Matching Items (28)
Description
Ethnic identity has consistently been associated with Latino youths' psychosocial well-being; however, an area that has received much less attention is how parents' characteristics inform their ethnic socialization efforts and, in turn, youths' ethnic identity. In addition, we know little about how this process unfolds in specific at-risk samples of youth, such as adolescent mothers. Thus, the current prospective study examined how mothers' cultural characteristics informed adolescents' and mothers' reports of ethnic socialization, and how this, in turn, informed adolescents' ethnic identity exploration and resolution among a sample of 193 adolescent mothers and their mothers. In addition, the current study tested whether mothers' ethnic identity affirmation was directly related to adolescents' ethnic identity affirmation over time. Results indicated that mothers' familism was associated with increases in mothers' reports of maternal ethnic socialization, and, in turn, with increases in ethnic identity exploration for foreign-born adolescents, and decreases in ethnic identity exploration for U.S.-born adolescents. In addition, adolescents' reports of familial ethnic socialization were associated with increases in their ethnic identity exploration and resolution. Finally, mothers' ethnic identity affirmation was associated with increases in adolescents' ethnic identity affirmation. Findings are discussed with special attention to the importance of mothers' cultural values in how they socialize their adolescents, and this impact on adolescents' ethnic identity, as well as the implications this study has for interventions focused on bolstering positive outcomes for adolescent mothers.
ContributorsDerlan, Chelsea L (Author) / Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J. (Thesis advisor) / Knight, George P. (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The study of tomboys offers useful insights for the field of gender development. Tomboys have been the focus of several studies aimed at defining what a tomboy is (Bailey, Bechtold, & Berenbaum, 2002; Plumb & Cowan, 1984; Williams, Goodman, & Green, 1985) and what it means for children and adults who are tomboys (Morgan, 1998; Williams et al., 1985). These and further questions necessitate understanding the correlates and consequences for children exhibiting tomboy behaviors. This study aims to address these gaps in the literature as part of a longitudinal study assessing children's gendered attitudes, relationships, and beliefs. A group of 4th grade girls (N=98), were administered questionnaires asking them about their tomboy gender identity and related behaviors and beliefs. The first research question concerns how we identify tomboys through parent, teacher, and child self-report, and the application of groupings of tomboys as never, sometimes, and always tomboys. It was found that children who fall into different classifications of tomboyism differ on their similarity to own- and other-sex peers on a number of dimensions (e.g. similarity, peer preference, activity preference). Never tomboys had the most similarity and interest to own-sex peers, always tomboys, to other-sex peers, and sometimes tomboys exhibited the most flexibility with interest similar to both own- and other-sex peers. Peer-related adjustment consequences and experiences were considered for the different groups of tomboys, with always tomboys being the most efficacious with other-sex peers, never tomboys being the most efficacious with own-sex peers, and sometimes tomboys showing both own- and other-sex peer interactions and the least exclusion of any group.
ContributorsEngland, Dawn (Author) / Martin, Carol L (Thesis advisor) / Zosuls, Kristina (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Mexican-origin adolescent females have the highest birthrate of all other ethnic groups in the U.S. Further, teen mothers are at significant risk for poor outcomes, including low educational attainment. Therefore, examining predictors of Mexican-origin teen mothers' educational attainment was the main goal of the current study. Future-oriented beliefs such as educational aspirations and expectations are suggested to have positive implications for adolescents' educational attainment in general. Therefore, guided by bioecological, social capital, status attainment, social learning, and collective socialization of neighborhood theories, the current study examined neighborhood, maternal, and cultural predictors of 190 Mexican-origin parenting adolescents' educational aspirations, expectations, and attainment. With respect to maternal predictors, the study examined mother figures' (i.e., grandmothers') educational attainment, and aspirations and expectations for the adolescent as predictors of adolescents' educational attainment. Using a multi-informant, longitudinal analytic model, results suggest that adolescents' educational expectations, rather than aspirations, significantly predicted adolescents' attainment one year later. Additionally, grandmothers' educational attainment was indirectly associated with adolescents' educational attainment via the educational expectations of both the grandmother and the adolescent. Further, the neighborhood context indirectly informed adolescents' educational attainment via both grandmothers and adolescents' educational expectations. Finally, adolescents' ethnic identity affirmation was significantly associated with adolescents' educational attainment two years later. Implications regarding the importance of educational expectations and ethnic identity affirmation for at-risk parenting adolescents' educational attainment will be discussed.
