Mortality among three Puerto Rican populations: residents of Puerto Rico and migrants in New York City and in the balance of the United States, 1979-81

"This study attempts to explain similarities and differences in the mortality experience of three population groups: Puerto Ricans on the island commonwealth, Puerto Rican born persons in New York City and Puerto Rican born persons in the rest of mainland United States. Mortality is much higher among Puerto Ricans in New York City than among those residing elsewhere. Much of the difference is due to excess mortality caused by cirrhosis of the liver and homicide. Puerto Rican born persons living on the mainland but outside New York City generally have low mortality, even when compared with U.S. whites."     

Developmental well-being among low and normal birth weight U.S. Puerto Rican children

Low birth weight is a more common occurrence among Puerto Rican children than among children from most other racial and ethnic groups in the United States, and they are more likely to experience the added risk of living in poverty. This study addresses what is protective for the development 602 normal birth weight and 554 low birth weight children from the Puerto Rican Maternal and Infant Health Study. The results presented in the current analysis identify several protective influences for development (particularly maternal social support, medical insurance, and paternal employment) among low birth weight children (who are at a high risk for developmental problems), and almost none for normal birth weight children. The results largely support the contention that protective factors emerge, or increase in strength, only in the presence of risk, indicating the use of targeted child health programs based on birth weight are an effective and efficient way to improve the developmental well-being of young Puerto Rican children in the United States.     

Disclosures of Sexual Abuse by Puerto Rican Children

Psychotherapists who have experience working with Puerto Ricans on issues of child sexual abuse, and Puerto Rican women who were abused sexually as children were interviewed in this exploratory study about disclosure. Certain cultural norms and factors related to Puerto Ricans' status as an oppressed minority in the United States were identified as making the disclosure of sexual abuse especially difficult for Puerto Rican children.     

Puerto Rican migration and occupational selectivity, 1982-1988

"This study examines whether or not the likelihood of Puerto Rican workers choosing to migrate to the United States depends on their occupations or skills. The study determined that the occupational composition among those migrating from the island to the United States generally corresponds to the occupational distribution in Puerto Rico. The exception is that, after controlling for labor market conditions in Puerto Rico and in the United States and for other characteristics of the migrants, farm workers, laborers, and craft and kindred workers are overrepresented in the flow of migrants. The two most important factors contributing to the occupational distribution of migrants are whether or not they already have job offers in the United States and whether they are currently employed in Puerto Rico."     

Can Early Intervention Have an Impact on Future Life? A Study of Life Events,Social Interaction,and Child Behavior Among Mothers at Psychosocial Risk and Their Children Eight Years After Interaction Treatment

Forty-six mothers at psychosocial risk who had undergone interaction treatment when their children were babies were studied with respect to experienced negative life events, social network, and behavior problems in children. One reference group comprising 45 nontreated mothers at psychosocial risk and one comprising 56 mothers without psychosocial problems was used. Children in the study group had experienced more life events than the children of nonrisk mothers but fewer than the children of untreated psychosocial risk mothers. They had a poorer social network than nonrisk mothers, and the children had fewer acting-out behavior than the children of nontreated risk mothers.     

Latin American Immigration,Maternal Education,and Approaches to Managing Children's Schooling in the United States

Concerted cultivation is the active parental management of children's educations that, because it differs by race/ethnicity, nativity, and socioeconomic status, plays a role in early educational disparities. Analyses of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort (n = 10,913) revealed that foreign‐born Latina mothers were generally less likely to engage in school‐based activities, enroll children in extracurricular activities, or provide educational materials at home when children were at the start of elementary school than were U.S.‐born White, African American, and Latina mothers, in part because of their lower educational attainment. Within the foreign‐born Latina sample, the link between maternal education and the three concerted cultivation behaviors did not vary by whether the education was attained in the United States or Latin America. Higher maternal education appeared to matter somewhat more to parenting when children were girls and had higher achievement.     

Effect on Preschoolers' Literacy when Never‐Married Mothers Get Married

Healthy Marriage programs in the United States aim to promote marriage primarily among low‐income individuals. There is little research assessing whether children fare better when their never‐married mothers get married. The present study uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey–Birth Cohort to test the hypothesis that children have higher literacy scores when their mothers who had never married when the children were 9 months old had married when the children were 48 months old (N = 2,800). A small positive effect was found, but only when marriage was compared with cohabitation. The association between marriage and literacy is partially explained by mothers' increased household income. The children of mothers who were single noncohabitants or married and then divorced or separated were also doing better with respect to literacy than children of cohabiting mothers. Future research is needed to better understand how cohabitation is associated with negative effects on children's literacy.     

