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1. 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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2. School Cultural Socialization and Academic Performance: Examining Ethnic‐Racial Identity Development as a Mediator Among African American Adolescents

   https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13467  

   Del Toro, Juan ; Wang, Ming‐Te ( December 2020 , Child Development)

   Historic racial disparities in the United States have created an urgent need for evidence‐based strategies promoting African American students’ academic performance via school‐based ethnic‐racial socialization and identity development. However, the temporal order among socialization, identity, and academic performance remains unclear in extant literature. This longitudinal study examined whether school cultural socialization predicted 961 African American adolescents’ grade point averages through their ethnic‐racial identities (49.6% males;M_age = 13.60; 91.9% qualified for free lunch). Results revealed that youth who perceived more school cultural socialization had better grades 1 and 2 years later. In addition, identity commitment (but not exploration) fully mediated these relations. Implications for how educators can help adolescents of color succeed in schools are discussed.

    

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3. Demonstration of local adaptation in maize landraces by reciprocal transplantation

   https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13372  

   Janzen, Garrett M. ; Aguilar‐Rangel, María Rocío ; Cíntora‐Martínez, Carolina ; Blöcher‐Juárez, Karla Azucena ; González‐Segovia, Eric ; Studer, Anthony J. ; Runcie, Daniel E. ; Flint‐Garcia, Sherry A. ; Rellán‐Álvarez, Rubén ; Sawers, Ruairidh J. H. ; et al ( April 2022 , Evolutionary Applications)

   Populations are locally adapted when they exhibit higher fitness than foreign populations in their native habitat. Maize landrace adaptations to highland and lowland conditions are of interest to researchers and breeders. To determine the prevalence and strength of local adaptation in maize landraces, we performed a reciprocal transplant experiment across an elevational gradient in Mexico. We grew 120 landraces, grouped into four populations (Mexican Highland, Mexican Lowland, South American Highland, South American Lowland), in Mexican highland and lowland common gardens and collected phenotypes relevant to fitness and known highland‐adaptive traits such as anthocyanin pigmentation and macrohair density. 67k DArTseq markers were generated from field specimens to allow comparisons between phenotypic patterns and population genetic structure. We found phenotypic patterns consistent with local adaptation, though these patterns differ between the Mexican and South American populations. Quantitative trait differentiation (Q_ST) was greater than neutral allele frequency differentiation (F_ST) for many traits, signaling directional selection between pairs of populations. All populations exhibited higher fitness metric values when grown at their native elevation, and Mexican landraces had higher fitness than South American landraces when grown in these Mexican sites. As environmental distance between landraces’ native collection sites and common garden sites increased, fitness values dropped, suggesting landraces are adapted to environmental conditions at their natal sites. Correlations between fitness and anthocyanin pigmentation and macrohair traits were stronger in the highland site than the lowland site, supporting their status as highland‐adaptive. These results give substance to the long‐held presumption of local adaptation of New World maize landraces to elevation and other environmental variables across North and South America.

    

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4. Cascading effects of Chinese American parents' COVID‐19 racial discrimination and racial socialization on adolescents' adjustment

   https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14037  

   Ren, Huiguang ; Cheah, Charissa S. L. ; Cho, Hyun Su ; Aquino, Ana Katrina ( November 2023 , Child Development)

   Using a three‐wave longitudinal sample of 108 Chinese American parent‐adolescent dyads (M_{parent‐ageW1} = 45.44 years, 17% fathers;M_{adolescent‐ageW1} = 13.34 years, 50% boys), this study examined the effects of parents' COVID‐19‐related racial discrimination experiences on adolescents' ethnic identity exploration and anxiety as mediated by parents' awareness of discrimination (AOD) socialization and moderated by parents' anxiety and racial socialization competency (RSC). Parents' racial discrimination experiences in 2020 predicted adolescents' greater ethnic identity explorationorgreater anxiety in 2022 via parents' greater use of AOD in 2021, depending on the levels of parents' anxiety and RSC. These findings highlighted individual and contextual factors impacting racial socialization processes in Chinese American families.

    

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5. Cultural adaptation congruence in immigrant spouses is associated with marital quality

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12799  

   Sim, Lester ; Chen, Shanting ; Zhang, Minyu ; Edelstein, Robin S. ; Kim, Su Yeong ( September 2021 , Journal of Marriage and Family)

   Previous research suggests that cultural adaptation is associated with Mexican‐origin couples' marital outcomes, including marital distress and rates of dissolution. However, research on the marital implications of different types of spousal differences in cultural adaptation often omits important dyadic dynamics (i.e., incongruence between couples and with their partners); this, coupled with existing methodological issues, might contribute to the pattern of mixed findings in the literature.

   Using data from 273 Mexican‐origin couples, we conducted response surface analyses to examine how spousal congruence in four adaptation domains (acculturation, enculturation, English proficiency, Spanish proficiency) is associated with wives' and husbands' marital warmth, hostility and satisfaction.

   Higher, versus lower, levels of couple matches (except for enculturation) were associated with better marital quality. Mismatches in American (acculturation, English) and Mexican (enculturation, Spanish) orientations were also associated with higher, and lower, marital quality, respectively.

   Our findings highlight the importance of examining couple matching, which has historically been understudied. We also suggest that inconsistencies in prior work can be explained by discrepant associations between mismatches in American versus Mexican orientation and relationship outcomes.

    

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