ContributorsHarvey-Mendoza, Elizabeth C (Author) / Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J. (Thesis advisor) / Updegraff, Kimberly A. (Committee member) / White, Rebecca (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Over the last three decades there has been a rise in the number of workers employed during nonstandard (evening and overnight) hours; accompanying this trend has been a renewed interest in documenting workers, their families, and outcomes associated with nonstandard-hour employment. However, there are important gaps in the current literature. Few have considered how parents who work nonstandard hours care for their children when parental care is unavailable; little is known about who participates in nonparental child care during nonstandard hours, or the characteristics of those who participate. Most pressingly from a policy perspective, it is unclear how participation in nonparental child care during nonstandard hours influences child well-being. This study aims to fill these gaps. This dissertation paints a descriptive portrait of children and parents who use nonstandard child care, explores the relationship between nonstandard hours of nonparental child care participation and various measures of child well-being, and identifies longitudinal patterns of participation in nonstandard-hour child care. I find that children who participate in nonstandard-hours of nonparental child care look significantly different from those who do not participate. In particular, children are more likely to be older, identify as black or Hispanic, and reside with younger, unmarried parents who have lower levels of education. Estimates also suggest a negative relationship between participation in nonstandard-hour child care and child well-being. Specifically, children who participate in nonstandard-hour care show decreased school engagement and school readiness, increased behavioral problems, decreased social competency, and lower levels of physical health. These findings have serious implications for social and education policy.
ContributorsBoyd-Swan, Casey Helen (Author) / Herbst, Chris M. (Thesis advisor) / Bradley, Robert H (Committee member) / Segal, Elizabeth A. (Committee member) / Lucio, Joanna D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Siblings are a salient part of family life; however, few studies have explored the role of siblings on youths' cultural development and educational expectations. In the current dissertation, two studies address this gap in the literature by using longitudinal data from 246 Mexican-origin sibling pairs and their mothers and fathers. The first study examined how older siblings' cultural orientations and values uniquely contribute to younger siblings' cultural orientations and values from late adolescence to young adulthood, after accounting for mothers' and fathers' cultural orientations and values; further, it was explored the role of sibling modeling and sibling characteristics as moderators of these associations. Findings revealed that older siblings' cultural orientations and values contribute to younger siblings' cultural orientations and values from late adolescence into young adulthood. Specifically, under conditions of high sibling modeling, younger siblings reported higher levels of Anglo orientation and familism values. Whereas, fathers' orientations were positively associated with younger siblings' Anglo and Mexican orientations and mothers' values were predictive of younger siblings' familism values. Together, the findings suggest that siblings and parents play different roles in youths' cultural development.
The second study explored the reciprocal associations between older and younger siblings' educational expectations from early/middle adolescence to middle/late adolescence and from middle/late adolescence to young adulthood. In this study it was tested the moderating role of family immigrant context and sibling characteristics in the association between older and younger siblings' educational expectations. Findings revealed that older siblings' educational expectations at T1 predicted younger siblings' educational expectations at T2. Further, older siblings' educational expectations at T2 continued to influence younger siblings' educational expectations at T3, and younger siblings' educational expectations at T2 also predicted older siblings' educational expectations at T3. Family immigrant context moderated the association from older siblings' educational expectations at T2 to younger siblings' educational expectations at T3, such that the association was significant for immigrant-born families, but not for U.S.-born/Mixed-status families. Our study highlights the value of siblings' roles, particularly in immigrant families, as youth make important decisions about their educational pursuits.
The second study explored the reciprocal associations between older and younger siblings' educational expectations from early/middle adolescence to middle/late adolescence and from middle/late adolescence to young adulthood. In this study it was tested the moderating role of family immigrant context and sibling characteristics in the association between older and younger siblings' educational expectations. Findings revealed that older siblings' educational expectations at T1 predicted younger siblings' educational expectations at T2. Further, older siblings' educational expectations at T2 continued to influence younger siblings' educational expectations at T3, and younger siblings' educational expectations at T2 also predicted older siblings' educational expectations at T3. Family immigrant context moderated the association from older siblings' educational expectations at T2 to younger siblings' educational expectations at T3, such that the association was significant for immigrant-born families, but not for U.S.-born/Mixed-status families. Our study highlights the value of siblings' roles, particularly in immigrant families, as youth make important decisions about their educational pursuits.
