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ACCULTURATION, FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND ADOLESCENT WELL-BEING

By

BINDI SHAH

A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2012

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© 2012 Bindi Shah

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To my family

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank my friend and mentor for her generosity, and guidance. I also thank my

advisor, and my committee for all their help, support, and direction in developing and

completing my thesis. Finally, I thank my family for their continued support and

encouragement.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4

LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 6

ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 7

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 9

2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 13

Adolescent Development & Well-Being .................................................................. 13

Latino American Adolescent Well-Being........................................................... 14 Mexican American Adolescent Well-Being ....................................................... 14

Familial Relationships ............................................................................................. 16 Acculturation Issues ................................................................................................ 19

3 METHODS .............................................................................................................. 25

Sample .................................................................................................................... 26 Add Health Survey .................................................................................................. 26

Alternative Methods ................................................................................................ 28

Procedures ............................................................................................................. 29

4 RESULTS ............................................................................................................... 30

5 DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................... 35

Importance of Results ............................................................................................. 36

Recommendations for Counselors and Counselor Educators ................................ 37 Limitations of Research .......................................................................................... 38

Future Research ..................................................................................................... 38

LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 40

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................................................ 46

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LIST OF TABLES Table page 4-1 Parent-child relationship questions ..................................................................... 30

4-2 Adolescents’ development and well-being .......................................................... 30

4-3 Acculturation ....................................................................................................... 31

4-4 Participants’ demographic information (sex and age) ......................................... 32

4-5 Participants’ demographic information (sex and background) ............................ 32

4-6 Participants’ demographic information (background and age) ............................ 32

4-7 Case processing summary from the questions of parent-child relationship ........ 32

4-8 Reliability statics from the questions of parent-child relationship ........................ 33

4-9 Case processing summary from the questions of adolescents’ development and well-being .................................................................................................... 33

4-10 Reliability statics from the questions of Adolescents’ development and wellbeing ............................................................................................................ 33

4-11 Correlation between parent-child relationship and adolescents’ development and well-being .................................................................................................... 34

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Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Education

ACCULTURATION, FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND ADOLESCENT WELL-BEING

By

Bindi Shah

May 2012

Chair: Cirecie West-Olatunji Major: Mental Health Counseling

In comparison to non-Latino White adolescents, Latino adolescents who make up

almost 20% of the adolescent population in the United States experience more anxiety,

depression, and daily stress that may lead to disruptive behaviors and poor mental

health. Despite, the many needs of Latino adolescents, they have one of the lowest

rates of utilization of counseling services, especially Mexican American adolescents.

Currently various literature explores Mexican American adolescents’ mental

health, family relationships, and acculturation in their respective families. However,

minimal research exists where the relationship between acculturation, familial

relationships, and adolescents’ well being is explored.

Acculturation theory and its associated concepts are used to conceptualize the

purpose of this research thesis, which is to explore the factors related to Mexican

American adolescents’ well being. Professional school and mental health counselors

need to be aware of the multiple challenges experienced by Latino students.

The purpose of this thesis research is to explore how acculturation can affect

family dynamics and the well-being of Latino adolescents. The proposed research will

attempt to answer the following three questions: a) What is the relationship between

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acculturation among Mexican American parents and adolescents and familial

relationships? (b) What is the relationship between familial relationships and adolescent

well-being? (c) What is the relationship between acculturation and adolescents’ well-

being?

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

In the U.S., Mexican American youth were found to have higher rates of

depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation (Aldridge & Roesch, 2008; Garcia, Skay,

Sieving, Naughton, & Bearinger, 2008) than their White counterparts. The Latino

population makes up about 16.3% of the total U.S. population and continues to increase

as more families migrate to the United States from their countries ("Pew Hispanic

Center," 2011). Mexican Americans comprise 67% of the Latino population, the largest

ethnic minority group in the USA and one that has grown rapidly over the past two

decades (Updegraff, Delgado, & Wheeler, 2009). Furthermore, Latino American

adolescents aged 10 to 19 make up about 16% of the adolescent population in the

United States (National Adolescent Health Information Center, 2003). In comparison to

non-Latino White adolescents, Latino adolescents experience more anxiety, depression,

and daily stress that may lead to disruptive behaviors and poor mental health. Despite

the many needs of Latino adolescents, they have one of the lowest rates of utilization of

counseling services, especially Mexican American adolescents (Malott, Paone,

Humphreys, & Martinez, 2010).

Adolescence is already a stressful time for youth as they face issues such as

puberty and social changes. In addition to these developmental transitions, immigrant

adolescents may experience further social stress related to acquiring a new language,

establishing new peer relationships, and adjusting to cultural norms that differ from their

parents’ and country of origin (Garcia & Saewyc, 2007). Latino families and adolescents

may also experience a variety of challenges while living in the United States, including

systemic struggles, personal-social struggles, and acculturative stress. Familial

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relationships, including emotional support from parents, parental involvement, and

parent-child conflict have all been shown to affect adolescent adjustment and mental

health (Caldwell, Silverman, Lefforge, & Silver, 2004; Crockett, Brown, Russell, & Shen,

2007; Dumka, Gonzales, Bonds, & Millsap, 2009).

Research has shown that the acculturation process can affect family dynamics

within Latino families such as parent-child relationships, adolescent adjustment and

mental health overall (Crockett et al., 2007; Dumka et al., 2009; Garcia & Saewyc,

2007). However, each Latino group’s immigration and acculturation history differs. The

three largest Latino groups in the U.S are Mexicans (63%), Puerto Ricans (9%), and

Cuban American (4%) (Healey, 2011 pp. 281-332).