Parenting stress and parenting behavior among foster mothers of foster children with externalizing problems

Foster children often have externalizing problems. Since foster parents are selected and trained, they are often expected to be able to handle the externalizing problems of these children. Very little is, however, known about foster parents' parenting stress and parenting behavior in the context of challenging foster caregiving. In this study, the parenting stress and parenting behavior of 39 foster mothers of recently placed foster children with externalizing problems were studied. By using standardized measures with normative data, foster mothers' scores on different parenting stress and parenting behavior subscales were compared to published norms. Foster mothers of children with externalizing problems experienced more parenting stress than the norm group. The parenting context, provided by these foster mothers, was similar to the parenting context provided by the norm group. The prevalence of specific dysfunctional parenting behaviors (e.g., less involvement in positive parenting) was small to moderate, but nearly half of the foster mothers could be classified as making dysfunctional adaptations to their parenting environment. Moreover, only the minority of foster mothers provided an adaptive parenting context (e.g., more than average involvement in positive parenting). The implications of these results for pre-service training and on-going support for foster parents are discussed.     

Residential Segregation on the Island: The Role of Race and Class in Puerto Rican Neighborhoods

In this paper, we use racial data from Census 2000, available for the first time in 50 years, to examine the links among race, socioeconomic status, and residential location on the island of Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans overwhelmingly chose white as their race, and they chose only one race, not a combination of races that would seem more in keeping with the ideology of mestizaje. Overall, segregation by race is modest compared with residential segregation in the United States. In keeping with the Puerto Rican claim that class is more important than race, we find that segregation by race is generally lower than segregation between the lowest and highest income categories in all metro areas, but that the results for education and occupational status differ by metropolitan area. In San Juan-Bayamón, the most diverse metropolitan area on the island, we find that as percent black increases, neighborhood socioeconomic status decreases, though the changes are not that stark, except in Loiza, a community of black Puerto Ricans and in some Dominican neighborhoods, though there are relatively few of these neighborhoods.     

Culturally sensitive treatment of adolescent Puerto Rican girls and their families

Adolescence for the Puerto Rican girl in the United States constitutes a phase of life in which developmental tasks are strained by the demands of her family and exposure to two cultures. This stress renders her adaptive potentials vulnerable to dysfunction. The authors describe the Puerto Rican family, the girl's socialization, the stress of living in dual cultures, and implications for behavioral problems. These factors are integrated to help the practitioner design culturally sensitive interventions.Carl Bryant is an Adjunct Assistant Professor Hunter College School of Social Work and is also in private practice.     

Mothers’ Goals for Adolescents in the United States and China: Content and Transmission

This research examined children's socialization toward culturally valued goals during adolescence in the United States and China. Two hundred and twenty‐three mothers listed and ranked their five most important goals for their children (mean age = 12.85 years). Children ranked the importance of the goals listed by their mothers and explained why they were or were not important to them. American mothers placed heightened emphasis on their children maintaining feelings of worth and pursuing what they enjoy. Chinese mothers stressed their children achieving outcomes, as did African American mothers. European American children's rankings of importance were the least similar to those of their mothers, and they gave the fewest autonomous reasons for importance, suggesting that their adoption of mothers’ goals was weakest.     

Friendship in children with internalizing and externalizing problems: A preliminary investigation with the Pictorial Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships

This study examined the relationship between friendship representation and internalizing and externalizing problems in school-aged children. One hundred Caucasian 6–7 year-old children (50 males and 50 females) and their mothers took part in the study. The Draw-a-Man Test, the Pictorial Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18) were used. Children with internalizing problems, externalizing problems, comorbid internalizing and externalizing problems, and a control group were compared on their pictorial representations of friendship. Results showed that children with externalizing problems included more pictorial indices of each friend's autonomy and a larger imbalance of importance between them; children with internalizing problems drew themselves as less similar to their friends. In conclusion, children's pictorial representation allows exploring some aspects of their tacit knowledge about the relationship with a best friend, which is not easily expressed verbally by young children. Finally, the implications of these findings for theoretical and empirical research development on friendship are discussed.     

Well-Being and Family Role Strains Among Cuban American and Puerto Rican Mothers of Adults with Mental Retardation

Abstract

This article examines predictors of depressive symptoms and caregiving burden in a sample of Cuban American and Puerto Rican caregivers of an adult child with mental retardation. Using a stress process model of caregiving, the focus of this analysis was on family role strains that result from the caregiving process, which were hypothesized to be particularly strong predictors of maternal well-being in Latino families. Findings indicate that Cuban American mothers of adults with mental retardation had higher socioeconomic status than Puerto Rican mothers, yet there was a substantial amount of within-group heterogeneity in family socio-demographic characteristics, linked closely with immigration patterns for the Cuban American mothers. However, taking into account socio-demographic diversity and ethnicity, findings demonstrate that mothers whose family had more problems had higher levels of burden and depressive symptoms, supporting the hypothesized importance of family functioning to Latina mothers with a non-normative parenting challenge.     

