Children of immigrant parents frequently language broker, translating written forms and documents for their parents and other adults in various situations. Using a paper-andpencil survey, 36 bilingual Latino fifth graders reported their experiences and levels of comfort in language brokering, levels of acculturation, feelings of acculturative stress, and self-concepts. Those who were least acculturated reported higher frequencies of language brokering and discomfort in doing so. Boys were more English dominant than girls and reported higher levels of acculturative stress. Girls were more Spanish dominant and had lower levels of acculturative stress. High levels of acculturative stress were associated with increased social acceptance by peers. Because the previous research with college students was retrospective, this study may demonstrate that the benefits of language brokering may be an age-graded phenomenon.

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This study examined the characteristics of a cohort of Mexican-American tenth-grade students to determine why some Mexican-American students are academically successful and others are not, despite sharing a similar sociocultural background. Based on current work on invulnerable children, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of protective resources and appraisals in the academic success or invulnerability of some Mexican-American high school students. Generally, the results revealed that students with a positive view of their intellectual ability and a strong sense of responsibility for their academic future were more likely to be academically successful. The findings also suggest that a supportive network of teachers and friends was linked to academic invulnerability. Lastly, students'subjective appraisals were quite powerful in predicting differential levels of achievement. The results of this study underscore the need forfurther research that examines not only the role of sociocultural risk factors, but also the protective resources and subjective appraisals that invulnerable students develop in relation to their educational experiences.

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This study examined the relationship between stressful life events, internalized symptoms of stress, and academic achievement among a sample of Hispanic students in a large urban high school. Using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire, students were administered the Hispanic Children's Stress Inventory and two measures of internalized symptoms (Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Children's Depression Inventory). Perceived competence was measured using the Harter Perceived Competence Scale. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed main effects for stressful life events and perceived competence on grades, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology. In addition, interaction terms were entered into the regression equations to determine if perceived competence was a moderator of stressful life events. Direct effects of stressful lifeevents and perceived competence on school grades and internalized symptoms were found. Multiplicative interactions for perceived competence were not significant moderators of psychosocial stress on grades or internalized symptoms.