Ethnic Cultural Features in Organized Activities: Relations to Latino Adolescents’ Activity Experiences and Parental Involvement

Abstract

Cultural responsiveness is a key aspect of the quality of organized activities, yet has rarely been examined. Based on developmental theories and a theoretical framework for culturally responsive activities, the current study investigated the prevalence and correlates of two ethnic cultural features (i.e., ethnic cultural content & ethnic cultural respect) in organized activities. Using data from 154 Latino adolescents (M = 12.36, SD = .53; 59% Female) and parents, we examined associations between adolescent perceptions of both ethnic cultural features and their activity experiences; and associations between parent perceptions of both ethnic cultural features and parental involvement in the activity. Latino adolescents and parents in general perceived lower than average ethnic cultural content and moderate to high ethnic cultural respect in the reported activity. Both adolescents and parents were more likely to perceive ethnic cultural content and respect in activities where Latino youth were the numerical ethnic majority than in activities where Latino youth were the numerical ethnic minority. Latino adolescents' perceptions of ethnic cultural respect were associated with more positive activity experiences, whereas their perceptions of ethnic cultural content were associated with more negative feelings. Latino parents' perceptions of ethnic cultural content predicted higher involvement. To design culturally responsive activities, ethnic cultural features should be incorporated in a thoughtful, meaningful way that reflects both adolescents' and parents' perspectives.

Culturally Responsive Practices: Insights from a High‐Quality Math Afterschool Program Serving Underprivileged Latinx Youth

“…Extending Eccles and Gootman (2002)’s framework, our findings suggest that beyond meeting the basic need of physical and psychological safety, culturally responsive programs provide an environment where URM feel they are respected. In line with previous research (e.g., Liu et al, 2018; Smith et al, 2017), respect was a critical component of youth’s positive experiences in the program. In our study, it was particularly noteworthy that youth juxtapose feeling respected in the program with experiences in other contexts of their lives (e.g., school) where they felt negatively targeted or judged because of their cultural background.…”

“…In line with prior research and theory, our findings suggest that culture and culturally responsive practices are at the core of high‐quality programs (e.g., Simpkins et al, 2017; Velez‐Agosto et al, 2017). Programs that are not culturally responsive are not high‐quality (Ettekal et al, 2020; Liu et al, 2018). Culturally responsive practices therefore are not a separate component but are inseparable from every component of program quality (Simpkins et al, 2017).…”

“…Aligning with propositions in the Simpkins et al, (2017) framework, researchers have begun to explore cultural responsiveness in ASPs. For example, Liu et al, (2018) found that Latinx youth’s perceptions of ethnic‐cultural respect were associated with more positive ASP experiences. In another study, McGovern et al, (2020) highlighted the importance of providing a safe ASP space that affirms Latinx youth’s ethnic‐cultural values and bilingualism.…”

Factorial Invariance, Latent Mean Differences of the Panas and Affective Profiles and Its Relation to Social Anxiety in Ecuadorian Sample

“…In this sense, it would be convenient to analyze the relation between affect and other psychoeducational variables that can have an impact on anxiety, as in the case of aggression, school refusal or even perfectionism [80][81][82][83]. Finally, it would be necessary to be able of analyzing the existence of the identified affective profiles in other Spanish-speaking countries, such the case of Spain, to analyze the cultural effect mentioned before [84].…”