Cuban Americans began migrating to the U.S. in the late 1950s. They were

actually welcomed by the United States as political refugees, as they were fleeing from

the Communist regime in Cuba. The majority of Cuban Americans settled in South

Florida, where they were able to become an enclave minority. An ethnic enclave is a

social, economic, and cultural sub-society controlled by the group itself and located in a

specific area. Group members are able to avoid the discrimination and limitations

imposed by larger societies.

During the late 19th century, Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States

and in 1917, Puerto Ricans became citizens of the United States. Therefore immigration

had no restrictions, and movement was easier. Puerto Ricans migrated to the U.S.

much later than Mexican Americans, during the time when U.S. was more urbanized

and industrialized, thus Puerto Ricans were able to obtain jobs in those fields.

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Mexican Americans originated as a colonized minority group. During the 19th

century, Mexican Americans were conquered and colonized by the United States, and

used as a labor force. The colonization left many Mexican Americans powerless,

isolated in rural areas, and lacking resources. The proximity of Mexico to U.S., allowed

for constant migration between Mexico and U.S, however patterns of immigration

reflected economic conditions in the U.S.

Acculturation across groups varies depending on length of resident and

generation. Colonized minority groups such as Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans

were discouraged to integrate with the mainstream culture in the past due to

discrimination, and racism. As for Cubans, their immigration history is recent, and due to

their enclave communities, acculturation process is a lot slower. Cubans are also more

easily able to keep their language and traditions intact, due to their history of low

discrimination and racism (Healey, 2011 pp. 281-332).

Acculturation issues may vary generationally, depending on if the individual is first

generation (born in Mexico), second generation (born in U.S., but parents born in

Mexico), and third generation (both parents and children are born in U.S.). There is a

significant decrease in identification with Mexican American identity in second and third

generation children than first generation children (Buriel,1993). As youth and their

families spend more time in the U.S., they may start to lose their connection to their

ethnic identity.

The stresses of acculturation and immigration undeniably affect the mental health

of Mexican American adolescents in terms of depression, self-esteem, self- concept,

social relationships, familial relationships, and suicidal ideation (Christenson, Zabriskie,

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Eggett, & Freeman, 2006; Smokowski, Rose, & Bacallao, 2009). Using acculturation

theory as the theoretical framework of this research thesis allows the researcher to

explore the role of acculturation in Mexican American immigrant adolescent

development and well-being and familial relationships.

Numerous scholars have explored Mexican American adolescents’ development

and well-being, family relationships, and acculturation in these Latino immigrant families

(Chung, Chen, Greenberger, & Heckhausen, 2009; Garcia & Saewyc, 2007). However,

the relationship between acculturation, familial relationships, and adolescents’ well-

being has not been sufficiently explored. The purpose of this study is to explore how

acculturation can affect familial relationships and the well-being of Latino adolescents.

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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Adolescent Development & Well-Being

Accompanied by rapid physical, psychological, and social changes, adolescence

represents a particularly vulnerable developmental phase (Chung et al., 2009). Along

with experiencing pubertal development, adolescents also go through significant

cognitive changes. Their ability to organize and reflect on their thoughts, information-

processing strategies, and abstract thinking increases during adolescence (Wigfield,

Lutz, & Wagner, 2005). However, even though their reasoning and decision- making

skills have increased, adolescents are still more likely to engage in risky behaviors

showing that there are still limitations to their cognitive development (Wigfield et al.,

2005). Adolescence is also marked by self- formation, where individuals begin to form

their identity, self-esteem, and self-concept (Rayle & Myers, 2004). This transitional life

stage in between childhood and adulthood is filled with numerous challenges causing

adolescence to be a population in need of much support to foster healthy overall

development.

All adolescents experience normative stress related to daily hassles, school

transitions, and more (Choi, Meininger, & Roberts, 2006). These youth are coping with

issues such as identity development, transition from childhood into adulthood, and

physical changes (Collins & Collins, 1994). Teenagers’ main concerns consist of family

problems, peer relationships, self-esteem, and school problems (Boehm, Schondel,

Ivoska, Marlowe, & Manke-Mitchell, 1998). Self- concept is a major part of adolescent

development, where individuals begin to form their identity through inclusion and

exclusion of various activities and relationships in their environments. A person’s

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gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity also contribute to the development of an

adolescent’s identity (Collins & Collins, 1994).

Latino American Adolescent Well-Being

Pahl and Way (2006) examined how gender, ethnicity, immigrant status, and

experiences of discrimination affect identity exploration and affirmation in Latino

adolescents. Their research found that by mid- adolescence, ethnic identity exploration

is at its highest and then it starts to decrease as adolescents begin to clarify the

meanings of their ethnic group membership. Social support from same-ethnic peers and

living in neighborhoods where majority of individuals are of the same ethnicity may

contribute to the resolution of their identity crisis, feelings of security, and high levels of

affirmation (Pahl & Way, 2006; Sánchez, 2009). In addition, higher racial and/or ethnic

density in geographic areas contributes to higher personal self-esteem, furthermore

promoting the well-being of Latino adolescents (Pahl & Way, 2006; Sánchez, 2009).

