoff, E. (2006). Person-centered and variable-centered approaches to longitudinal data. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52, 377–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leyendecker, B., & Lamb, M. E. (1999). Latino families. In M. E. Lamb & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Parenting and child development in ‘nontraditional’ families (pp. 247–262). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, T. D. (2013). Longitudinal structural equation modelings. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo, Y., Mendell, N. R., & Rubin, D. B. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. Biometrika, 88, 767–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Love, J. A., & Buriel, R. (2007). Adolescents from immigrant families biculturalism, and depression: A study of Mexican American language brokering, autonomy, parent–child bonding. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 29, 472–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7, 83–104.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Magnusson, D. (2003). The person approach: Concepts, measurement, models, and research strategy. In S. C. Petck & R. W. Roeser (Eds.), New directions for child and adolescent development. Person-centered approaches to studying development in context (Vol. 101, pp. 3–23). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, C. R. (2006). Effects of differential family acculturation on Latino adolescent substance use. Family Relations, 55, 06–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, C. R., McClure, H. H., Eddy, J. M., & Wilson, D. M. (2011). Time in U.S. residency and the social, behavioral, and emotional adjustment of Latino immigrant families. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 33, 323–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McElhaney, K. B., Allen, J. P., Stephenson, J., & Hare, A. L. (2009). Attachment and autonomy in adolescence. In R. L. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology, vol 1: Individual bases of adolescent development (3rd ed., pp. 358–403). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mounts, N. S. (2004). Adolescents’ perceptions of parental management of peer relationships in an ethnically diverse sample. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 446–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus user’s guide. Seventh edition. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

  • Nawyn, S. J., Gjokaj, L., Agbenyiga, D. L., & Grace, B. (2012). Linguistic isolation, social capital, and immigrant belonging. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 41, 255–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nyland, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthen, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 535–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogbu, J. U. (1981). Origins of human competence: A cultural-ecological perspective. Child Development, 52, 413–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perez-Brena, N. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Umana-Taylor, A. J. (2012). Father-and mother-adolescent decision-making in Mexican-origin families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 460–473.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S., & Flores, J. (2002). “Unpackaging” acculturation: Aspects of acculturation as predictors of traditional sex role attitudes. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 320–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S., Kim-Jo, T., Osorio, S., & Vilhjalmsdottir, P. (2005). Autonomy and relatedness in adolescent–parent disagreements: Ethnic and developmental factors. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 8–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2001). Legacies: The story of the immigrant second generation. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roosa, M. W., Deng, S., Ryu, E., Burrell, G. L., Tein, J., Jones, S., et al. (2005). Family and child characteristics linking neighborhood context and child externalizing behavior. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 515–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuster, M. A., Elliott, M. N., Kanouse, D. E., Wallander, J. L., Tortolero, S. R., Ratner, J. A., et al. (2012). Racial and ethnic health disparities among fifth-graders in three cities. New England Journal of Medicine, 367, 735–745.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sher-Censor, E., Parke, R. D., & Coltrane, S. (2011). Perceptions of Mexican American adolescents and parents regarding parental autonomy promoting: Divergent views and adolescents’ adjustment. Journal of Early Adolescence, 31, 671–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Lorenz, F. O., Wu, C., & Conger, R. D. (1993). Social network and marital support as mediators and moderators of the impact of stress and depression on parental behavior. Developmental Psychology, 29, 368–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smetana, J. G. (1995a). Conflict and coordination in adolescent–parent relationships. Human Development, 7, 155–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smetana, J. G. (1995b). Parenting styles and conceptions of parental authority during adolescence. Child Development, 66, 299–316.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smetana, J. G. (2005). Adolescent–parent conflict: Resistance and subversion as developmental process. In L. Nucci (Ed.), Conflict, contradiction, and contrarian elements in moral development and education (pp. 69–91). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smetana, J. G., Campione-Barr, N., & Daddis, C. (2004). Longitudinal development of family decision making: Defining healthy behavioral autonomy for middle-class African American adolescents. Child Development, 75, 1418–1434.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smetana, J. G., & Daddis, C. (2002). Domain-specific antecedents of parental psychological control and monitoring: The role of parenting beliefs and practices. Child Development, 73, 563–580.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soriano, F. I. (2013). Conducting needs assessments: A multidisciplinary approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 71, 1072–1085.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L. (1999). Adolescence (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M. M. (2001). Children of immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tasopoulos-Chan, M., Smetana, J. G., & Yau, J. P. (2009). How much do I tell thee? Strategies for managing information to parents among American adolescents from Chinese, Mexican, and European backgrounds. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 364–374.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Telzer, E. H. (2010). Expanding the acculturation gap-distress Model: An integrative review of research. Human Development, 53, 315–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tisak, M. S., & Turiel, E. (1984). Children’s conceptions of moral and prudential rules. Child Development, 55, 1030–1039.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Windle, M., Grunbaum, J. A., Elliott, M., Tortolero, S. R., Berry, S., Gilliland, J., et al. (2004). Healthy passages: A multilevel, multimethod longitudinal study of adolescent health. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27, 164–172.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Collins, W. A. (2003). Autonomy development during adolescence. In G. R. Adams & M. Berzonsky (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 175–204). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services grants (R40 MC11269-02, L. Franzini; R40 MC21526-01-00, K. Roche). Healthy Passages is funded by Cooperative Agreements (Numbers CCU409679, CCU609653, CCU915773, U48DP000046, U48DP000057, U48DP000056, U19DP002663, U19DP002664, and U19DP002665) with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). We are grateful to Todd D. Little and Sharon R. Ghazarian for their statistical consulting on structural equation modeling used in this study. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the assistance of the study’s research staff and to thank families who participated in the study’s surveys.

Author contributions

K.M.R. conceived of the study, contributed to the Variations in Parenting study design and coordination, conducted statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript. M.O.C. contributed to the conceptualization of the study, participated in the Variations in Parenting study design and coordination, contributed to interpretation of findings, and provided input on statistical analyses and measurement. M.A.S. co-led the design and coordination of the parent study (Healthy Passages), including measurement of variables from the parent study, and made substantive contributions to the manuscript draft. L.M.B. made substantive contributions to the conceptualization of behavioral autonomy and independence and to the manuscript draft. P.J.D. made substantive contributions to the measurement of parenting and to the manuscript draft. L.F. directed and coordinated the Variations in Parenting study design, provided input on measurement, added to the conceptualization of the study, and contributed to the manuscript draft. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, 2175 K. Street, NW Suite 700, Washington, DC, USA

    Kathleen M. Roche

  2. University of Texas School of Public Health, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, V8.112A, Dallas, TX, 75390-9128, USA

    Margaret O. Caughy

  3. Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Mark A. Schuster & Laura M. Bogart

  4. Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, MS E-44, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA

    Patricia J. Dittus

  5. The University of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Herman Pressler Street, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Luisa Franzini

Authors
  1. Kathleen M. Roche
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Margaret O. Caughy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mark A. Schuster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Laura M. Bogart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Patricia J. Dittus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Luisa Franzini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathleen M. Roche.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Roche, K.M., Caughy, M.O., Schuster, M.A. et al. Cultural Orientations, Parental Beliefs and Practices, and Latino Adolescents’ Autonomy and Independence. J Youth Adolescence 43, 1389–1403 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9977-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9977-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation