Effects of Perceived Parental School Support and Family Communication on Delinquent Behaviors in Latinos and White Non-Latinos

• Published in: Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology 2005-02, Vol.11 (1), p.57-68
• Main Authors: Davalos, Deana B, Chavez, Ernest L, Guardiola, Robert J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Adolescent; Adolescent Attitudes; Adolescents; Attitude; Communication; European Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Family Relations; Female; Hispanic Americans - psychology; Hispanic Americans - statistics & numerical data; Human; Humans; Juvenile Delinquency; Juvenile Delinquency - psychology; Juvenile Delinquency - statistics & numerical data; Latinos/Latinas; Male; Mexican Americans; Parent Child Communication; Parent Child Relations; Parental Influence; Parents; Professional-Family Relations; Racial and Ethnic Differences; School Health Services; Schools; Social Support; Surveys and Questionnaires; White People; Whites
• ISSN: 1099-9809; 1939-0106
• DOI: 10.1037/1099-9809.11.1.57

The authors examined the roles of perceived parental school support and family communication in the context of delinquent behaviors in Mexican American and White non-Latino adolescents. Family communication was defined as the degree to which adolescents endorsed that they communicated with their parents about a variety of topics. The Parental School Support scale was administered to assess adolescents' perceptions of parental support for academic pursuits. Data analysis included the relationship between these variables and their predictive relationship to delinquency, and the relationship to gender and ethnicity. Results demonstrated that adolescents' perceptions of family communication and parental school support were related to the likelihood of committing delinquent acts. There were no significant differences in gender or ethnicity in perceived levels of family communication and parental school support.