The Influence of Fathers’ Dual-Cultural Adaptation on Bicultural Competence Development Among Mexican American Youth

• In Event: 2-125 - Developmental and Contextual Approaches to the Study of Ethnic-Racial Minority and Migrant Adolescents’ Dual-Cultural Adaptation

Integrative Statement

Biculturalism has been theorized to be an adaptive response for ethnic-racial minority and migrant youth who are exposed to more than one culture (Nguyen & Benet-Martínez, 2007). Biculturalism development is influenced by the affordances and demands youth encounter in the contexts in which they are embedded (Garcia Coll et al., 1996), however little is known regarding family contextual effects on youth’s bicultural competence development. Family contexts are shaped by parents’ dual-cultural adaptation, as these processes influence parenting practices (White et al., 2013); similarly, parents’ value endorsements have important implications for parenting goals and practices (Bornstein & Cote, 2006). Furthermore, fathers may be particularly influential in shaping the opportunities and demands – associated with each culture – youth encounter within the family context (Kim et al., 2006; Paquette 2004; Zeiders et al., 2015).
We identified fathers’ dual-cultural adaptation trajectories, measured by stability or change in endorsement of values associated with the mainstream and Mexican American cultures, and investigated how trajectories across their youths’ development, from late childhood to middle adolescence, related to youths’ bicultural competence in late adolescence.
METHOD: Data are from four waves of a study about U.S. Mexican-origin families. Sample included 467 youths (48% female; 67% U.S.-born; follow from Mage = 10.42 to 17.38 years) and their fathers (20% U.S.-born).
Trajectories of fathers’ endorsement of Mexican American and mainstream cultural values (5th, 7th, & 10th grades) were assessed with the Mexican American Cultural Values Scale (MACVS; Knight et al., 2010) including mainstream values (α = .82, .82, and .83 at 5th, 7th, and 10th grade, respectively) and Mexican values (α = .88, .89, and .89 at 5th, 7th, and 10th grade, respectively).
Youths’ bicultural competence (12th grade) was assessed with the Mexican American Biculturalism Scale (MABS; Basilio et al., 2014) including behavioral (9 items, α = .85) and cognitive (9 items, α = .86) components.
RESULTS: We estimated linear growth trajectories of fathers’ endorsement of mainstream values (acculturation) and endorsement of Mexican values (enculturation) over 5 years, and examined relations between acculturation and enculturation trajectories using Mplus7. Results indicated that fathers’ initial levels of Mexican and mainstream American values varied across participants and were positively correlated. Across time fathers’ Mexican value endorsement remained stable; fathers’ mainstream value endorsement declined and scores varied across participants.
Next, we tested whether fathers’ dual-cultural adaption processes predicted youths’ bicultural competence two years later. Results suggested fathers’ endorsement of mainstream values when their youths were 10 years old predicted higher levels of youths’ cognitive bicultural competence at age 17 (Figure 1), controlling for remaining growth factors. Furthermore, fathers’ initial endorsement of Mexican values predicted lower levels of youths’ behavioral and cognitive bicultural competence (Figure 1 & 2). Multiple-group models will be estimated to investigate nativity differences.
DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that fathers’ endorsement of cultural values may shape the type of affordances and demands youth encounter in the family context, and in turn influence adolescents’ bicultural competence development. Results will be discussed relative to the importance of examining both enculturative and acculturative affordances within family contexts.

Authors

• M. Dalal Safa, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Rebecca M. B. White, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Michelle Christine Pasco, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jenny Zhao, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• George Knight, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nancy Gonzales, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jenn Yunn-Tein, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author