The circular migration of Puerto Rican women: towards a gendered explanation

"The purpose of this paper has been to outline a theoretical framework for the explanation of the circulation of Puerto Rican women that brings gender relations to the fore, but frames the island-mainland pattern of mobility in the context of core-periphery capitalist relations. We have argued that gender relations in the home and workplace are vitally important for understanding women's moves to the [United States] and return trips to Puerto Rico. Specifically, we posited that most Puerto Rican women move as tied-migrants or because of their obligation or desire to meet gender responsibilities. In addition, we also viewed migration as an action with the potential to modify gender relations and alter future migration decision-making, as women gain experience in the labour market and exposure to new social and cultural environments." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Relationships between maternal adult attachment security, child perceptions of maternal support, and maternal perceptions of child responses to sexual abuse

This study assessed the relationships between maternal adult attachment style, children's perceptions of maternal support following disclosure of sexual abuse, and maternal perceptions of children's behavioral and emotional responses to sexual abuse among African-American child sexual abuse victims aged 4 to 12 (n=96) and a comparison group of non-abused subjects (n=100). Mothers with insecure attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of internalizing behaviors in their sexually abused children than did securely attached mothers. Among mothers of non-abused children, those with insecure adult attachment styles reported significantly higher rates of externalizing behaviors shown by their children in comparison with mothers with a secure adult attachment style. Mothers with insecure adult attachment styles also reported higher rates of overall behavior problems in their non-abused children that approached statistical significance. Sexually abused children's perceptions of maternal support were not related to maternal attachment style nor to child functioning. Contrary to our prediction, mothers of sexually abused children did not show lower rates of secure attachments when compared to mothers of non-sexually abused children. Our findings indicate that fostering parent- child attachment is important in order to decrease the risk for behavior problems and symptomatology in sexually abused children.     

Grandmother Caregivers in Inner-City Latino Families

SUMMARY

This study presents a profile of 42 Latina (primarily Puerto Rican and Dominican) grandmothers, and the children they are rearing in New York City. Informal support systems of these families are then described. While most respondents appeared to have social connections, nearly half lived only with their grandchildren. Fourteen percent reported no available help with child-related activities and only 58% of those who had help felt confident that it would continue. Barriers to information, referrals, and use of additional services are discussed, as are implications for practice, policy, and further research.     

Migration, social support and perinatal health: an origin-destination analysis of Puerto Rican women

Using pooled origin-destination data from the Puerto Rican Maternal and Infant Health Study, we investigate linkages between migration, social support, and perinatal health. We document differences in social support between three groups of Puerto Rican women: non-migrant women in Puerto Rico, first-generation migrants to the U.S. mainland, and mainland-born women. The role of social support in producing differences in perinatal health outcomes between the groups is assessed. The analysis shows striking differences in social support between island and mainland women, but little systematic variation among mainland women by generation of U.S. residence. The lower level of social support available to mainland women is not reflected in the health outcomes examined, which do not generally worsen with migration to the United States (with the exception of maternal smoking). Nonetheless, we show that social support has important implications for stress, which in turn increases the risk of poor health behavior and compromised infant health.     

The Impact of Complex Family Structure on Child Well‐being: Evidence From Siblings

Evidence from the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort on children at ages 3 and 5 with older siblings addresses the questions of whether those living with both biological parents and only full siblings have better emotional and behavior outcomes than other children, and whether nonfull siblings affect children's outcomes independently of parents' partnership status. Adjusting for measured family circumstances and resources in cross‐sectional regressions accounted for much of the adverse association of family complexity with child outcomes. Controlling for unobserved family and child fixed effects did not, however, attenuate all estimates further. Fixed unobservable factors appeared to be masking underlying associations. Allowing for them intensified some, albeit modest, estimates. These revealed excess externalizing behavior problems for boys with single or stepparents but only full siblings. For girls with single mothers, the chances of internalizing problems were raised. Whether siblings were full or not made little difference to outcomes in general.     

Disproportionality and Acting-Out Behaviors Among African American Children in Special Education

African American children are more likely to be diagnosed with behavioral disorders and are overrepresented in special education. This may be due to misdiagnosis. If diagnoses are accurate, prevention and intervention efforts should be targeted to improve African American children’s behavior and long-term outcomes. This study aimed to see if teachers, mothers, and African American children in special education rate children’s externalizing behaviors differently and to understand what factors impact the externalizing behaviors of African American children in special education. A secondary data analysis of African American children in special education (n = 126) found that teachers’ scores were similar to mothers’ scores of externalizing behaviors and that mothers’ ratings of their children’s acting-out behaviors were significantly higher than children’s self-report. African American boys are more likely to experience acting-out behaviors than girls. Children’s environment, efficacy beliefs, and the Nurse-Family Partnership intervention were not significantly associated with their acting-out behaviors.     

Family Instability,Multipartner Fertility,and Behavior in Middle Childhood

Two concepts capture the dynamic and complex nature of contemporary family structure: family instability and multipartner fertility. Although these circumstances are likely to co‐occur, their respective literatures have proceeded largely independently. The authors used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,062) to consider these dimensions of dynamic family structure together, asking whether they independently predict children's behavior problems at age 9. Frequent family instability was consistently predictive of higher predicted levels of behavior problems for children born to mothers who were unmarried, an association largely attenuated by factors related to family stress. Multipartner fertility was robustly related to self‐reported delinquency and teacher‐reported behavior problems among children born to mothers who were married.