ContributorsRodríguez De Jesús, Sue Annie (Author) / Updegraff, Kimberly A (Thesis advisor) / Bradley, Robert H (Committee member) / Iida, Masumi (Committee member) / Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Organized activity participation is associated with a wide array of positive developmental outcomes. Latinos are one of the largest and fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S., yet are less likely to participate in organized activities than their peers. Theoretically, the alignment or fit between adolescents' and their activities' characteristics is critical to support youths' use and engagement in organized activities. Using qualitative data in Study 1, I examined parents' and adolescents' perspectives and experiences related to several indicators of ethnicity and culture in their activities. Results suggested that alignment on Spanish-language use was critical for participation. However, some Latino families did not prefer aspects of ethnicity and culture in their activities because adolescents learned about their culture with family or because adolescents wanted to fit in with their majority White peers. Study 2 tested quantitatively whether features of ethnicity and culture in the activity mattered for Latino adolescents' experiences during activities. Ethnic and cultural features in activities, particularly respect for one's ethnicity and culture, fostered positive experiences during activities. Unexpectedly, some ethnic and cultural features were detrimental, such that overt teaching about ethnicity and culture was related to negative feelings during the activity. There was little evidence that the relation between ethnic and cultural features in activities and concurrent experiences varied by Latino cultural orientation. Integrating the findings across these two studies, there was mixed evidence for the traditional theoretical notions that optimal development occurs in environments that fit with individual's characteristics. Complementary fit was optimal when adolescents' needs were considered across the many contexts in which their lives are embedded, including their families and neighborhoods. I recommend that practitioners should take care in learning about the specific families and youth that their activity serves to best understand how to meet their needs. Some aspects of culture, such as Spanish-language use may be critical for participation; other aspects may require special attention from activity leaders, such as teaching about ethnicity and culture. This dissertation is an important step in understanding how to best design activities that promote the recruitment and retention of Latino youth in organized activities.
ContributorsVest, Andrea Elaine (Author) / Simpkins, Sandra D (Thesis advisor) / Menjivar, Cecilia (Committee member) / Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J. (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly A. (Committee member) / Millsap, Roger (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Children's academic experiences during first grade have substantial implications for their academic performance both concurrently and longitudinally. Using two complementary studies, this dissertation utilizing data from the National Institute of Child Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development helps create a better understanding of the importance of first-grade experiences for children's academic performance. The first study expands upon current literature by focusing on how children's academic experiences simultaneously influence children's academic performance through behavioral engagement. Specifically, study one examined the mediating role of first-grade behavioral engagement between first-grade academic experiences (i.e. parental involvement, positive peer interactions, student-teacher relationship, and instructional support) and second-grade academic performance. Using a panel model, results showed that behavioral engagement mediates relations between peer interactions and academic performance and relations between instructional support and academic performance. Implications for interventions focusing on children's positive peer interactions and teacher's high-quality instructional support in order to promote behavioral engagement during early elementary school are discussed.
The second study expands the current literature regarding instructional quality thresholds. Limited research has addressed the question of whether there is a minimum level of instructional quality that must be experienced in order to see significant changes in children's academic performance, and the limited research has focused primarily on preschoolers. The goal of study two was to determine if high-quality first-grade instructional support predicted children's first-, third-, and fifth-grade academic performance. Using piecewise regression analyses, results did not show evidence of a relation between first-grade instructional support quality and children's academic performance at any grade. Possible reasons for inconsistencies in findings from this study and previous research are discussed, including differences in sample characteristics and measurement tools. Because instructional quality remains at the forefront of discussions by educators and policy makers, the inconsistencies in research findings argue for further research that may clarify thresholds of instructional support quality that must be met in order for various subgroups of children to gain the skills needed for long-term academic success.
The second study expands the current literature regarding instructional quality thresholds. Limited research has addressed the question of whether there is a minimum level of instructional quality that must be experienced in order to see significant changes in children's academic performance, and the limited research has focused primarily on preschoolers. The goal of study two was to determine if high-quality first-grade instructional support predicted children's first-, third-, and fifth-grade academic performance. Using piecewise regression analyses, results did not show evidence of a relation between first-grade instructional support quality and children's academic performance at any grade. Possible reasons for inconsistencies in findings from this study and previous research are discussed, including differences in sample characteristics and measurement tools. Because instructional quality remains at the forefront of discussions by educators and policy makers, the inconsistencies in research findings argue for further research that may clarify thresholds of instructional support quality that must be met in order for various subgroups of children to gain the skills needed for long-term academic success.