Mexican American Adolescent Well-Being

Several aspects of Mexican American adolescent immigrants’ development and

well-being differ from their White counterparts. For example, Mexican American

adolescent immigrants experience different types of stressors in their environments

related to cultural factors (Garcia & Saewyc; 2007). Such stressors often include work

and family obligations, maintaining employment, and acquiring English language skills

(Martínez, 2009; Love & Buriel, 2007). It is important to understand the role of social

stress in the development and reporting of adolescents’ mental distress. Social stress

was conceptualized as general stress, that is normative sources of stress that all

adolescents may experience, such as; (a) transition to a new school, (b) process-

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oriented stress (acculturative stress or adjusting to interactions with another culture),

and (c) discrimination, which is also another form of sociocultural stress.

Traumatic stress refers to events that are experienced as negative, sudden, and

uncontrollable, which may be moderated by an individual’s social context, life events,

and developmental level (Carson, 1997). Racial and/or ethnic discrimination may be

traumatic to an individual because it is experienced as hostile, threatening, and sudden.

It is an oppressive act that may be experienced as violent and as an assault on an

individual’s sense of self, similar to other traumatic experiences such as rape, violence,

and war (Flores, Tschann, Dimas, Pasch, & de Groat, 2010). Culturally minority groups

such as Mexican American immigrant adolescents are more likely to experience

traumatic stress due to discrimination and hegemony, which is the dominance of one

social group over another (Carlson, 1997; Carter, 2007; Goodman & West-Olatunji,

2010). Mexican American adolescents may experience overt and subtle acts

discrimination in their school and community environments, causing these places to be

hostile for them. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the effects of discrimination

due to their developmental stage where they are establishing their sense of self and

identity (Carlson, 1997; Flores et al., 2012; Pahl & Way, 2006; Romero & Roberts,

1998).

Mexican American adolescents were found to more likely experience social stress

including process-oriented, and discrimination stress, leaving them at higher risk for

depression and suicidal ideation than White adolescents (Choi, Meininger & Roberts,

2006). It is evident that a positive relationship exists between social stress and mental

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distress in ethnic youth groups, especially Mexican American adolescents (Choi et al.,

2006; Garcia & Saewyc, 2007 ).

Several factors have been found to affect the mental, social, and emotional health

of Latino American adolescents, such as circumstances of immigration, social-economic

status, levels of acculturation, levels of acculturative stress, familial acculturative gaps,

previous education experiences, context of host culture, and the perception of

community belonging (Blanco-Vega, Castro-Olivo, & Merrell, 2008). Cultural pressures,

perceived discrimination, levels of parental involvement, and levels of acculturation all

affect psychological well-being of Latino adolescents (Tapia, Kinnier, & MacKinnon,

2009). Furthermore, immigrant youth need the support of the host culture in order to

maintain and enhance their cultural identity. However, despite all of the stress and

hardship these immigrant Latino adolescents may experience, many of them are still

able to succeed and persevere in life. Parental or familial involvement, positive

community support, positive self-concept, and biculturalism are all sources of social and

emotional resiliency for Latino adolescents (Blanco-Vega et al., 2008; Tapia et al.,

2009).

Familial Relationships

Various studies have explored how familial relationships are related to

adolescents’ behaviors and emotional adjustment (Caldwell, et al., 2004; Crockett,

Brown, Russell, & Shen, 2007; Dumka, Gonzales, Bonds, & Millsap, 2009). Positive

relationships were found between parental emotional support, parental involvement,

and emotional adjustment in adolescence, and negative relationships were found

between parent-child conflict and adolescent mental health. In addition, adolescents’

psychological adjustment and behaviors depend greatly on the meaning they attribute to

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parental behaviors and in turn, adolescent adjustment affects family functioning

(Crockett et al., 2007). Caldwell et al. (2004) defined familial emotional support as

adolescents’ report of their ability to seek out emotional support and/ or advice from

family members. Familial emotional support has been negatively associated with

delinquent behavior in Mexican American adolescents and positively correlated to

adolescents’ emotional well-being.

Gender. In Mexican American families there are distinct differences between the

role of the mother and father (Updegraff et al., 2009). The mother’s role is more

involved, where she is caring, nurturing, and accepting. Fathers tend to have a more

distant relationship with their adolescent children, maintaining a hierarchical relationship

and paternal authority which is prevalent in Mexican American families (Crockett et al.,

2007). Parents tend to have different relationships with the male and female adolescent

children also; fathers have stronger relationships with their adolescent sons than

daughters. One study explored connections between parenting practices, cultural

orientations, and adolescents’ academic success and found that mothers’ parenting

practices affected academic outcomes for boys and girls, but fathers’ parenting affected

academic outcomes for only boys (Dumka, Gonzales, Bonds, & Millsap, 2009). Even

when both parents are highly involved, in Mexican American families, mothers were still

found to be more involved in their adolescent children’s lives (Updegraff, Delgado, &

Wheeler, 2009).

Parent-adolescent conflict has been associated with youth’s well-being and

participation in risky behaviors (Updegraff et al., 2009). Adolescents who reported

significant parent-child conflict were more aggressive than their peers with lesser

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amounts of parent-child conflict (Smokowski, Rose, & Bacallao, 2009). Additionally,

parent-child conflict greatly affects adolescent well-being in terms of academics,

behaviors, and emotional adjustment (Schofield, Parke, Kim, & Coltrane, 2008).

