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1. The Simon effect in bilingual language brokers: A role for emotion and proficiency

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006920939659  

   Lopez, B. G. ; Zhang, M. ; Arredondo, M. M. ; Kim, S. Y. ( January 2021 , The international journal of bilingualism)

   null (Ed.)

   Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Language brokering (LB) is an informal translation experience where bilinguals serve as linguistic and cultural intermediaries for family members. LB may have long-term socio-emotional and cognitive outcomes, yet little is known about its effects on executive functions (EFs). This study examines how first language (L1) proficiency and negative emotions tied to language brokering experiences affect EF performance on a Simon task (ST). Design/methodology/approach: Fifty-three Mexican American Spanish–English bilinguals with LB experience performed a ST, and reported their feelings towards LB for their mother. Data and analysis: Mean reaction times (RTs) and accuracy rates for correct ST trials were analyzed using linear mixed effects modeling, with trial type, proficiency and negative emotions tied to LB experience as factors and their interactions as additional predictors. Findings/conclusions: The L1 proficiency and negative emotions tied to brokering experiences have divergent, but combined effects on EF. Contrary to our hypotheses, low L1 proficiency predicted better performance and the smallest Simon effect was found for brokers with low L1 proficiency and low negative emotional brokering experiences. However, high L1 proficiency predicted better performance (smallest RTs) regardless of negative emotions tied to brokering experiences. Originality: This study takes a different perspective on the examination of individual differences among bilinguals, in which we examine how negative emotions tied to brokering experiences coupled with L1 proficiency relates to EF performance. Significance/implications: Our results provide support for the need to understand how individual differences in bilingual language experiences, such as L1 proficiency and negative emotions tied to LB, interact with performance on the ST. 

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2. Colonialism, ethnogenesis, and biogeographic ancestry in the US Southwest

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24380  

   Hunley, Keith ; Moes, Emily ; Edgar, Heather ; Healy, Meghan ; Mosley, Carmen ; Dixon, Aurelia ( August 2021 , American Journal of Physical Anthropology)

   Differences between self‐perceived biogeographic ancestry and estimates derived from DNA are potentially informative about the formation of ethnic identities in different sociohistorical contexts. Here, we compared self‐estimates and DNA‐estimates in New Mexico, where notions of shared ancestry and ethnic identity have been shaped by centuries of migration and admixture.

   We asked 507 New Mexicans of Spanish‐speaking descent (NMS) to list their ethnic identity and to estimate their percentages of European and Native American ancestry. We then compared self‐estimates to estimates derived from 291,917 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and we examined how differences between the estimates varied by ethnic identity.

   Most NMS (94%) predicted that they had non‐zero percentages of European and Native American ancestry. Self‐estimates and SNP‐estimates were positively correlated (r_European = 0.38,r_{Native‐American} = 0.36,p < 0.001). The correlations belie systematic patterns of underestimation and overestimation based on ethnic identity. NMS with ancestral ties to 20th century immigrants, who identified as Mexican or Mexican American, often underestimated their European ancestry (self‐estimate < SNP‐estimate) and overestimated their Native American ancestry. The pattern was reversed for NMS who emphasized deep connections to colonial New Mexico and identified as Spanish or Spanish American.

   While NMS accurately predicted that they had European and Native American ancestry, they predicted ancestry percentages with only moderate accuracy. Differences between self‐estimated and SNP‐estimated ancestry were associated with ethnic identities that were shaped by migration to the region over the past 400 years. We connect ethnic identities and patterns of ancestry estimation to resistance to colonial hegemony and discuss the implications of our results for the construction of ethnic identities, now and in the past.

    

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3. Parental socialization profiles in Mexican-origin families: Considering cultural socialization and general parenting practices

   Kim, Su Yeong ; Chen, Shanting ; Hou, Yang ; Zeiders, Katharine ; Calzada, Esther J. ( January 2018 , Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology)

   Objectives: Recognizing that immigrant parents socialize their children in specific ways, the current study examines Mexican-origin families’ parental socialization profiles using both parental cultural socialization and general parenting dimensions. We seek to understand how these dimensions interact to form culturally grounded parental socialization profiles in a sample of Mexican-origin parents and adolescents. Method: There were 604 adolescents, 595 mothers, and 293 fathers within Mexican-origin families self-reporting on 2 cultural socialization dimensions (respeto, independence) and 4 general parenting dimensions (warmth, hostility, monitoring, reasoning). Adolescent outcomes were assessed 1 year later. Results: Latent profile analysis revealed eight parental socialization profiles representing distinct combinations of cultural socialization and parenting dimensions. Relative to other profiles, the Integrative-Authoritative profile (high on socialization toward respeto and independence; high on warmth, monitoring, and reasoning; and relatively low on hostility) was the most common parenting pattern and was also associated with more optimal adolescent outcomes. Conclusion: Examining cultural socialization alongside general parenting dimensions can better capture parental socialization strategies among Mexican-origin parents. The various parental socialization profiles that characterize Mexican-origin parents have important implications for adolescent outcomes. 

