The Well-Being of Young U.S. Latinx Children Within the Context of Parental Stress

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Latinxs continue to be the largest minoritized group in the United States, with children driving most of the population growth (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). Therefore, consideration of factors, historical and current, that influence Latinx children's well-being is critical. The well-being of these children is often shaped by their family's immigration and trauma history, level and types of parental stress, and economic hardship. While there is an inextricable link between child well-being and parental stress, less research explores this broader relationship in Latinx parent-child dyads despite their unique experiences in the U.S.

This symposium examines associations between child well-being, parental stress (psychological distress and parenting stress), and contextual factors (acculturation, trauma, economic hardship, and home language) among Latinx parents with children 11 years and under. Paper 1 examines whether parents' childhood adversity is associated with their children's emotional functioning and whether this relationship is mediated by maternal depression, parenting stress, and parenting practices. Paper 2 tests a culturally informed Family Stress Model to examine the influence of acculturation and parental stress on parenting practices and child behavior. Paper 3 examines the mechanistic relationship between material hardship, maternal psychological distress, and child well-being in the context of home language. The discussion will emphasize the similarities and differences within paper samples (geography, subsample, and pre vs. during COVID-19) to highlight the diversity within U.S. Latinxs, especially among children and parents. Our discussant, an expert on Latinx child development, will help illustrate the complexities of examining child well-being within the context of parental stress.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Ana Hernandez, University of Oregon

Discussant

• Julia Mendez, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Individual Presentations

• Pathways from Parents’ Childhood Adversity to Child Emotional Functioning Among Latina Mothers and Their Children - Presenting Author: Laura Dosanjh, University of Texas at Austin; Christian E Vazquez, University of Texas at Austin; Katherine E Hess, The University of Texas at Austin; Megan J McBride, University of Texas at Austin; Sarah Kate Bearman, The University of Texas at Austin; Esther J Calzada, University of Texas at Austin

• Adaptation of the Family Stress Model in a Sample of Latinx Caregivers from Community Clinics - Presenting Author: Dominique Egger, University of Texas at Austin; Rebecca Woo, Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center; Esther J Calzada, University of Texas at Austin; Sarah Kate Bearman, The University of Texas at Austin

• The Well-Being of Young Latinx Children in Pandemic-Related Material Hardship and Maternal Psychological Distress - Presenting Author: Ana Hernandez, University of Oregon; Sihong Liu, Stanford University; Maureen Zalewski, University of Oregon; Philip Fisher, Stanford University