How Mexican American adolescents view positive parent-child relationships may

be very different to their White counterparts. Familismo refers to the concept of family

being an extension of self along with feelings of loyalty, reciprocity, and solidarity

towards the family and preserving those close family ties (Crockett et al., 2007; Villalba,

2007). Respeto means maintaining respectful hierarchical relationships within the family

and extended family which may be determined by age, gender, and social status

(Crockett et al., 2007). Additionally, a strong emphasis on family may influence a young

individual’s decisions about work and school later on in life, taking into consideration the

family’s well-being (Sánchez, Esparza, Colón, & Davis, 2010). Crockett et al. (2007)

found that cultural values, such as those defined above, influenced adolescents’

perceptions of good familial relationships. The adolescents discussed concepts, such as

respect, viewing family positively, open communication, and parental control, in regards

to positive familial relationships. The researchers suggested that cultural influences

operate at multiple levels, and that the Mexican American adolescents’ views and

practices in their own relationships were consistent with particular Latino cultural

themes (Crockett et al., 2007; Villalba, 2007).

Research showed high levels of parental warmth (defined as closeness, nurture,

and acceptance) and parental emotional support in Latino families (Chung et al., 2009;

Crockett et al., 2007; Updegraff et al., 2009). Contrary to other cultural groups, Latino

American parents were perceived to provide continuous emotional support and warmth,

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regardless of adolescents’ level of depressive symptoms. This may be indicative of the

strong collectivistic culture and family orientation in Latino culture. Individuals from a

collectivist culture value interdependence and family reliability more and are expected to

reach independence and autonomy later in life than persons from individualistic cultures

(Chung et al., 2009). Furthermore, higher levels of parental warmth and parental

emotional support have been shown to be related to better positive adjustment, such as

higher school achievement, engaging in less risky behaviors, and less depressive

symptoms in Mexican American adolescents than their counterparts (Updegraff,

Delgado, & Wheeler, 2009). Strong, positive parent-child relationships, along with

familial support, are important in adolescents’ overall well-being. Consequently, parent-

child conflict can negatively affect an adolescent’s psychological well-being (Crockett et

al., 2007). Acculturation plays a major role in familial relationships and adolescents’

well-being (Pasch et al., 2006).

Acculturation Issues

Acculturation is defined as “when groups of individuals having different cultures

come into continuous first –hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original

culture patterns of either or both groups” (Berry, 2008, p. 330). Usually, the non-

dominant group is strongly influenced to take on cultural norms of the dominant group

(Smokowski, Rose, & Bacallao, 2008). Two major concepts involved with acculturation

are assimilation and enculturation. Assimilation is associated with high levels of

involvement with the dominant culture, basically when an individual completely adopts

the dominant culture’s norms. Enculturation is when an individual maintains their culture

of origin norms. An integration of assimilation and enculturation is defined as

biculturalism (Smokowski et al., 2008). Finally, an acculturation gap is the difference

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between the parent’s level of acculturation and the adolescent’s level of acculturation

(Smokowski, Rose, & Bacallao, 2009) and acculturative stress results from the anxiety

and distress of adapting to cultural differences (Aprahamian, Kaplan, Windham, Sutter,

& Visser, 2011).

Adapting to a new cultural environment and developing ways to function in that

new environment is a complex process (Chae & Foley, 2010). Initially, theorists studied

acculturation through a unidimensional model, asserting that individuals were either

acculturated or not acculturated (Abe-Kim, Okazaki, & Goto, 2001; Chae & Foley,

2010). Recently, competing models discuss how acculturation is multidimensional and

may cover many domains such as language/communication, customs, self-

identification, and preferences, attitudes, and values (Abe-Kim et al., 2001; Newcomb, &

Myers, 1995). Acculturation is a dynamic and complex process (Pasch et al., 2006).

Sanchez (2009) discussed the concept of transnationalism and the positive

implications for personal and familial attachments that are bicultural. Staying in touch

with one’s culture of origin helps to authenticate a positive Mexican identity in

adolescent youth that aids in positive adjustment and acculturation to a new host

culture. A positive Mexican identity in adolescent youth can help to maintain a cultural

home and their ethnic language minimize the intergenerational gap between children

and parents, and reduce acculturative stress (Sánchez, 2009). Staying involved with

one’s culture of origin helps to maintain a positive identity that, in turn, helps with overall

family adjustment. Biculturalism, where adolescents adopted American and Latino

cultural practices, was associated with parental involvement, positive parenting and

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family support and bicultural adolescents reported the most favorable perceptions of

their families (Sullivan et al., 2007).

Family leisure involvement in Mexican American families plays an important role in

the acculturation process (Christenson, Zabriskie, Eggett, & Freeman, 2006). Bicultural

or less acculturated youth spent more time in core leisure activities with their families

than high acculturated youth. Core family activities such as reading together, playing

card games, gardening, and eating together were also found to be related to increased

feelings of closeness and family cohesion (Christenson et al., 2006). Less acculturated

youth spent more time with family and have more respect for parental authority (Love &

Buriel, 2007). This was related to increased family cohesion, better parent-child

relationships and less parent-child conflict, and thus, better adolescent adjustment

overall (Christenson et al., 2006; Smokowski, Rose, & Bacallao, 2009).

Minimal research exists that discusses acculturation as a factor in parent-child

conflict. However research has shown that the acculturation process does affect family

dynamics in Latino families (Crockett et al., 2007; Dumka et al., 2009), including parent-

child relationships, and adolescent adjustment overall. Families may experience

conflicts due to differences from growing up in the United States versus growing up in

Mexico (Crockett et al., 2007; Schofield et al., 2008). Research has also shown that

acculturation gaps do function as a stressor in families.