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4. Colonialism and the co‐evolution of ethnic and genetic structure in New Mexico

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23997  

   Hunley, Keith ; Edgar, Heather ; Healy, Meghan ; Mosley, Carmen ( January 2020 , American Journal of Physical Anthropology)

   Socially constructed ethnic identities are frequently rooted in beliefs about common descent that form when people with disparate cultures, languages, and biology come into contact. This study explores connections between beliefs about common descent, as represented by ethnic nomenclatures, and histories of migration and isolation ascertained from genomic data in New Mexicans of Spanish‐speaking descent (NMS).

   We interviewed 507 NMS who further identified using one of seven ethnic terms that they associated with beliefs about connections to past ancestors. For groups of individuals who identified using each term, we estimated biogeographic ancestry, fit admixture models to ancestry distributions, and partitioned genetic distance into admixture and drift components.

   Regardless of which ethnic term they used, all NMS had appreciable Native American (avg. 27%) and European ancestry (avg.71%). However, individuals who identified using terms associated with beliefs connecting them to colonial‐period Spanish ancestors had significantly higher European ancestry than individuals who identified using terms associated with ancestral connections to post‐colonial‐period migrants from Mexico. Model‐fitting analyses show that this ancestry difference reflects post‐colonial gene flow with non‐NMS European Americans, not colonial‐period gene flow with Spaniards. Drift, not admixture, accounted for most of the genetic distance between NMS who expressed connections to Mexican versus Spanish ancestors, reflecting relative isolation of New Mexico and Mexico through the 19th century.

   Patterns of genomic diversity in NMS are consistent with beliefs about common descent in showing that New Mexico was isolated for generations following initial colonization. They are inconsistent with these beliefs in showing that all NMS have substantial European and Native American ancestry, and in showing that a proportion of European ancestry derives from post‐colonial‐period admixture with non‐NMS European Americans. Our findings provide insights into the construction of ethnic identity in contexts of migration and isolation in New Mexico and, potentially, throughout human prehistory.

    

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5. Out Drinking the Joneses: Neighborhood Factors Moderating the Effects of Drinking on Relationship Quality over the First Four Years of Marriage

   https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12335  

   Crasta, Dev ; Funk, Janette L. ; Lee, Soonhee ; Rogge, Ronald D. ( December 2017 , Family Process)

   Neighborhood quality has been cross‐sectionally linked to both relationship behaviors and relationship well‐being. Consistent with the Vulnerability Stress‐Adaptation model of relationship functioning (Karney & Bradbury, 1995), we hypothesized that associations between social behaviors (e.g., drinking) and relationship quality could be moderated by neighborhood factors. Specifically, we characterized neighborhoods along multiple dimensions using multiple methods (self‐report, census) to investigate how neighborhood factors might clarify ambiguous effects of alcohol use on marital functioning. A nationally recruited sample of 303 newlywed couples completed a baseline assessment around the time of marriage and was then assessed yearly across the first 4 years of marriage (94% retention). Three level HLM slope‐intercept models were used to model changes in relationship satisfaction across the first 4 years of marriage. Results suggested that, for couples living in highly disordered neighborhoods, positive shifts in overall levels of drinking within specific waves of assessment were associated with corresponding negative shifts in satisfaction whereas in neighborhoods without perceived disorder, this effect was reversed. For couples living in neighborhoods with low levels of domestic structures (high census rates of single renters without children), within‐couple discrepancies favoring higher rates of husband drinking in specific waves predicted poorer relationship quality for both partners in those same waves whereas those same discrepancies predicted higher satisfaction in high domesticity neighborhoods (high census rates of married homeowners with children). The findings provide insight into the different roles of alcohol use in relationship maintenance and highlight the importance of using external context to understand intradyadic processes.

    

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