1-125 - Unpacking person-context interactions in family and school settings: Implications for adolescent well-being

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Many developmental theories posit that adolescents are embedded in distinct ecological contexts—families, peers, schools—that shape development. These contextual effects, however, are often contingent on person-context interactions, or matches/mismatches between individuals and environments. Person-context interactions can span demographics (e.g., the number of same-ethnic peers in school) to beliefs/behaviors (e.g., adolescents’ versus schoolmates’ substance use). Theoretical and empirical work suggests that incongruence, or person-context interactions characterized by mismatches between person and context, can take a negative toll developmentally. However, the ways to conceptualize and analyze mismatches are multiple, and little attention has been given to comparing the different strategies. The purpose of this symposium is to examine the implications of various person-context interactions for well-being during adolescence.

This symposium consists of four presentations using multilevel modeling to examine: 1) acculturation gaps between adolescents and their mothers and fathers and how differences in adherence to mainstream culture influence parent child relationships across early- to mid-adolescence; 2) family and peer socialization to the heritage and mainstream culture and the implications of incongruent socialization across parents and peers for young people’s adjustment; 3) how mismatches between youths’ ethnic representation in their schools versus their academic courses influence adolescents’ perceptions of their schools; and 4) school norms around academics, social integration, and substance use and how incongruence with broader norms influences adolescents’ well-being in a nationally representative sample. The Chairs will set the stage by identifying key conceptual and methodological issues regarding person-context mismatches and will then encourage audience discussion by identifying cross-cutting themes.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chairs

• Aprile D Benner, University of Texas at Austin

• John E Schulenberg, Univ of Michigan

Individual Presentations

• Parent-Child Cultural-Orientation Gaps and Family Dynamics from pre- to mid-adolescence - Presenting Author: Mayra Y Bamaca-Colbert, The Pennsylvania State University; Lindsey Varvil-Weld, Pennsylvania State University; Peter Kim, Pennsylvania State University; Richard Whitney Robins, University of California, Davis; Keith F Widaman, University of California

• Family-Peer Incongruence in Cultural Socialization and Adolescent Adjustment - Presenting Author: Yijie Wang, Human Development and Family Sciences

• When Being a Minority is Really a Minority:Effects of Mismatch Between Adolescents’ Ethnic Representation in School and in Courses - Presenting Author: Sandra Graham, University of California, Los Angeles; Kara Kogachi, University of California, Los Angeles

• Costs and Benefits of Not Fitting In: Mismatches with broader school norms and adolescents’ well-being - Presenting Author: Aprile D Benner, University of Texas at Austin; John E Schulenberg, Univ of Michigan