Contrastingly, Pasch et al., (2006), found that regardless of an acculturation gap

between parent and child; parents’ level of acculturation affects adolescents’ adjustment

and parent-child conflict is related to adolescent adjustment. Parents and children who

both ranked higher on the acculturation scale were more likely to experience conflict,

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especially in father-child relationships. A relationship was found between mothers who

were less acculturated and daughters’ receiving higher school grades (Dumka et al.,

2009) and mothers’ higher acculturation levels were related to increased sexual

behaviors in their adolescent children (Pasch et al., 2006). Overall, parents’ higher level

of acculturation was related to problem classroom behavior and problem peer

association with their adolescent children. Further research that will focus on

acculturation’s role in Latino families and adolescents is needed to better understand

the development and well-being of Mexican American adolescents and Mexican

American family dynamics in the United States.

Acculturation Theory. Acculturation theory and its associated concepts are used

to conceptualize the purpose of this research thesis, which is to explore the factors

related to Mexican American adolescents’ mental health. Using acculturation theory

within the context of counseling entails taking into account the clients’ cultures,

interaction of the cultures and effects of the interaction of the cultures on clients’ well-

being. Professional school and mental health counselors need to be aware of the

multiple challenges experienced by Latino students; challenges such as language and

cultural barriers, racism, dropout rates, acculturation and pressure to assimilate.

Exploring the acculturation factor within the adolescent and within the adolescent’s

family will help to delineate many of the adolescent’s issues such as social stresses,

family conflict, school pressures, and more. Working within an acculturation framework

will help the professional counselor better conceptualize their client’s problem, and thus

deliver more effective, holistic services.

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To summarize, the Mexican American population continues to increase in the

United States. Mexican American adolescents experience more traumatic stress, social

stress, and anxiety related to immigration and acculturation issues than non-Latino

White adolescents which often leads to higher rates of depression and suicidal ideation.

Acculturation issues, including acculturative stress and acculturation gaps may also

function as a stressor in Latino families. Family involvement, positive community

support, positive self-concept, and biculturalism all function as sources of social and

emotional resiliency for Latino youth. Parental emotional support and involvement is

linked to better emotional adjustment in adolescence, while parent-child conflict is linked

to decreased adolescent mental health. Mexican American adolescents, who are

bicultural and stay in touch with their own culture, tend to have a positive Mexican

identity, which in turn helps with adjustment and acculturation. Additionally, less

acculturated youth spend more time with family, have more respect for parental

authority, and engaged in more activities with family. This leads to better parent-child

relationships, and better adolescent adjustment overall.

Future research suggestions include exploring acculturation issues among recent

immigrants, effects of acculturation on families, and multiple dimensions of

acculturation. Researching adolescents’ perceptions of relationships with parents and

family life is also suggested (Caldwell, et al., 2004; Christenson et al., 2006; Pasch et

al., 2006). Minimal research explores the role of acculturation in adolescent

development and well- being, and Mexican American adolescents’ relationships with

their parents. It is unknown how Mexican American adolescents’ acculturation levels

affect their relationships with their parents. The affect of parent-child relationships on

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adolescent well-being also needs to be further explored among the Mexican American

population. Lastly, how acculturation affects the development and well-being of Mexican

American adolescents needs to be investigated.

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CHAPTER 3 METHODS

As a child immigrant in the United States, and a history of immigration in my

family; I have experienced many acculturation issues that have affected me and my

family. The development of my cultural identity was very prominent for me, as I was

growing up in a culture very different to my ethnic culture. As my family and I adjusted to

living in the United States, acculturation processes differed for me and my parents,

often causing stress and change in family dynamics. My past experiences and

education have helped me become aware of the similarities between my Indian Asian

culture and the Latino culture, thus allowing me to feel more connected with the Latino

culture.

After reviewing the literature, the researcher poses three research questions. The

first question, “What is the relationship between acculturation and Mexican American

adolescents’ relationships with their parents?” This leads to the following hypothesis:

There will be a statistically significant negative correlation between the participants’

level of acculturation and their relationships with their parents. The second question,

“What is the relationship between Mexican American adolescents’ relationships with

their parents and adolescents’ development and well-being? which would lead to the

following hypothesis: There will be a positive relationship between parent-child

relationships and adolescents’ development and well-being. The third question, “What is

the relationship between acculturation and Mexican American adolescents’

development and well-being? which would lead to the following hypothesis: There is a

negative relationship between acculturation and adolescents’ development and well-

being.

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Sample

The target population is Mexican American adolescents, females and males aged

12 to 18. The sample of this study consists of Mexican-origin adolescent children aged

12 to 18 years old who have been living in the United States for at least one year. A

total of 415 adolescents reported being Mexican or Mexican American on the Add

Health surveys. Among the 415 adolescents, a total of 151 participants were selected

for the research study based on their accurate responses.

Add Health Survey

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) (Harris & Udry,

2008) will be utilized to aid in the collection of data. Add Health is a longitudinal study of

a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States.

