This study examines several key parenting variables (psychological control, psychological autonomy, and acceptance) in predicting self-esteem among Latino adolescents using structural equation modeling analyses. Nested models are tested and parental acceptance variables are omitted from the model and group gender comparisons are examined. Two variables, maternal psychological autonomy and paternal psychological control, are found to be significant predictors of Latino boys’ self-esteem, whereas psychological autonomy and control (paternal and maternal) are all significantly related to self-esteem among Latino girls. Cultural factors that may have influenced these results are discussed.
Allen, J.P., Hauser, S.T., Bell, K.L., & O’Connor, T.G. (1994). Longitudinal assessment of autonomy and relatedness in adolescent-family interactions as predictors of adolescent ego development and self-esteem. Child Development , 65(1), 179-194.
Bámaca, M.Y., Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Shin, N., & Alfaro, E.C. ( 2005). Latino adolescents’ perception of parenting behaviors and self-esteem: Examining the role of neighborhood risk. Family Relations, 54(5), 621-632.
4.
Barber, B.K. ( 1992). Family, personality, and adolescent problem behaviors . Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54(1), 69-79.
Barber, B.K. ( 2002). Intrusive parenting. Washington, DC : American Psychological Association.
7.
Barber, B.K., & Buehler, C. ( 1996). Family cohesion and enmeshment: Different constructs, different effects. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 433-441.
8.
Barber, B.K., Olsen, J.E., & Shagle, S.C. ( 1994). Associations between parental psychological and behavioral control and youth internalized and externalized behaviors. Child Development, 65, 1120-1136.
9.
Barber, B.K., & Shagle, S.C. ( 1992). Adolescent problem behaviors: A social-ecological analysis . Family Perspective, 26, 493-515.
10.
Bartle-Haring, S. ( 1997). The relationships among parent-adolescent differentiation, sex role orientation and identity development in late adolescence and early adulthood. Journal of Adolescence, 20, 553-565.
11.
Benjet, C., & Hernandez-Guzman, L. (2001). Gender differences in psychological well-being of Mexican early adolescents. Adolescence , 36, 47-65.
12.
Bollen, K.A. ( 1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: John Wiley.
13.
Bowlby, J. ( 1969). Attachment and loss Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
14.
Bush, K.R., Supple, A.J., & Lash, S.B. ( 2005). Mexican adolescents’ perceptions of parental behaviors and authority as predictors of their self-esteem and sense of familism. In G. W. Peterson, S. K. Steinmetz, & S. M. Wilson (Eds.), Parent-youth relations: Cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 209-238). New York: Haworth.
15.
Dumka, L.E., Stoerzinger, H.D., Jackson, K.M., & Roosa, M.W. ( 1996). Examination of the cross-cultural and cross-language equivalence of the parenting self-agency measure. Family Relations , 45(2), 216-222.
16.
Garcia-Preto, N. ( 1996). Latino families: An overview. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & J. K. Pearce (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (2nd ed., pp. 141-154). New York: Guilford.
17.
Gecas, V., & Schwalbe, M.L. (1986). Parental behavior and adolescent self-esteem. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48(1), 37-46.
18.
Giordano, J., & McGoldrick, M. (1996). European families: An overview . In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & J. K. Pearce (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (2nd ed., pp. 1-27). New York: Guilford.
19.
Harwood, R.L., Schoelmerich, A., Schulze, P.A., & Gonzalez, Z. ( 1999). Cultural differences in maternal beliefs and behaviors: A study of middle-class Anglo and Puerto Rican mother-infant pairs in four everyday situations. Child Development, 70(4), 1005-1016.
20.
Julian, T.W., McKenry, P.C., & McKelvey, M.W. (1994). Cultural variations in parenting: Perceptions of Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American parents. Family Relations, 43(1), 30-37.
21.
Khaleque, A., & Rohner, R.P. ( 2002). Perceived parental acceptance-rejection and psychological adjustment: A meta-analysis of cross-cultural and intracultural studies. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(1), 54-64.
22.
