College of Education
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Item Latino fathers' motivations, parental play, parent and friend relationship support, and children's socioemotional development from early childhood to adolescence in racially-ethnically diverse families(2024) Ghosh, Rachel Alina; Cabrera, Natasha; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Parenting practices and parent-child relationship quality, shaped in part by parenting cognitions and beliefs, have a strong proximal contribution to the course and outcome of children’s development from early in the lifespan. However, much existent empirical knowledge about parenting comes from studies of White middle-class mothers and children, and there is far less evidence from racially, ethnically, and economically diverse families – especially from fathers. Through a collection of three interrelated studies, the present dissertation contributes to this literature with an examination of fathers’ parenting motivations, and mothers’ and fathers’ independent and interactive influences on child and adolescent socioemotional outcomes among diverse families. Empirical Paper 1 qualitatively explored what motivated first-time Latino fathers in the U.S. to be good parents for their infants, and examined differences in their motivations by nativity status. Fathers described five primary themes, with variation by nativity,in their parenting motivations: 1) personal rearing history, 2) desire to rear a well-adjusted child, 3) relationship with their child, 4) intrinsic motivations, and 5) sense of duty and responsibility. Empirical Paper 2 examined associations between mothers’ and fathers’ quality of play (i.e., challenging parenting behaviors, playfulness) at 18 months and toddlers’ social competence at 24 months, and tested whether child negative emotional temperament moderated these associations. Contrary to hypotheses, there were no significant associations between mothers’ or fathers’ two types of play and children’s social competence, and no significant moderation effects by negative emotionality. Empirical Paper 3 examined the interactive effects of adolescents’ level of support in their relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends in the 8th grade and associations with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and externalizing problems in the 9th grade, as well as differences by adolescent sex. There were several interactive effects of the relationships on later depressive symptoms, though not on anxiety symptoms or externalizing problems, and few differences by adolescent sex. More support from one parent was related to fewer depressive symptoms when youth experienced an unsupportive relationship with the other parent or with a best friend. Taken together, the findings of these studies advance developmental theory and provide nuance to our understanding of mothering, fathering, and children’s and adolescents’ socioemotional developmental processes. These studies have implications for research and programs aimed at promoting the normative, healthy development of diverse youth through recognizing and capitalizing on the contributions of different members within the family system.Item LOW-INCOME LATINO IMMIGRANT MOTHERS AND THEIR TODDLERS: HOW DOES SOCIALIZATION PROMOTE INHIBITORY CONTROL SKILLS?(2015) Aldoney Ramirez, Daniela; Cabrera, Natasha J.; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Executive function (EF), cognitive skills involved in planning and problem solving, includes inhibitory control as one of its major components. Inhibitory control skills and overall EF has been positively related to social, literacy, and math skills. Research on contextual factors has identified the quality of parenting and parental practices as important predictors of children’s EF skills. An emerging line of studies suggests that parental beliefs may also influence children’s EF. However, the literature has mostly focused on White middle-class children, so less is known about the way in which minority children living in low-income environments develop EF skills. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, I examined how low-income Latino mothers’ beliefs (familism and self-efficacy) relate to the quality of the mother-child interaction (scaffolding and intrusiveness) and practices (routines in the home) and how these, in turn, relate to their toddlers’ inhibitory control skills. I also examined whether maternal warmth moderated the association between the quality of the mother-child interaction and children’s inhibitory control skills. I used a multi-method design to collect observational and self-reported data on 51 low-income Latino mothers and their toddlers. Using multiple regression analysis, I found that self-efficacy was positively related to having routines in the home. Familism was not related to the quality of the mother-child interaction or practices. Controlling for scaffolding, intrusiveness was negatively associated with children’s inhibitory control skills. Warmth did not moderate this association, supporting the notion that intrusiveness, even in low levels, has negative consequences for toddlers regardless of whether their mothers are also warm. Findings from this study help to further the understanding of how the early experiences of Latino toddlers support the development of inhibitory control skills.Item Children’s Adjustment to Parents’ Break Up: The Family System Mechanisms(2015) Karberg, Elizabeth; Cabrera, Natasha J; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research has shown that many aspects of family functioning are directly and indirectly linked to children’s social development. One important aspect of how families function is family structure. In this regard, families have undergone tremendous change over the last decades resulting in increased cohabitation and divorce. These types of families are believed to be more unstable than married families. Instability creates more stress that can be difficult for children to cope with resulting in increased behavioral problems. Although past studies have shown an association between union instability and children’s externalizing problem behaviors (EPB), the mechanism by which this occurs is less understood. Using Family Systems Theory and data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (n = 3,387), I examined whether family processes – father and mother involvement, co-parenting support, and maternal responsiveness – explained the association between union instability and children’s EPB at 9 years. I also examined whether marital status and children’s temperament moderated this association. Using measured variable path analysis, I found that only co-parenting support mediated the association between union instability and child EPB, and only for children whose mothers experienced a divorce (not a nonmarital separation), controlling for known covariates of children’s EPB. The association between union instability and children’s EPB through co-parenting and parenting was not moderated by child temperament. These findings suggest that co-parenting rather than parenting explains children’s social adjustment when families undergo a divorce.Item A BILINGUAL FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAM FOR FAMILIES OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: EXPERIENCES, PERSPECTIVES, AND LITERACY PRACTICES FROM THREE FOCAL FAMILIES(2015) Palombo, Kimberly Marie; Silverman, Rebecca D; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A large body of research identifies the positive association between family literacy and reading outcomes for children. However, much of this research focuses on children in the emergent reading stage. Research aimed at family literacy for families with English language learners (ELLs) is further limited. Due to the dearth of family literacy program (FLP) literature for children in grades three through five, the current study investigated the experiences and attitudes of three parent–child focal pairs who participated in a bilingual family literacy program. This qualitative study of a family literacy program investigated the following two research questions: (1) What are families’ experiences and attitudes related to a family literacy program, implemented as part of an existing reading intervention, to support children’s reading development?; and (2) How does what families learn in a family literacy program align with at–home literacy interactions? Three parent–child focal pairs who were ELLs and had children in fourth grade, served as the participants to investigate these questions. Data sources for analysis included parent and student interviews, parent questionnaire, and audio/video recordings of the program. The constant comparative method (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) was used to analyze all data, both within and across the focal families. The analysis culminated in the development of an emergent theory that summarized the findings from the experiences of the focal families included in this study. Analyses of data revealed the three focal families desired to support their children’s literacy development through participation in family literacy programming, and they added to their skills with practical strategies to use with their children. Further, participation in family literacy programming deepened Spanish family literacy interactions related to texts children read in English through oral discourse. Finally, families’ implementation of strategies learned in an FLP extended their existing home literacy environment. A discussion of the findings, implications for families, home–school partnerships, and future FLPs, limitations of the current study, and future areas of research are then explored.Item The Developmental Niches of Young Children from Central Americna Immigrant Families: Links between Their Early Social Environments and Social Skills(2012) Denmark, Nicole Marie; Jones Harden, Brenda P; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)National studies reveal early gaps in the language and literacy skills of children from low-income Central American (CA) immigrant families, yet also indicate strengths in the social development of these children (Galindo & Fuller, 2010). Using the framework of the developmental niche, the aim of this mixed-methods study was to explore how cultural goals, the physical and social settings, and customs of childrearing conspire to affect the social skills of children from CA immigrant families. I sought to learn about the "developmental niches" of children from CA immigrant families by 1) exploring themes in mothers' goals for their children; 2) exploring the persons and activities available to children; and 3) exploring the types of activities that parents engage in with their children. The next goal was to analyze the quantitative connections between children's developmental niches and their social skills. Forty-eight mothers who had emigrated from a CA country and whose children were enrolled in Head Start classrooms participated in this study. Most children's early environments were characterized by mothers goals' for bien educado (e.g., proper comportment) and buenas relaciones (sociability, getting along with family), multi-family households, and free play with other children. Salient parenting activities included purposeful conversations, children's co- participation in household tasks, and "going out" as a family. These aspects of children's developmental niches were largely unrelated to maternal characteristics or child gender. Further, there were few relations between mothers' parenting goals, the persons present in the household and parenting activities. Mothers' and teachers' reports of children's social skills were unrelated. Parental participation in play, conversation, and household tasks were positive predictors of children's social cooperation according to mothers but not teachers. This study reveals a potential disconnect between skills and types of activities valued in children's homes versus at school. The findings also highlight the challenges that immigrant families face in structuring children's environments to be consistent with their childrearing norms and goals. Future research should explore parenting and education practices that help promote social skills valued in the multiple contexts of CA children's lives.