Data from a total of 132 middle and high schools representative of schools in the United

States with respect to region of country, urbanicity, size, type, and ethnicity was

collected during the 1994-95 school year. Add Health combines longitudinal survey data

on respondents’ social, economic, psychological and physical well-being with contextual

data on the family, neighborhood, community, school, friendships, peer groups, and

romantic relationships. Data sources include school questionnaires and adolescent and

parent in-home interviews. The adolescent and parent in-home interviews covered

topics such as peer networks, decision-making processes, family composition and

dynamics, substance abuse, criminal activities, marriages, marriage-like relationships,

involvement in volunteer, civic, and school activities, parent-adolescent communication

and interaction, and health status. These issues closely address the constructs of

interest that are adolescent well-being, familial relationships, and acculturation. The

following instruments were used as references in developing Add Health’s theoretical

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framework and construction of the survey items; (a) Center for Epidemiologic Studies

Depression Scale (CES-D) (Radloff, 1977), (b) Cornell Parent Behavior Description

(Ellis, Thomas, & Rollins, 1976), (c) Parent Behavior Inventory (Schaeffer, 1965), and

(d) Parent-Child Interaction Scale (Heilbrun, 1964).

Development and well-being. Adolescent well-being is contextualized as

depressive tendencies such as unhealthy behaviors, excessive stress, and distraught

emotional states. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)

(Radloff, 1977) addresses adolescent well-being. The CES-D scale was tested on an

adolescent population, including Latino youth (Phillips et al., 2006).

Parent-child relationships. Parent-child relationships are measure by emotional

support, communication and conflict among parents and children, and parental

involvement. These items are addressed by the Cornell Parent Behavior Description

(Ellis, Thomas, & Rollins, 1976), Parent Behavior Inventory (Schaeffer, 1965), and

Parent-Child Interaction Scale (Heilbrun, 1964). The Cornell Parent Behavior

Description have implemented slightly different versions of the scale to be used with

cross-cultural populations (Growe, 1980). The Parent Behavior Inventory has been used

with Latino, including Mexican American population in a study that investigated

socialization, family and mental health outcomes among children and adolescents

(Knight & Others, 1994). The Parent-Child Interaction Scale has been analyzed and

tested for internal-consistency reliability, and construct validity with the use of two data

samples: (a) a purposive representative sample from Washington State University in

1970, and (b) Brigham Young University in 1973. The literature fails to mention

demographic data representing race or ethnicity (Ellis, Thomas, & Rollins, 1976).

28

Acculturation. Acculturation is measured by relationships with same- ethnic

peers, language, and family leisure involvement. Surprisingly, Add Health (Harris &

Udry, 2008) did not include an instrument to address acculturation among adolescents.

The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) (Cuellar, Arnold, &

Maldonado, 1995) evaluates acculturation processes through a multidimensional

approach. It would have been helpful to Add Health (Harris & Udry, 2008) as it assesses

cultural orientation towards the Anglo culture and Mexican culture independently

(Cuellar, Arnold, & Maldonado, 1995). Due to no representation of an instrument for

acculturation, items in the Add Health questionnaires that were similar to the ARSMA-II

were selected to represent acculturation. However, the questions from Add Health

mostly responded to demographic information and identified with only a limited section

of ARSMA-II. Therefore, the construct of acculturation could not be used as a factor in

the data analyses.

Alternative Methods

Multiple options were explored to conduct this research study before finalizing on

the utilization of Add Health’s (Harris & Udry, 2008) data. The local population in

Gainesville, Florida did not have a sufficient representation of Mexican American

adolescents to effectively carry out the research. The Alachua county school system

has demographic data on their students, however it would have been extremely labor

intensive to obtain parent permission. Parents may have issues of trust, especially for

undocumented students. Another option was to develop online surveys to administer to

adolescents. Established instruments to measure adolescent well-being, parent-child

relationships, and acculturation were found, however many barriers still existed.

Individuals must be 16 years of age or older to complete online surveys, not every

29

household may own a computer with internet access, and acquiring email addresses

would have been labor intensive. Add Health (Harris & Udry, 2008), on the other hand

has compiled comprehensive data including demographic information for a nationally

representative group of adolescents.

Procedures

The following protocols were used to complete the research thesis:

1. Three members of the research team independently selected items from the Add Health surveys for each of the constructs (adolescents’ development and well- being, parent-child relationships, and acculturation) reflective of the established instruments and the conceptualized definitions of the constructs as stated above. Then, the principal investigator selected survey items where consensus has been reached for 2 out of 3 researchers’ selections to ensure content validity for construct items.

2. The Adolescent In School questionnaire was utilized to gather demographic information to identify Mexican American adolescents who: (a) culturally self-identify as Latino, Latino American, Hispanic American, or Hispanic, and (b) ethnically self-identify as Chicano, Mexican, or Mexican American.

3. Data from 151 participants who met the above criteria was then collected and organized into SPSS.

4. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine which items loaded with the constructs (adolescents’ development and well-being and parent-child relationships).

5. Reliability for each construct was measured using Cronbach alpha set at p- values less than .01.

6. Next, Pearson product-moment correlation tests were conducted to determine correlations between the two constructs (adolescents’ development and well-being and parent-child relationships). The researcher looked for p-values less than 0.01.

7. After thorough data analysis, the results allowed the researcher to reject or fail to reject the hypotheses and then discuss implications for counselors’ practice and future research.

30

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS

To confirm that the questions were appropriate to use for this research study, the

researcher conducted three procedures: (a) content validity, (b) factor analysis, and (c)

reliability. Tables 4-1,4-2, and 4-3 show the questions utilized for this research study

after achieving content validity.

