The Supporting MAMI (Mexican-origin Adolescent Mothers and their Infants) Project is focused on understanding the pregnancy and parenting experiences of Mexican-origin teen mothers, with a specific focus on developmental, cultural, and family relationship factors. A main goal of the Supporting MAMI Project is to understand how these young women and their children can achieve positive outcomes despite their experiences with economic, cultural, and family stressors. We are particularly interested in identifying cultural and family resources that can promote positive outcomes among Mexican-origin teen mothers, their children, and their mother figures. To facilitate this goal, data were collected longitudinally from three sources: the adolescent, her mother figure, and her child. A total of 204 families were included in the longitudinal sample. The study began when adolescents were in their third trimester of pregnancy, and concluded after 6 successful waves of interviews (i.e., 88% of families were retained through Wave 6). Interviews were conducted annually from the third trimester of the adolescents’ pregnancy until her child was 5 years of age (i.e., a span of 6 years). The study design
involved collecting data via interviewer-administered surveys with adolescent mothers and their mother figures across all six waves; additionally, observational data (including observations of a mother-child interaction task and standardized child developmental assessments) were gathered from the children who were 10-, 24-, 36-, 48-, and 60-months of age at Waves 2 through Wave 6, respectively. The data provide a unique opportunity to examine child developmental outcomes in a high-risk parenting context (i.e., teenage pregnancy) and in an ethnic minority population that has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy (i.e., Mexican-origin adolescent females). Furthermore, the availability of multiple-informant data across a six-year period provides unique opportunities for rigorous examination of research questions.
Adriana Umaña-Taylor (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
Kimberly Updegraff (Arizona State University)
Laudan Jahromi (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Funding Sources:
- The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) via Award # R01HD061376
- Department of Health and Human Services via Award # APRPA006011
- The Fahs Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation of the New York Community Trust
- The Challenged Child Project of the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University
Publications
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. (in press). Longitudinal relations among Mexican-origin mothers' cultural characteristics, cultural socialization, and 5-year-old children's ethnic-racial identification. Developmental Psychology
The current longitudinal study examined the intergenerational transmission of ethnic–racial identity/ identification and cultural orientation among Mexican-origin adolescent young mothers and their children (N 161 dyads). Findings indicated that mothers’ ethnic–racial identity and their cultural involvement were significantly associated with children’s ethnic–racial identification via mothers’ cultural socialization; however, associations varied significantly by children’s gender and skin tone. For example, mothers’ ethnic–racial centrality was positively associated with cultural socialization efforts among mothers with sons (regardless of skin tone); but with daughters, a positive association only emerged among those with lighter skin tones. Associations between cultural socialization and children’s ethnic–racial identification also varied by children’s gender and skin tone. For example, the relation between mothers’ cultural socialization and children’s self-labeling as Mexican was positive for girls regardless of skin tone, and for boys with lighter skin tones, but was not significant for boys with darker skin tones. Findings highlight the critical role of children’s own characteristics, mothers’ ethnic–racial identity and adaptive cultural characteristics, and mothers’ cultural socialization efforts in the formation of young Mexican-origin children’s ethnic–racial identification.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. (in press). Cultural socialization attitudes and behaviors: Examining mothers’ centrality, discrimination experiences, and children’s effortful control as moderators. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology
Objectives: The current study examined whether mothers’ cultural socialization attitudes predicted cultural socialization behaviors. In addition, we tested whether this association was moderated by children’s effortful control, mothers’ ethnic–racial centrality, and mothers’ experiences of ethnic discrimination. Method: Mexican-origin young mothers (N 181; Mage 20.97 years) completed the Cultural Socialization Attitudes Measure, a revised version of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity, the Child Behavior Questionnaire—Very Short Form, and the Perceived Discrimination Scale during an interview and then completed the Cultural Socialization Behaviors Measure a year later. Results: Findings indicated that mothers’ cultural socialization attitudes when their children were 4 years of age positively predicted their cultural socialization behaviors 1 year later. Furthermore, experiencing higher ethnic discrimination strengthened the association between mothers’ cultural socialization attitudes and behaviors. In addition, mothers’ ethnic–racial centrality and children’s effortful control were positively associated with mothers’ cultural socialization behaviors. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the literature by underscoring the role of individual characteristics and context in cultural socialization efforts with young children over time.
