Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Parenting: Associations with Acculturation/ Enculturation and Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms in Mexican-Origin Families.

Abstract

Parent-adolescent discrepancies in perceptions of parenting are consistently associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms, yet explanations for why these discrepancies emerge have focused primarily on demographic and family relational factors, which may be insufficient for Mexican-origin families navigating heritage and U.S. cultural contexts. A total of 479 mother-adolescent (adolescents' Wave 1 age: M = 12.88, SD = 0.89; 55.5% female) and 191 father-adolescent dyads (adolescents' Wave 1 age: M = 12.84, SD = 1.0; 46.6% female) from Mexican-origin families participated in this three-wave longitudinal study. Latent profile analyses identified three parenting discrepancy profiles for both mother- and father-adolescent dyads: Positive Convergence (65.8%, 51.3%), Mother/Father Positive Bias (25.9%, 29.3%), and Youth Positive Recognition (8%, 19%). Adolescents in Mother/Father Positive Bias profiles reported the highest internalizing symptoms. In mother-adolescent dyads, higher maternal and adolescent enculturation were associated with greater likelihood of Positive Convergence membership. In father-adolescent dyads, higher acculturation and enculturation were jointly and independently associated with greater likelihood of Positive Convergence membership. The findings suggest that parent-adolescent discrepancies reflect culturally embedded differences in how family members understand parenting, advancing understanding of parenting and adolescent mental health in bicultural contexts and identifying cultural characteristics that may signal greater parenting discrepancies.