Table 4-1. Parent-child relationship questions

Question

1 How much do you think she cares about you? 2 How much do you think he cares about you? 3 How close do you feel to your mother/etc? 4 How close do you feel to your father/etc? 5 Most of the time, your mother is warm and loving toward you. 6 When you do something wrong that is important, your mother talks about it with 7 You are satisfied with the way your mother and you communicate with each other. 8 Overall, you are satisfied with your relationship with your mother. 9 Most of the time, your father is warm and loving toward you. 10 You are satisfied with the way your father and you communicate with each other. 11 Overall, you are satisfied with your relationship with your father.

Table 4-2. Adolescents’ development and well-being

Question

1 I feel close to people at this school. 2 I feel like I am part of this school. 3 I have a lot of good qualities. 4 I am happy to be at this school. 5 I have a lot to be proud of. 6 The teachers at this school treat students fairly. 7 I like myself just the way I am. 8 I feel like I am doing everything just right. 9 I feel socially accepted. 10 I feel loved and wanted. 11 I feel safe in my neighborhood. 12 I feel safe in my school. 13 You have a lot of energy 14 When you do get sick, you get better quickly. 15 You are well coordinated. 16 You are physically fit. 17 You have a lot to be proud of.

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Table 4-3. Acculturation

Question

1 Are you of Hispanic origin? 2 What is your background? 3 Were you born in the United States? 4 Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin? (parent question) 5 Is your current spouse/partner of Hispanic or Latino origin? (parent question)

Next, factor analysis was completed to see how the items are categorized.

Acculturation questions were ruled out because those five questions are categorical

variables which asked only demographic information. The results of factor analysis

consisting of questions from parent-child relationships and adolescents’ development

and well-being yielded seven components. The seven components were organized into

two groups based on the results of analysis and the contents of questions.

Factor analysis was then completed by each group, indicating one factor for each

group. Factor analysis completed for the first group identified as parent- child

relationship yielded three components. The researcher merged those items into one

component because the patterns of the numbers reflected one factor, and the contents

of the questions were fit for the construct. Factor analysis completed for the second

group identified as adolescents’ development and well-being yielded four components.

The researcher merged those items into one component because the patterns of the

numbers reflected one factor, and the contents of the questions were fit for the

construct. Then reliability was evaluated for each construct (parent-child relationships

and adolescents’ development and well-being). The Cronbach’s Alpha value for the

parent-child relationship was .895, which means those 11 questions have a high level of

reliability in measuring the construct. Adolescents’ development and well-being had a

32

Cronbach alpha value of .880, signifying that those 17 questions have a high level of

reliability in measuring the construct.

Table 4-4. Participants’ demographic information (sex and age)

Table 4-5. Participants’ demographic information (sex and background)

Table 4-6. Participants’ demographic information (background and age)

Table 4-7. Case processing summary from the questions of parent-child relationship

N %

Cases Valid 127 84.2

Excluded 24 15.8

Total 151 100.0

a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Age Total

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Sex Male 11 9 13 13 17 9 4 76

Female 4 11 17 22 11 7 3 75

Total 15 20 30 35 28 16 7 151

Background Total

Mexican/ Mexican

American

Chicano/Chicana

Sex Male 67 9 76

Female 64 11 75

Total 131 20 151

Age Total

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Background

Mexican/

Mexican

American

12 19 28 26 26 14 6 131

Chicano/

Chicana

3 1 2 9 2 2 1 20

Total 15 20 30 35 28 16 7 151

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Table 4-8. Reliability statics from the questions of parent-child relationship

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.895 11

Table 4-9. Case processing summary from the questions of adolescents’ development

and well-being

N %

Cases Valid 119 78.9

Excludeda 32 21.1

Total 151 100.0

a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure Table 4-10. Reliability statics from the questions of Adolescents’ development and

wellbeing

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.880 17

The three procedures: (a) content validity, (b) factor analysis, and (c) reliability

tests showed that the constructs applied for this research study are appropriate. Lastly,

the researcher measured the correlation between parent-child relationships and

adolescents’ development and well-being to test the hypothesis. Results showed that

the Pearson correlation value was .436 at the P-value less than .01 two tailed level.

Therefore, there is obvious positive correlation between parent-child relationships and

adolescents’ development and well-being.

Overall, the results showed that the questions items for each construct (parent-

child relationships and adolescents’ development and well-being) were appropriate for

one factor with a high level of reliability. Finally, the Pearson correlation value resulted

in .436 indicating a strong, positive correlation between parent- child relationships and

adolescents’ development and well-being among Mexican American adolescents.

34

Table 4-11. Correlation between parent-child relationship and adolescents’ development and well-being

RELATIONSHIP WELLBEING

RELATIONSHIP Pearson Correlation 1 .436**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 128 104

WELLBEING Pearson Correlation .436** 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 104 120

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

35

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION

The first research question states: What is the relationship between acculturation,

and Mexican American adolescents’ relationships with their parents? The researcher

hypothesized that there will be a statistically significant negative correlation between the

participants’ level of acculturation and their relationships with their parents. This

hypothesis was not tested due to a lack of representation of acculturation, therefore the

researcher could not evaluate this hypothesis.

The second research question states: What is the relationship between Mexican

American adolescents’ relationships with their parents and adolescent development and

well-being? The researcher hypothesized that there will be a statistically significant

positive relationship between parent-child relationships and adolescent development

and well-being. This hypothesis was tested using the Pearson product-moment

correlation between parent- child relationships and adolescent development and well-

being. The researcher failed to reject the hypothesis, as the results showed that there is

a statistically significant positive correlation between parent-child relationships and

adolescent development and well-being.