Knight, G.P., Tein, J.Y., Shell, R., & Roosa, M. ( 2005). The cross-ethnic equivalence of parenting and family interaction measures among Hispanic and Anglo-American families. Child Development, 63(6), 1392-1403.
23.
Lamborn, S.D., & Felbab, A.J. ( 2003). Applying ethnic equivalence and cultural values models to African American teens’ perceptions of parents. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 605-622.
24.
McGoldrick, M., & Giordano, J. ( 1996). Overview: Ethnicity and family therapy. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano , & J. K. Pearce (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (2nd ed., pp. 1-27). New York: Guilford.
25.
Nielsen, D.M., & Metha, A. ( 1994). Parental behavior and adolescent self-esteem in clinical and non-clinical samples. Adolescence, 29(115), 525-543.
26.
Northrup, J.C., & Bean, R.A. ( 2007). Culturally competent family therapy with Latino/ Anglo-American adolescents: Facilitating identity formation. American Journal of Family Therapy, 35, 251-263.
27.
Peterson, G.W., & Rollins, B.C. ( 1987). Parent-child socialization. In M. B. Sussman & S. K. Steinmetz (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family (pp. 471-507). New York: Plenum.
28.
Phares, V., Fields, S., Watkins-Clay, M.M., Kamboukos, D., & Han, S. ( 2005). Race/ethnicity and self-esteem in families of adolescents . Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 27(3), 13-26.
29.
Plunkett, S.W., Williams, S.M., Schock, A.M., & Sands, T. ( 2007). Parenting and adolescent self-esteem in Latino intact families, stepfather families and single-mother families. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 47(3/4), 1-31
30.
Portes, P.R., & Zady, M.F. ( 2002). Self-esteem in the adaptation of Spanish-speaking adolescents: The role of immigration, family conflict, and depression. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 24(3), 296-317.
31.
Rogers, K.N., Buchanan, C.M., & Winchell, M.E. (2003). Psychological control during early adolescence: Links to adjustment in differing parent/adolescent dyads . Journal of Early Adolescence, 23(4), 349-383.
32.
Rosenberg, M. ( 1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
33.
Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., & Schoenbach, C. (1989). Self-esteem and adolescent problems: Modeling reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 54(6), 1004-1018.
34.
Ruiz, S.Y., Roosa, M.W., & Gonzalez, N.A. (2002). Predictors of self-esteem for Mexican American and European American youths: A reexamination of the influence of parents. Journal of Family Psychology, 16(1), 70-80.
35.
Schaefer, E.S. ( 1965a). Children’s reports of parental behavior: An inventory . Child Development, 36(2), 413-424.
36.
Schaefer, E.S. ( 1965b). A configurational analysis of children’s reports of parent behavior. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 29, 552-557.
37.
Silk, J.S., Morris, A.S., Kanaya, T., & Steinberg, L. ( 2003). Psychological control and autonomy granting: Opposite ends of a continuum or distinct constructs? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(1), 113-128.
38.
Steinberg, L., Mounts, N.S., Lamborn, S.D., & Dornbusch, S.M. (1991). Authoritative parenting and adolescent adjustment in varied ecological niches. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 1, 19-36.
39.
Torres, R., Fernandez, F., & Maceira, D. ( 1995). Self-esteem and value of health as correlates of adolescent health behavior. Adolescence, 30(118), 403-413.
40.
Trzesniewski, K.H., Donnellan, M.B., Moffitt, T.E., Robins, R.W., Poulton, R., & Caspi, A. ( 2006). Low self-esteem during adolescence predicts poor health, criminal behavior, and limited economic prospects during adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 42(2), 381-390.
41.
Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Diversi, M., & Fine, M.A. ( 2002). Ethnic identity and self-esteem of Latino adolescents: Distinctions among the Latino populations. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17, 303-327.
42.
Zimmerman, M.A., Copeland, L.A., Shope, J.T., & Dielman, T.E. ( 1997). A longitudinal study of self-esteem: Implications for adolescent development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 26(2), 117-141.
