Reexamining the Gap: Impact of the Bidimensional Parent-Adolescent Acculturation Gap on Latino Adolescent Maladjustment

Background and Purpose:  The Acculturation Gap-Distress Model posits that children acculturate more quickly than parents leading to distress that deteriorates family functioning and promotes adolescent maladjustment.  This model and supporting empirical evidence neglect to acknowledge the leading conceptualization of acculturation as a bidimensional process involving new culture adoption and culture-of-origin maintenance.  To further refine this model, we examine the unique impact of Anglo and Mexican gaps on parental monitoring and adolescent risky behavior. 

Methods:  Dyadic parent-adolescent data (N = 375) from a youth substance use prevention effectiveness trial were used for this study.  Middle schools in a large southwestern city (n =16) were recruited if they had a student population > 60% Latino and received Title 1 funds.  Schools were stratified into three blocks in accordance with their percentage of Latino students; they were then randomly assigned into three conditions prior to agreeing to participate in the study.  The analytic sample included wave1 parent-adolescent survey data.  The majority of participating parents were female (87%), immigrant (94%), had lived in the U.S. >10 years (88%), and reported an annual household income of <$25,000 (70%).  A slight majority of adolescents were male (53%); the mean age was 12.7 years (SD = .74).  Twenty percent of adolescents were foreign-born (18% in Mexico), with the remainder U.S.-born (80%).  Using a path analysis framework in Mplus, this study explored how parental monitoring mediates the relationship between acculturation gaps and adolescent risky behavior.

Results: Based on the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II, adolescents had significantly higher Anglo orientation scores (AOS; M = 4.00, SD = .61; M = 2.36, SD = .99), while parents had significantly higher Mexican orientation scores (MOS; M = 4.41, SD = .85; M = 3.55, SD = .98).  Controlling for SES, parents’ education level, length of residence in the U.S., and sex, the path analysis model (X²(8) = 16.048, p = .042) indicated that the MOS gap was associated with less parental monitoring, which then predicted greater adolescent risky behavior (Indirect Effect: B = .038, p < .001).  The AOS gap was not associated with any significant direct or indirect effects.        

Conclusions and Implications:  Building on the Acculturation Gap-Distress Model, findings help clarify the nature of the relationship between parent-adolescent acculturation gaps and adolescent outcomes.  While adolescents were more Anglo-oriented than parents, findings suggest it is the Mexican gap, rather than the Anglo gap, that contributes to youth maladjustment through reduced parental monitoring.  This may be the result of more Mexican oriented parents relying on more indirect ways of monitoring their children, which may not work as effectively in an urban U.S. setting.  Most of the immigrant families in the study came from rural areas and small towns in Sinaloa and Sonora-Mexico.  In such towns, a more collective and less direct monitoring style appears to be common.  More research is needed to further explore these culturally-based child rearing strategies and their implications for parenting interventions tailored for Mexican immigrant parents.