Mexican-Origin Parents' Latent Occupational Profiles: Associations With Parent-Youth Relationships and Youth Aspirations

• Published in: Developmental psychology 2014-03, Vol.50 (3), p.772-783
• Main Authors: Wheeler, Lorey A., Updegraff, Kimberly A., Umaña-Taylor, Adriana, Tein, Jenn-Yun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Aspiration; Acculturation; Adjustment; Adjustment (to Environment); Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Adolescents; Adult Development; Affective Behavior; Aspirations; Aspirations, Psychological; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Order; Child development; Conflict; Correlation; Developmental psychology; Educational Attainment; Employed Parents; Employment; Evaluation; Families & family life; Family; Family Income; Fathers; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hispanic Americans; Human; Humans; Job Characteristics; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mexican Americans; Mexican Americans - psychology; Mexico; Models, Statistical; Occupational Safety and Health; Occupations; Parent Child Relations; Parent Child Relationship; Parenting - psychology; Parents; Physical Activities; Physical activity; Profiles; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Role; Social sciences; Sociocultural Factors; Sociocultural Patterns; Statistical Analysis; Urban Areas; Work Environment; Young Adult; Young Adults; Young people; Youth
• ISSN: 0012-1649; 1939-0599
• DOI: 10.1037/a0034170

This study used an ecological, person-centered approach to identify subgroups of families who had similar profiles across multiple dimensions of Mexican-origin mothers' and fathers' occupational characteristics (i.e., self-direction, hazardous conditions, physical activity) and to relate these subgroups to families' sociocultural characteristics and youth adjustment. The study included 160 dual-earner Mexican-origin families from the urban Southwest. Mothers' and fathers' objective work characteristics and families' sociocultural characteristics were assessed when youth were in early to middle adolescence; adjustment was assessed during late adolescence and early adulthood for 2 offspring in each family. A latent profile analysis identified 3 profiles that evidenced distinct patterns of occupational characteristics: a differentiated high physical activity profile characterized by high levels of physical activity and low levels of self-direction; an incongruent profile characterized by large differences between parents on self-direction, hazards, and physical activity; and a congruent highly self-directed profile characterized by congruence across parents on occupational characteristics. These profiles were linked to sociocultural characteristics (i.e., family income, educational attainment, and acculturation) and to relational adjustment (i.e., mother- and father-youth conflict, father warmth) and educational aspirations. Results are discussed with respect to implications of parents' work for youths' future family relationships and attainment.