The third research question states: What is the relationship between acculturation

and Mexican American adolescents’ well-being? The researcher hypothesized that that

there is a statistically significant negative relationship between acculturation and

adolescent development and well-being. This hypothesis was not tested due to a lack of

representation of acculturation, therefore the researcher could not evaluate this

hypothesis.

36

Importance of Results

The results are important because they illustrate how parent-child relationships

and Mexican American adolescent development and well-being are correlated. The

results support the current literature that also states positive relationships exist between

familial relationships and adolescent adjustment (Caldwell, et al., 2004; Crockett,

Brown, Russell, & Shen, 2007; Dumka, Gonzales, Bonds, & Millsap, 2009). Stronger

parent-child relationships in terms of caring, closeness, and communication are

positively correlated with adolescents’ self-esteem, physical health, feelings of safety,

and school life. This implies that parent-child relationships are important in the

development and mental health of Mexican American adolescents.

This research also highlights the lack of research on cultural and acculturation

issues which is also supported by current literature (Caldwell, et al., 2004; Christenson

et al., 2006; Pasch et al., 2006). There is a lack of focus on culture as a factor of interest

while conducting research.

The results of this study can be generalized to other populations and

developmental stages. Other Latino groups such as Puerto Rican American

adolescents can benefit from this research as familismo is also an important concept in

their culture (Villalba, 2007). Different cultural groups that identify with the collectivist

orientation such as African American adolescents can also benefit from this research

since family support and interdependence is also valued (Chung et al., 2009). The

results of this study can also to apply to different developmental ages of individuals

such as primary school or college age students.

37

Recommendations for Counselors and Counselor Educators

When working with Mexican American adolescent populations, counselors need to

be more aware of the contexuality of their clients’ issues. Counselors are encouraged to

be more intentional in discussing and including parent- child relationship issues in their

counseling sessions.

Professional counselors can reach out to this marginalized population by opening

communication with parents and families as well as adolescents. Counselors should

become aware of the issues in the community by building relationships with key

stakeholders in schools, communities, and families. By establishing rapport with

community members, counselors can increase their comfort level with this client

population, and become a resource to the community.

Counselors are encouraged to become agents of change for Mexican American

adolescents and their families. Counselors can spread knowledge and awareness about

the mental health issues Mexican American adolescents may experience by: (a)

facilitating workshops or education sessions for parents, teachers, administrators, and

students and (b) implementing one-on-one sessions to consult, ask and answer

questions, and discuss related issues. These activities can ensure that counselors are

serving as advocates for their Mexican American adolescent clients by working with the

individual, family, and community.

Counselor educators are in a position to teach counselors in training about the

value of family in Mexican American culture. As research has shown that high caring,

closeness, and communication among parent and adolescents is positively correlated

with high self- esteem, feeling of safety, and school life among Mexican American

adolescents, counselor educators should encourage their students to inquire more

38

about familial relationships with their clients. By encouraging counselors in training to

take familial relationships into consideration when working with Mexican American

adolescents, counselor educators are helping future counselors achieve cultural

sensitivity and cultural competence.

Limitations of Research

A major limitation to this research was the use of a secondary data source. The

survey questions were already formulated, therefore the researcher was limited in the

type of information received from the participants. The Add Health survey questions

were formulated with pre- existing intentions different from the researcher’s intentions.

Secondly, acculturation and cultural factors were not reflected in the survey questions,

despite the multicultural demographic of the participants. Statistically, the number of

participants for the factor analysis procedure was lower than desired. Ideally, factor

analysis procedures need more than 300 participants, only 151 participants were

involved in this study.

Future Research

Future research should entail collecting raw data to assess acculturation and

familial issues in regards to Mexican American adolescent well- being. The ARSMA-II

(Cuellar, Arnold, & Maldonado, 1995) could be used to collect information on

acculturation for both parents and adolescents in areas such as language, attitudes,

and behaviors. By assessing acculturation levels for both parents and adolescents,

researchers will be able to see how acculturation gaps also affect parent- child

relationships and adolescent well-being. This research will provide professional

counselors, and counselor educators richer information about the contexuality of

Mexican American adolescent mental health.

39

In summary, the purpose of this research study was to determine the relationships

between acculturation issues, relationships with their parents, and Mexican American

adolescent well- being. It was hypothesized that: (a) there is a negative relationship

between acculturation and adolescents’ relationships with parents, (b) there is a positive

relationship between relationships with parents and adolescents’ well-being, and (c)

there is a negative relationship between acculturation and adolescents’ well-being.

Acculturation items could not be assessed due to insufficient representation. After

completing various statistical analyses, the constructs of parent- child relationships and

adolescents’ development and well-being were applicable to the study. A positive

correlation was found between parent-child relationships and Mexican American

adolescents’ development and well-being. The results illustrate that parent-child

communication, closeness, and involvement are important to adolescents’ self- esteem,

feelings of safety, and school life. Counselors and counselor educators are

recommended to increase their awareness of the contextuality of their Mexican

American adolescent clients’ mental health issues. Future research entails utilizing

validated acculturation scales to gather information on acculturation issues among the

Mexican American population.

40

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Bindi Shah has a Master of Arts in Education and Education Specialist degree

from the Counselor Education program at the University of Florida. As an aspiring

professional mental health counselor, her areas of concentration include pediatric and

multicultural counseling issues. Bindi’s research endeavors focus on social justice and

multicultural issues among youth and family populations.