Mexican-origin mothers' and fathers' workplace ethnic–racial discrimination and youth's educational adjustment

Objective

Drawing from the integrative model and emotional spillover framework, the current study examined whether parents' experiences of ethnic–racial discrimination informed Latino adolescents' educational adjustment via features of their adaptive culture (i.e., families' relationship quality and cultural socialization practices) and youth's ethnic–racial identity.

Background

The integrative model suggests that minoritized youth and families encounter systems of ethno-racial stratification, which indirectly inform youth developmental competencies. This study examined a longitudinal model that explored whether Mexican-origin mothers' and fathers' ethnic–racial discrimination informed their parent–child relationship quality, their cultural socialization and, in turn, youth's ethnic–racial identity and educational outcomes.

Method

Data came from a sample of 246 Mexican-origin families, including mothers (M _age  = 39 years, SD = 4.63; 70% Mexico-born), fathers (M _age  = 41.70 years, SD = 5.76; 69% Mexico-born), and adolescents (M _age  = 12.51 years, SD = .76; 62% US-born). Each family member was interviewed separately at three waves spanning a period of 8 years.

Results

Indirect associations included mother discrimination to youth ethnic–racial identity via mother cultural socialization, and mother–adolescent acceptance to youth ethnic–racial identity via mother cultural socialization. Direct associations emerged between mother–child relationship quality and youth outcomes. Father reports were not associated with youth's adjustment.

Conclusion

Findings underscore the importance of mother–adolescent relationships for youth's understanding of their ethnic–racial identity and educational outcomes and as a significant familial relationship that supports youth's development. Although fathers' frequent discrimination relates to greater cultural socialization, the ways youth draw on this relationship for their ethnic–racial identity and educational adjustment may be more nuanced and require further examination.