ContributorsBryce, Crystal I (Author) / Bradley, Robert H (Thesis advisor) / Abry, Tashia (Committee member) / Swanson, Jodi (Committee member) / Thompson, Marilyn S (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
I examined the role of children's or teacher's effortful control (EC) in children's academic functioning in early elementary school in two separate studies. In Study 1, I tested longitudinal relations between parents' reactions to children's displays of negative emotions in kindergarten, children's EC in first grade, and children's reading or math achievement in second grade (N = 291). In the fall of each school year, parents reported their positive or negative reactions and parents and teachers reported on children's EC. Standardized achievement tests assessed achievement each spring. Results from autoregressive panel mediation models demonstrated that constructs exhibited consistency across study years. In addition, first-grade EC mediated relations between parents' reactions (i.e., a difference composite of positive minus negative reactions) at kindergarten and second-grade math, but not reading, achievement. Findings suggest that one method of promoting math achievement in early school is through the socialization of children's EC. In Study 2, I examined relations between teachers' EC, teachers' reactions to children's negative emotions, the student-teacher relationship (STR), and children's externalizing behaviors or achievement among 289 second-graders and their 116 teachers. Results from mixed-model regressions showed that negative reactions and teacher-reported STR mediated relations between teachers' EC and math achievement. In addition, teacher-reported STR mediated links between teachers' EC and externalizing problems across reporters and between teachers' EC and reading achievement. Tests of moderated mediation indicated that a high-quality STR was negatively associated with externalizing problems and high levels of teachers' negative reactions were negatively related to math achievement only for students low in EC. In tests of moderation by social competence, teachers' reports of high-quality STRs tended to be negatively associated with externalizing problems, but relations were strongest for students not high in social competence. For students low in social competence only, children's reports of a high-quality STR was related to lower reading achievement. These results highlight the utility of considering whether and how teachers' own intrinsic characteristics influence classroom dynamics and students' academic functioning outcomes.
ContributorsSwanson, Jodi Michelle (Author) / Valiente, Carlos (Thesis advisor) / Bradley, Robert H (Thesis advisor) / Kochenderfer-Ladd, Becky (Committee member) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
In response to the recent publication and media coverage of several books that support educating boys and girls separately, more public schools in the United States are beginning to offer same-sex schooling options. Indeed, students may be more comfortable interacting solely with same-sex peers, as boys and girls often have difficulty in their interactions with each other; however, given that boys and girls often interact beyond the classroom, researchers must discover why boys and girls suffer difficult other-sex interactions and determine what can be done to improve them. We present two studies aimed at examining such processes. Both studies were conducted from a dynamical systems perspective that highlights the role of variability in dyadic social interactions to capture temporal changes in interpersonal coordination. The first focused on the utility of applying dynamics to the study of same- and mixed-sex interactions and examined the relation of the quality of those interactions to participants' perceptions of their interaction partners. The second study was an extension of the first, examining how dynamical dyadic coordination affected students' self-perceived abilities and beliefs in science, with the intention of examining social predictors of girls' and women's under-representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
ContributorsDiDonato, Matthew D (Author) / Martin, Carol L (Thesis advisor) / Amazeen, Polemnia G (Committee member) / Hanish, Laura D. (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly A (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This study investigated the efficacy of Early Head Start home-based, center-based and mixed-approach programs on cognitive, language and behavioral outcomes at different levels of cumulative environmental risk. Early Head Start is a federal program that provides low-income families and their children from birth to age three with childcare, parenting education, healthcare and other family supports. As part of Early Head Start's initiation, a program evaluation was begun involving 3,001 children from 17 programs around the country. Half of the children were randomly assigned to the control group, who received no Early Head Start services. Data were collected through program application and enrollment forms, interviews of parents and child and family assessments. Almost all of the children's primary caretakers were mothers, ranging in age from 18 to 26. One-third were African American, one-third white, and one-fourth Hispanic. Almost half of the parents did not have a high school diploma at the time of enrollment, and most of the families received public support of some kind. For each child, a multiple environmental risk score was calculated, which was the sum of 10 possible environmental risks. Each of four outcomes was regressed onto the ten risks individually and also as a cumulative risk index along with program type and covariates. There were significant negative relations of accumulated risk to reductions in reasoning, spatial ability and vocabulary and increased behavior problems. Children with at least eight risks scored 1.48 standard deviations lower on reasoning ability and vocabulary, .48 standard deviations lower on spatial ability and .48 standard deviations higher on behavior problems. The home-based program showed significant benefit for reasoning and vocabulary. Versus the control group, home-based programs increased average reasoning scores by .24 of a standard deviation and increased vocabulary by .14 of a standard deviation. There was no significant difference in program benefits at different levels of risk. This suggests that for reasoning and vocabulary, the home-based program is promotive because the degree of benefit Early Head Start appears to provide is consistent across all levels of risk for the set of risks and outcomes examined in this study.
ContributorsBudinger, Susan (Author) / Bradley, Robert H (Thesis advisor) / Doane Sampey, Leah D (Committee member) / Valiente, Carlos (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012