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This study examined the associations of language brokering stressintensityandexposurewith Mexican‐origin youths’ cortisol responses when brokering for fathers and mothers, and the moderating role of youths’ brokering efficacy in these relations. Participants were 289 adolescents (M_age = 17.38,SD = .94, 52% girls) in immigrant families. When brokering for mothers, stressexposurewas related to flatter (less healthy) same‐day diurnal slopes in youth. When brokering for fathers, daily brokering efficacy buffered the detrimental link between stressintensityand youths’ same‐day cortisol slopes. When brokering for fathers/mothers, stressintensityandexposurewere related to flatter (less healthy) next‐day diurnal slopes. Although daily brokering stress can relate to youth physiologic functioning, feeling efficacious about brokering may buffer the negative ramifications of stress.

 

Objectives: Though previous research has indicated that language brokering can be stressful, the findings are mixed, pointing to potential moderators of the association. Guided by an ecological perspective, we examined the role of individual, family, and environmental factors in Mexican American adolescents’ acute cortisol responses to language brokering. Method: The study consisted of 46 Mexican American adolescents recruited around a metropolitan city in Central Texas. Participants translated a difficult medical document from English to Spanish for their parents, followed by an arithmetic task (modeled after the Trier Social Stress Test [TSST]). Participants’ perceptions (perceived efficacy and parental dependence), parental hostility, and discrimination experiences were assessed via self-report and were examined as moderators of adolescents’ responses to the task. Results: Results revealed differential responses to the task based on individual, family, and environmental factors. High efficacy and low dependence−parental hostility−discrimination related to stress responses characterized by low baselines, steeper reactivity, and faster recovery. Low efficacy and high dependence related to greater baseline stress and a slower recovery. High levels of parental hostility related to a slower recovery. High levels of discrimination related to greater baseline stress. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that the modified TSST task can elicit an acute hypothalamic−pituitary−adrenal axis response, but the nature of this response is dependent upon participants’ perceptions of language brokering (parental dependence and efficacy), parental hostility, and discrimination experiences. Adolescents’ individual characteristics and contextual demands remain important considerations in understanding their acute stress responses. 

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.