Social and Emotional Adjustment and Family Relations in Ethnic Minority Families

This collection of essays addresses issues related to the intersection of family relationships and several contexts for the social and emotional development of ethnic minority adolescents. The papers are organized in sections under subtitles which reflect three contextual frames through which these issues may be examined. The first section focuses on the relationship between economic factors and resources on the one hand and family relations as environments for development on the other. The next part focuses on family and peer networks and relations as contexts for the emotional and social development of adolescents. The last section takes neighborhood and school as contexts for and determinants of social and emotional adjustment in adolescence. Like much of the extant work and current thought concerning development in ethnic minority children and adolescents, the authors have highlighted the more stressful and negative aspects of these several contexts. There are a few explicit and several implicit references made to supportive and more positive contexts and manifestations of relationships which frame the developmental experiences of ethnic minority adolescents. These serve as a reminder that many ethnic minority adolescents do overcome the odds against success and grow into healthy and wholesome adults. However, in large measure, this book is a contribution to our understanding of the problematic circumstances under which a significant segment of the population exists, reminding us that life for ethnic minority adolescents is difficult. The fact that some of these young people manage to overcome the negative and stressful aspects of their experiences and defy the implicit prediction of failure to thrive is truly remarkable.

Contents: R.D. Taylor, M.C. Wang, Preface. E.W. Gordon, Introduction: The Resilience Phenomenon in Ethnic Minority Adolescent Development. Part I:Economic Resources, Family Environment, and Adolescent Adjustment. V.C. McLoyd, The Impact of Poverty and Low Socioeconomic Status on the Socioemotional Functioning of African-American Children and Adolescents: Mediating Effects. R.D. Taylor, The Effects of Economic and Social Stressors on Parenting and Adolescent Adjustment in African-American Families. C.A. Flanagan, P. Ingram, E.M. Gallay, E.E. Gallay, Why Are People Poor? Social Conditions and Adolescents' Interpretation of the Social Contract. A.S. Clarke, The American Indian Child: Victims of the Culture of Poverty or Cultural Discontinuity? Part II:Family and Peer Contexts and Adolescent Adjustment. C.A. Mason, A.M. Cauce, N. Gonzales, Parents and Peers in the Lives of African-American Adolescents: An Interactive Approach to the Study of Problem Behavior. R.W. Henderson, Educational and Occupational Aspirations and Expectations Among Parents of Middle School Students of Mexican Descent: Family Resources for Academic Development and Mathematics Learning. C. Chan, Attitudes Toward Sexuality and Sexual Behaviors of Asian-American Adolescents: Implications for Risk of HIV Infection. M.N. Wilson, D.Y. Cook, E.G. Arrington, African-American Adolescents and Academic Achievement: Family and Peer Influences. Part III:Neighborhood and Schooling Contexts and Adolescent Adjustment. W.L. Yancey, S.J. Saporito, Racial and Economic Segregation and Educational Outcomes: One Tale, Two Cities. D.P. Swanson, M.B. Spencer, Developmental Considerations of Gender-Linked Attributes During Adolescence. L.C. Rigsby, J.C. Stull, N. Morse-Kelley, Determinants of Student Educational Expectations and Achievement: Race/Ethnicity and Gender Differences. R.D. Taylor, M.C. Wang, Epilogue.

Taylor, Ronald D.; Wang, Margaret C.; Wang, Margaret C