The present study examined associations between depressive symptoms among mothers, fathers,<br/>and adolescents and considered whether different associations emerged by parent and adolescent<br/>gender. In addition, the combination of maternal and paternal depressive symptoms was<br/>examined in relation to adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Participants were 246 families of<br/>Mexican-origin in two-parent households who resided in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Data<br/>were collected during home interviews at Time 1 and phone calls with adolescents at Time 2.<br/>Findings revealed concurrent bivariate associations between adolescents’ and mothers’ and<br/>fathers’ depressive symptoms. Further, mothers’ depressive symptoms predicted increases in<br/>adolescents’ symptoms two years later. However, there were no significant gender differences,<br/>and the combination of mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms did not predict adolescents’<br/>depressive symptoms. These findings contribute to understanding the interrelations between<br/>Mexican-origin mothers’, fathers’, and adolescents’ depressive symptoms.

The present study examined Mexican American females’ perspectives on childbearing and marriage and the role of cultural influences on their perspectives given high rates of pregnancy and early marriage among Mexican and Mexican American females in the U.S. and worldwide. Participants were ten Mexican American females between 20 and 22 years of age who participated in qualitative interviews about their perspectives on marriage and childbearing and how their Mexican cultural background, including their upbringing, family members, peers, and the media influenced their perspectives. Findings highlight that there is indeed a connection between Mexican culture and perspectives on marriage and childbearing amongst participants, and participants particularly noted the role of female family members, stereotypes, and educational pursuits in shaping their perspectives.

School-based mental health services aim to foster positive academic and behavioral outcomes in students, however families often are not directly involved in implementing these practices. Family engagement in schools should be an essential focal point in school-based mental health services, as the partnership between families and schools has been shown to lead to positive student outcomes. This study used an evaluation tool known as the FAMSET to examine the PFS CARE intervention, a trauma-informed and culturally responsive intervention measuring family engagement in schools, which operates from an MTSS-framework. Specifically focusing on trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, administrators and staff members were asked a series of thirteen questions regarding the construct. This study aims to examine the construct of trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, to analyze administrator and staff differences, and to create a consolidated scale. Results showed that overall, the scales were efficient in capturing the construct of trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, and the scales should be analyzed separately for administrators and staff members; additionally, several questions should be omitted or reworded in the administrator survey in future administrations. Family engagement in schools is an understudied topic, and one with promising future implementations – this study is one of the first to evaluate the FAMSET tool. In future studies, this preliminary data can be used to create a validated scale, and it is recommended that future samples are larger and expand to other faculty positions as well.