To address a significant gap in the literature on normative processes in minority families, the authors studied adolescents' sibling relationships in two-parent Mexican American families and explored connections between sibling relationship characteristics and familism. Participants were 246 adolescent Mexican American sibling pairs who participated in (a) home interviews during which adolescents described their sibling relationships and familism values and (b) a series of 7 nightly phone calls during which adolescents reported their daily activities, including time spent with siblings and family members. Siblings described their relationships as both intimate and conflictual, and daily activity data revealed that they spent an average of 17.2 hr per 7 days in shared activities. Sibling relationship qualities were linked to familism values and practices, and stronger patterns of association emerged for sisters than brothers. Discussion highlights the significance of studying the processes that underlie within-group variations among families of different cultural backgrounds. Keywords sibling relationships; Mexican American families; adolescence; familismSisters and brothers are a prominent part of family life in Mexican American households. According to U.S. census data, because of higher fertility rates and larger family sizes, Mexican American children grow up with more siblings than do their European American counterparts (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Further, a growing literature on the characteristics of Mexican American families highlights cultural values, beliefs, and practices that may promote close relationships between sisters and brothers. Specifically, an emphasis on family support and loyalty and on interdependence among family members, captured in the construct of familismo or familism and thought to characterize Mexican American family life (e.g., Baca Zinn, 1994; Cauce & Domenech-Rodríguez, 2002;Marín & Marín, 1991), means that sibling relationships may be an especially influential part of children's and adolescents' lives in this cultural setting. Census Bureau, 2000). Despite these demographic trends, estimates are that only 5% to 10% of published articles in family and developmental journals focus on Latino youth and families, and fewer than 2% of these investigations examine normative family and developmental processes (Hagen, Velissaris, & Nelson, 2004;McLoyd, 1998). Scholars in the area of minority youth and families also have called for ethnic-homogeneous designs (e.g., McLoyd, 1998), designs that promote understanding of the diversity of experiences within cultural groups and the cultural and ecological factors that give rise to within-group variations in family processes. The present study answers the call for research on normative family dynamics and analysis of within-group diversity among minority populations in its examination of Mexican American adolescents' sibling relationships. Specifically, the goals of this study were (a) to describe adolescents' sibling relationships in...

Drawing on ecological and gender socialization perspectives, this study examined mothers' and fathers' relationships with young adolescents, exploring differences between mothers and fathers, for sons versus daughters, and as a function of parents' division of paid labor. Mexican immigrant families (N = 162) participated in home interviews and seven nightly phone calls. Findings revealed that mothers reported higher levels of acceptance toward adolescents and greater knowledge of adolescents' daily activities than did fathers, and mothers spent more time with daughters than with sons. Linkages between parent-adolescent relationship qualities and youth adjustment were moderated by adolescent gender and parents' division of paid labor. Findings revealed, for example, stronger associations between parent-adolescent relationship qualities and youth adjustment for girls than for boys.

Drawing on García Coll and colleagues’ integrative framework and the risk and resilience model, this study examined the relationships between adolescents’ perceived discrimination and psychosocial adjustment and the moderating roles of adolescents’, mothers’, and fathers’ cultural orientations and values, and adolescent gender in a sample of 246 Mexican-origin families. Using multilevel modeling with data from mothers, fathers, seventh graders (M = 12.8; SD = .57) and older siblings (M = 15.7; SD = 1.5), findings revealed that perceived discrimination was positively associated to depression, risky behaviors, and deviant peer affiliations. In addition, parents’ cultural orientations and values and adolescent gender moderated the relationships between perceived discrimination and some indicators of adjustment. These findings suggest that parents’ cultural orientations and values can serve as protective and vulnerability factors in the associations between Mexican-origin adolescents’ perceived discrimination and their psychosocial adjustment.

The integrative model for child development and ecodevelopmental theory suggest that macro factors, such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, culture, and immigration influence the settings in which adolescents engage. The goal of this investigation was to use a combination of deductive and inductive qualitative analysis to describe the mechanisms by which these macro factors might be related to Mexican-origin adolescents' participation in organized after-school activities. Qualitative data were collected through focus group interviews with 44 adolescents, 50 parents, and 18 activity leaders from 2 neighborhoods that varied in ethnic composition and average family income. Results indicated that family socioeconomic status might be related to adolescents' participation through financial resources and parents' work. Ethnicity was identified as a predictor of participation via experiences with ethnic discrimination, particularly in the neighborhood with a low percentage of Hispanic families. Cultural values and practices were related to participants' preferences for particular activities (e.g., bilingual, church-sponsored) and adolescents' participation in activities. Immigration seemed to be a factor in parents' familiarity with and beliefs about organized activities.

To examine the implications of fathers' occupational conditions (i.e., income, work hours, shift work, pressure, workplace racism, and underemployment) for family members' psychological adjustment, home interviews were conducted with fathers, mothers, and two adolescent offspring in each of 218 Mexican American families. Results underscored the importance of acculturation as a moderator. Fathers' income was negatively associated with depressive symptoms in highly acculturated families but not in less acculturated families. In contrast, fathers' reports of workplace racism were positively associated with depressive symptoms in less acculturated families but not in more acculturated family contexts. These findings were consistent across all 4 family members, suggesting that the "long arm" of the jobs held by Mexican American fathers extends to mothers and adolescent offspring.