Youth Problem Behaviors and Parent-Child Acculturation Gaps in Latino Immigrant Families

This study examines acculturation differences between Latino parents and adolescents and their association with adolescent problem behaviors. Acculturation has been identified as a risk for substance use, parent-child conflicts, and other problem-behaviors. In general, parents acculturate more slowly than their children. Parent-child acculturation gaps may increase the incidence of these health-threatening adolescent outcomes.

We utilized baseline data from the CDC-funded Latino Acculturation and Health Project. The participants were 151 mother-adolescent dyads of Mexican-heritage. Parent and adolescent acculturation were assessed jointly based on the Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire. Four distinct groups emerged: adolescent more acculturated than parent; parent more acculturated than adolescent ; both bicultural, and both “separationists.”

Regression analyses controlling for youth's age, gender, school-grades, and mother's education indicated that acculturation gaps predicted youth problem-behaviors as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBC) and substance use measures, but the direction of the gap was unexpected. Compared to bicultural dyads, only youth with more acculturated parents demonstrated increased rates of problem behaviors and the highest level of perceived ethnic discrimination. The “separationist” dyads demonstrated protective effects of attachment to origin culture and reported less alcohol use, less acculturation related conflict, and higher familism. Possible explanations for the findings where parents were more acculturated than their adolescents are that they may reflect parent-child differences in their perceptions of the success of their adjustment to U.S. society, differential exposure to ethnic discrimination, and a gap in arrival to the U.S. (child arriving later than their parent).