Abstract
The overall aim of the current study was to identify the methodological approach and corresponding analytic procedure that best elucidated the associations among Mexican-origin mother–daughter cultural orientation dissonance, family functioning, and adolescent adjustment. To do so, we employed, and compared, two methodological approaches (i.e., variable-centered and person-centered) via four analytic procedures (i.e., difference score, interactive, matched/mismatched grouping, and latent profiles). The sample consisted of 319 girls in the 7th or 10th grade and their mother or mother figure from a large Southwestern, metropolitan area in the US. Family factors were found to be important predictors of adolescent adjustment in all models. Although some findings were similar across all models, overall, findings suggested that the latent profile procedure best elucidated the associations among the variables examined in this study. In addition, associations were present across early and middle adolescents, with a few findings being only present for one group. Implications for using these analytic procedures in studying cultural and family processes are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by an R36MH077425 dissertation grant from the National Institute of Mental Health and a research grant from the Graduate and Professional Student Association at Arizona State University awarded to the first author. We wish to thank the undergraduate students for their assistance in conducting this investigation, and the young daughters and mothers for their participation. We would also like to thank Jacqueline D. Wiersma, Mary H. Lai, Jennifer A. Kam, and Claudio Ortiz for their insightful comments to earlier versions of this paper. Finally, we are indebted to the three anonymous reviewers and the editor for their insights and suggestions.
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Bámaca-Colbert, M.Y., Gayles, J.G. Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Approaches to Studying Mexican-Origin Mother–Daughter Cultural Orientation Dissonance. J Youth Adolescence 39, 1274–1292 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9447-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9447-3