Exploring Parent-Child Relationships in Latinx Families: Perspectives From Infancy to Adolescence

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Parent-child interactions have long been established as central to children’s social-emotional and cognitive development from early infancy through adolescence. However, the nature of these processes in Latinx families remains largely understudied. Unique cultural and environmental factors, inherent to Latinx communities in the U.S., shape both parent and children’s values, expectations, and behaviors (Garcia Coll & Patcher, 2002). Clarifying the nuances of the parent-child relationship in Latinx families – such as through better understanding of co-regulatory processes, differential impact of parenting behaviors, and changing parent-child dynamics over time – is critical to informing parenting interventions and promoting positive development. This symposium presents four papers from three different longitudinal studies, all examining aspects of the parent-child relationship in Latinx families from birth through adolescence. These papers offer insight into how these processes uniquely contribute to specific aspects of social-emotional development, regulatory skills, executive functioning, and future relationships.

The first paper addresses mother-infant co-regulatory processes in Mexican American mothers, specifically examining the impact of maternal and infant gaze in different contexts on infant dysregulation at 6 months. The second paper examines whether intrusive parenting behaviors impact behavior problems and competencies of Latinx dual language learning toddlers in unique ways, as compared to a White monolingual sample. The third paper models latent change in parent-child reciprocity across early infancy and childhood and examines relations to executive functioning in middle childhood in Mexican American children. The fourth paper assesses how parent-adolescent conflict in early adolescence in Latinx families predicts conflict in romantic relationships in late adolescence.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chairs

• Emily D. Gerstein, University of Missouri-St. Louis

• Monica Sofia Trevino, University of Missouri - Saint Louis

Individual Presentations

• Examining the Role of Gaze in Dysregulation in Varying Mother-Infant Interaction Contexts - Presenting Author: Lauren van Huisstede, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Linda J. Luecken, Arizona State University

• Social-Emotional Development in Latinx DLL Toddlers: The Role of Intrusive Parenting - Presenting Author: Monica Sofia Trevino, University of Missouri - Saint Louis; Non-Presenting Author: Emily D. Gerstein, University of Missouri-St. Louis

• Social Roots of Executive Function Development: The Parent-Child Interaction - Presenting Author: Laura K. Winstone-Weide, University of Texas at Austin; Non-Presenting Author: Linda J. Luecken, Arizona State University

• Romantic Relationships in Late Adolescence: The Role of Early Parent-Adolescent Interactions in Latinx Families - Presenting Author: Vanesa Perez, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Nancy A Gonzales, Arizona State University