This study
examines whether loss of the native or parental language among adolescents from
immigrant families has consequences for their relationships with their parents.
The study sample included 614 ninth-grade adolescents from Chinese and Korean
immigrant families. All adolescents completed measures of native and English
language fluency, parental respect, and quality of communication. Results
indicated a positive association between adolescents' native fluency and
parental respect, even after accounting for parents' English fluency. In
addition, quality of communication mediated the association between adolescent
native fluency and parental respect. The findings support the contention that
maintaining native language fluency may facilitate parent-adolescent
communication due to its linguistic component as well as through greater
understanding and respect for the culture heritage.
Despite recent downward trends, youth violence continues to be a significant concern in the United States, as evidenced by recent calls for action (Office of the Surgeon General, 2001). Furthermore, rates of youth violence in this country are still among the highest in the industrial world (Cunningham, 2000). As discussed by Smith and Guerra (introduction, this volume) and throughout this book, epidemiological studies generally show that ethnic minority youth are disproportionately and adversely affected by violence, both as perpetrators and victims.Much of the work examining the plight of ethnic minority groups in light of the changing urban landscape and the impact on violence has emphasized conditions and consequences for African Americans (as discussed by Guerra and Williams, chap. 1, this volume). However, attempts to increase one's understanding of the relation between ethnicity and youth violence in the United States also must consider the influence of immigration and acculturation on development and behavior. Indeed, since the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965, there has been a sharp increase in the number of immigrants to the United States. Clearly, certain children and adolescents from specific ethnic groups that make up this immigration surge 75
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