Seay, D. Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L. B., & Updegraff, K. A. (in press). A Prospective Study of Adolescent Mothers’ Social Competence, Children’s Effortful Control and Compliance and Children’s Subsequent Developmental Outcomes. Social Development. DOI: 10.1111/sode.12238
Previous work has established that caregiver and child temperamental characteristics are associated with child compliance. Given the critical role that parents play in this process, and that children of teen mothers are at risk for poorer developmental outcomes, it is important to understand the development of compliance in the context of at-risk parenting such as adolescent motherhood. The current study examined child compliance (Wave 5; W5) as a mediator of the association between adolescent mothers’ social competence (Wave 4; W4) and children's behavioral and academic outcomes (Wave 6; W6), and whether this mediation varied depending on children's effortful control (W4) in a sample of 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (Mage at W4 = 19.94, SD = .99) and their children (Mage at W4 = 36.21 months, SD = .45). Adolescent mothers reported on their own social competence and their children's effortful control and externalizing problems; compliance was assessed using observational methods; and academic readiness was assessed using standardized developmental assessments. Findings based on structural equation modeling revealed that adolescent mothers’ social competence was positively related to children's compliance among children with high effortful control, but not among those with low effortful control. Moreover, child compliance mediated the longitudinal association between adolescent mothers’ social competence and child externalizing problems and academic readiness. Discussion focuses on the importance of considering the role of child temperament in understanding how adolescent mothers’ social competence is subsequently associated with children's social and academic adjustment.
Jahromi, L. B., Zeiders, K. H., Updegraff, K. A., and Umaña-Taylor, A.J. (in press). Coparenting conflict and academic readiness in children of teen mothers: Effortful control as a mediator. Family Process. DOI: 10.1111/famp.12290
Children's exposure to coparenting conflict has important implications for their developmental functioning, yet limited work has focused on such processes in families with diverse structures or ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. This longitudinal study examined the processes by which Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their 3-year-old children's grandmothers and biological fathers (N = 133 families) were linked to children's academic and social skills at 5 years of age, and whether children's effortful control at 4 years of age mediated the link between coparenting conflict and indices of children's academic readiness. Findings revealed that adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their child's biological father was linked to indices of children's academic and social school readiness through children's effortful control among girls, but not boys, whereas conflict with grandmothers was directly linked to boys' and girls' social functioning 2 years later. Findings offer information about different mechanisms by which multiple coparenting units in families of adolescent mothers are related to their children's outcomes, and this work has important implications for practitioners working with families of adolescent mothers.
Bravo, D., Toomey, R. B., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. J. (2017). Growth Trajectories of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ educational expectations. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41, 165-174. doi:10.1177/0165025415616199
Pregnant and parenting adolescents are at significant risk for educational underachievement. Educational expectations play a critical role for understanding subsequent educational attainment; yet, limited empirical attention has been given to changes in educational expectations across the transition to parenthood among adolescent mothers. This longitudinal study explored stability and change in educational expectations across the transition to parenthood among 191 first-time pregnant Mexican-origin adolescents (Mage = 16.76, SD = .98). The current study also examined how several contextually relevant risk and protective factors were associated with differential patterns of educational trajectories across this transition and subsequent educational attainment. Latent class growth analyses revealed three educational expectation trajectories: low and stable (< high-school degree), moderate and increasing (≈ associate degree), and high and increasing (≈ bachelor’s degree). Adolescent mothers in the low and stable group encountered several educational risk factors that partially explained their probability of membership in this trajectory and subsequent lower attainment. Conversely, probability of membership in the high and increasing expectations class was partially explained by adolescents’ on-track school status at the time of pregnancy and their mother figures’ educational expectations for their pregnant daughters. These findings have implications for understanding the malleable factors that help to explain why some adolescent mothers describe consistently high educational expectations and subsequent higher attainment, while others do not.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. (2016). Mothers’ characteristics as predictors of adolescents’ ethnic-racial identity: An examination of Mexican-origin teen mothers. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22, 453-459. doi:10.1037/cdp0000072
Objective: The current longitudinal study examined Mexican-origin mothers’ cultural characteristics and ethnic socialization efforts as predictors of their adolescent daughters’ ethnic–racial identity (ERI) exploration, resolution, and affirmation. Method: Participants were 193 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (M age = 16.78 years; SD = .98) and their mothers (M age = 41.24 years; SD = 7.11). Results: Findings indicated that mothers’ familism values and ERI exploration were positively associated with mother-reported ethnic socialization efforts 1 year later. Furthermore, mothers’ ERI affirmation was a significant positive predictor of adolescents’ ERI affirmation 2 years later, accounting for adolescents’ ERI affirmation 1 year earlier. Conclusions: Discussion emphasizes the significance of ERI development among adolescent mothers who are negotiating the normative development of ERI and faced with their new role as parents and cultural socializers of their young children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., & White, R. M. B. (2016). Discrimination and acculturation stress: A longitudinal study of children’s well-being from prenatal development to 5 years of age. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 37, 557-564. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000321
Objective: To examine whether cumulative family discrimination and acculturation stress (prenatally to 24 months postpartum) among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their mother-figures predicted children's socio-emotional functioning and academic achievement at 5 years of age, and the role of maternal depressive symptoms and mother–child interactions in the association.
