Suchergebnisse

AbstractUpon initiating school, immigrant children begin to lose much of their heritage language (HL) abilities, resulting in the erosion of a common shared language with their parents. Although communication is fundamental to positive parent–child relationships, research on the effects of navigating two languages is missing from most family theories regarding immigrant populations. This scoping review provides a comprehensive overview of the literatures from family science, child development, communication, and applied linguistics regarding how immigrant families navigate the adoption of a host country's language and the maintenance of their HL, and how this process impacts parent–child relationships. Results indicate that (a) the literature is relatively small and underdeveloped; (b) there is a limiting focus on individual language proficiency rather than a dyadic or familial communicative process; and (c) child HL proficiency is strongly correlated with healthier parent–child relationships and child outcomes. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

AbstractObjectiveThis study assesses the psychometric properties of the four‐ and eight‐item versions of the Patient‐Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Psychological Stress Measure (PPSM) for use with Latino immigrant adolescents.BackgroundImmigrant Latino youth are exposed to numerous stressors that can have consequences affecting health well into adulthood. However, few studies have assessed the suitability of psychosocial measures for this group.MethodsParticipants included 286 first‐ and second‐generation immigrant Latino youth in middle school in an urban school district in the United States. Analyses included tests for reliability, validity, item characteristics, and measurement invariance across differing levels of acculturation and gender groups.ResultsBoth the four‐ and the eight‐item PPSM are internally consistent, have strong construct validity, and strict factorial invariance across differing levels of acculturation. The four‐item PPSM demonstrates strict invariance, but the eight‐item version shows only configural invariance by gender.ConclusionThe PPSM is a rigorous measure when assessing immigrant Latino youth stress level. The four‐item PPSM is brief, simple to administer, and appropriate for use with Latino youth across differing levels of acculturation and gender groups.ImplicationsThe four‐item PPSM lessens respondent fatigue and may be incorporated into tools practitioners and researchers use to assess perceived stress among immigrant Latino youth.

Extension outreach professionals are searching for new methods to target the growing population of Latino students. Oklahoma State University faculty in the Animal Science department and the 4-H Youth Development program partnered to sponsor a 4-H STEM Institute designed to promote science, technology, engineering, and math to Latino students in the Unidos Se Puede program. The STEM Institute was designed to introduce the Latino youth to college life and STEM based career opportunities. The program was evaluated utilizing the 4-H Common Measures Science instruments. The results indicate a positive impact on the youth's perception of STEM as a career option. The students increase in self-efficacy predicts the students will increase their persistence in the subjects of science and math (Simpkins, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006). Increased persistence in science and math leads to increased success in post secondary STEM studies and occupations.