Parent-Child Communication and Parental Involvement in Latino Adolescents

This study examines the associations among parent-child relationship characteristics, acculturation and enculturation, and child externalizing symptoms in a sample of 40 Latino parent-adolescent dyads. Specifically, the associations between parent-child relationship characteristics (i.e., communication and parental involvement) and adolescents' externalizing symptoms are examined. Also examined is whether the relationship between these two aspects of the parent-child relationship and adolescent functioning would be moderated by acculturation and enculturation differences between parents and their children. Significant relationships are found among parent-child communication, parental involvement, and child externalizing behaviors; however, neither the acculturation nor enculturation gap moderates these associations.