Little research has examined factors influencing statistical power to detect the correct number of latent classes using latent profile analysis (LPA). This simulation study examined power related to inter-class distance between latent classes given true number of classes, sample size, and number of indicators. Seven model selection methods were evaluated. None had adequate power to select the correct number of classes with a small (Cohen’s d = .2) or medium (d = .5) degree of separation. With a very large degree of separation (d = 1.5), the Lo-Mendell-Rubin test (LMR), adjusted LMR, bootstrap likelihood-ratio test, BIC, and sample-size adjusted BIC were good at selecting the correct number of classes. However, with a large degree of separation (d = .8), power depended on number of indicators and sample size. The AIC and entropy poorly selected the correct number of classes, regardless of degree of separation, number of indicators, or sample size.

In a three-path mediational model, two mediators intervene in a series between an independent and a dependent variable. Methods of testing for mediation in such a model are generalized from the more often used single-mediator model. Six such methods are introduced and compared in a Monte Carlo study in terms of their Type I error, power, and coverage. Based on its results, the joint significance test is preferred when only a hypothesis test is of interest. The percentile bootstrap and bias-corrected bootstrap are preferred when a confidence interval on the mediated effect is desired, with the latter having more power but also slightly inflated Type I error in some conditions.

This article presents an experimental evaluation of the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a 2-component group intervention for parentally bereaved children ages 8-16. The program involved separate groups for caregivers, adolescents, and children, which were designed to change potentially modifiable risk and protective factors for bereaved children. The evaluation involved random assignment of 156 families (244 children and adolescents) to the FBP or a self-study condition. Families participated in assessments at pretest, posttest, and 11-month follow-up. Results indicated that the FBP led to improved parenting, coping, and caregiver mental health and to reductions in stressful events at posttest. At follow-up, the FBP led to reduced internalizing and externalizing problems, but only for girls and those who had higher problem scores at baseline.

The authors conducted a cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal study of stress, coping, and psychological symptoms in children of divorce. The sample consisted of 258 children (mean age = 10.1; SD = 1.2), of whom 196 were successfully followed 5.5 months later. A 4-dimensional model of coping was found using confirmatory factor analysis, with the factors being active coping, avoidance, distraction, and support. In the cross-sectional model avoidance coping partially mediated the relations between negative events and symptoms while active coping moderated the relations between negative events and conduct problems. In the longitudinal model significant negative paths were found from active coping and distraction Time 1 to internalizing symptoms Time 2, while Time 1 support coping had a positive path coefficient to Time 2 depression. Positive paths were found between negative events at Time 1 and anxiety at Time 2, and between all symptoms at Time 1 and negative events at Time 2.

This study presents a reanalysis of data from an effective preventive intervention for children from divorced families (S. A. Wolchik et al., 2000) to test mediation of program effects. The study involved 157 children, age 9 -12 years, who were randomly assigned to a parenting program or a literature control condition. Program effects to reduce posttest internalizing problems were mediated through improvement in mother-child relationship quality. Program effects to reduce externalizing problems at posttest and 6 months were mediated through improvement in posttest parental methods of discipline and mother-child relationship quality. The study also describes a new methodology to test mediation of Program ϫ Baseline Status interactions. Analyses demonstrate mediation effects primarily for children who began the program with poorer scores on discipline, mother-child relationship quality, and externalizing problems. Health Grant R01 MH057013-01A1 to evaluate a preventive intervention for children of divorce, and Public Health Service Grant DA09757 for development and application of methods to assess mediation. We thank the mothers and children for their participation as well as the group leaders for their careful and thoughtful delivery of the program.

Mexican American adolescents face disparities in mental health and academic achievement, perhaps in part because of discrimination experiences. However, culturally-related values, fostered by ethnic pride and socialization, may serve to mitigate the negative impact of discrimination. Guided by the Stress Process Model, the current study examined risk and protective processes using a 2-wave multi-informant study with 750 Mexican American families. Specifically, we examined two possible mechanisms by which Mexican American values may support positive outcomes in the context of discrimination; as a protective factor (moderator) or risk reducer (mediator). Analyses supported the role of Mexican American values as a risk reducer. This study underscores the importance of examining multiple mechanisms of protective processes in understanding Mexican American adolescent resilience. KeywordsMexican American; adolescents; discrimination; cultural values; ethnic socialization; ethnic pride; mental health; academic achievement; longitudinal Discrimination and adjustment for Mexican American adolescents: A prospective examination of the benefits of culturally-related valuesLatino adolescents in the United States are at elevated risk for a variety of mental health and academic problems (Rumbaut, 1994). Mexican American adolescents, in particular, report higher levels of depressive symptoms (Hill, Bush, & Roosa, 2003), as well as externalizing behaviors (Gorman-Smith, Tolan, Henry, & Florsheim, 2000). Moreover, despite Mexican American families' emphasis on the value of school as an important pathway to success, Mexican American adolescents report lower academic self-efficacy (Fuligni, Witkow, & Garcia, 2005) and are more likely to drop out of school (Chavez, Oetting, & Swaim, 1994) than European American peers. Some have suggested that these elevated mental health and Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Cady Berkel, Prevention Research Center, Arizona State University, 900 S McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287-6005, cady.berkel@asu.edu. In Press Journal of Research on Adolescence.This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the journal. It is not the copy of record. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript academic risks are due in part to experiences of discrimination commonly reported by Mexican American adolescents, which have been linked to poor mental health and academic achievement (Coker, et al., 2009;Stone & Han, 2005). Nevertheless, many Mexican American adolescents have good mental health outcomes, are successful in school (Gonzales, Knight, Birman, & Sirolli, 2004), and often appear to be more resilient than one might expect given the stressors to which they are exposed (Escobar, Nervi, & Gara, 2000). One potential mechanism operating among Mexican American adolescents that may support this resilience is the socialization processes that lead to the internalization of culturallyrelated values associated with th...

Poverty is a community stressor that disproportionally affects ethnic minority families. One aspect of programmatic research on poverty focuses on the psychological sense of economic hardship. In a study of 319 African American, European American, and Mexican American urban families, parents completed objective measures of economic status and scales of perceived economic hardship that were adapted from previous research. Measurement models identified a coherent construct of psychological sense of economic hardship that was essentially equivalent for mothers and fathers, English- and Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans, and the 3 ethnic groups. In support of the validity of this construct, relations between objective indicators of economic status and perceived economic hardship showed equivalence across these same groups.

Despite the rapid growth of research on neighborhood influences on children, little of this research may be useful to prevention scientists. Most studies have ignored processes by which neighborhood conditions influence individual outcomes. To encourage neighborhood research that can better guide the development of preventive interventions, we propose a model that focuses attention on mediating and moderating processes, is appropriate for studies interested in individual differences in outcomes, acknowledges the transactions between residents and neighborhoods, and is sensitive to how neighborhood influences may differ for children at different developmental stages. Furthermore, we argue that greater attention to several methodological issues also can make neighborhood research more useful for the next generation of prevention programs to help low-income urban families and children cope successfully with the challenges posed by their neighborhoods.