Method: Mexican-origin families (N = 204) with an adolescent mother, a child, and a mother-figure participated in a 6-wave longitudinal study (2007–2013). Families were recruited and interviewed during the adolescent mother's pregnancy; adolescent mothers, mother-figures, and children were then assessed annually for the next 5 years using a combination of interview-based survey and observational methods. Maternal reports of children's socio-emotional behaviors (measured using the Child Behavior Checklist) and children's academic achievement (assessed with the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement/Bateria III Woodcock-Muñoz) were used.
Results: Structural equation modeling revealed that greater cumulative family discrimination and acculturation stress from pregnancy to 24 months postpartum predicted higher adolescent mothers' depressive symptoms, greater mother–child intrusive interactions, and less mother sensitivity at 36 months postpartum. Maternal depressive symptoms were positively related to children's CBCL symptoms at 60 months postpartum. Greater cumulative discrimination and acculturation stressors directly predicted children's lower Woodcock Johnson/Bateria test scores after accounting for socio-economic status.
Conclusion: Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' and mother figures' cumulative discrimination and acculturation stress from pregnancy through children's second birthday predicted children's socio-emotional and academic achievement at age 5. Overall, the findings underscore the cumulative impact of these stressors on well-being in a population with substantial public health significance.
Bravo, D.Y., Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Toomey, R.B., Updegraff, K.A., & Jahromi, L.B. (2016). Risky Behaviors and Educational Attainment among Young Mexican-origin Mothers: The Role of Acculturative Stress and the Educational Aspiration-Expectation Gap. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 52, 13-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2016.02.003
The current longitudinal study examined how Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ (N = 204) reports of acculturative stress during late adolescence were associated with their educational attainment and engagement in risky behaviors in young adulthood, 4 years post-partum; we also examined whether this association was mediated by discrepancies between adolescents’ educational aspirations and expectations. Findings revealed that mothers’ greater reports of stress regarding English competency pressures and pressures to assimilate were associated with a larger gap between their aspirations and expectations. Mothers’ reports of greater stress from pressures against assimilation, however, were associated with a smaller gap between aspirations and expectations. As expected, a larger gap between aspirations and expectations was associated with lower educational attainment and increased engagement in risky behaviors. Finally, significant mediation emerged, suggesting that the influence of stress from English competency pressures and pressures to assimilate on young mothers’ educational attainment and engagement in risky behaviors was mediated through the aspiration–expectation gap. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding discrepancies between young mothers’ aspirations and expectations in the context of acculturative stress.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Toomey, R. B., Jahromi, L. B, & Updegraff, K. A. (2016). Measuring cultural socialization attitudes and behaviors of Mexican-origin mothers with young children : A longitudinal investigation. Family Relations, 65, 477-489 doi:10.1111/fare.12196
We describe the development and psychometric testing of the Cultural Socialization Behaviors Measure (CSBM) and the Cultural Socialization Attitudes Measure (CSAM). The CSBM assesses cultural socialization behaviors that parents use with young children, and the CSAM assesses the attitudes that parents have regarding the importance of socializing their young children about their culture. Both measures demonstrated strong reliability, validity, and cross-language equivalence (i.e., Spanish and English) among a sample of 204 Mexican-origin young mothers (Mage = 20.94 years, SD = 1.01) with 4-year-old children. In addition, the measures demonstrated longitudinal equivalence when children were 4 and 5 years of age.
Bravo, D.Y., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Zeiders, K.H., Updegraff, K.A., & Jahromi, L.B. (2016). Incongruent Teen Pregnancy Attitudes, Coparenting Conflict, and Support among Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78, 531-545. doi:10.1111/jomf.12271
The current longitudinal study examined whether differences between Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their mother figures (N = 204 dyads) in attitudes on the status attained through teen pregnancy were associated with conflict in their coparenting relationship and whether coparenting conflict was associated with adolescent mothers' perceptions of social support. Findings revealed that when adolescents held more positive attitudes than their mother figures about the status gained through teen pregnancy, they tended to report greater coparenting conflict with their mother figures. Furthermore, greater coparenting conflict was significantly associated with decreases in adolescents' perceptions of social support (i.e., emotional, instrumental, companion support) 1 year later. Findings underscore the importance of incongruent attitudes and the quality of coparenting relationships between adolescent mothers and their mother figures in relation to support processes. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' social support in the context of family subsystem attitudes and interactions.
Jahromi, L. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Zeiders, K. H. (2016). Trajectories of Developmental Functioning among Children of Adolescent Mothers: Factors Associated with Risk for Delay. American Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 121, 346-363. doi: 10.1352/1944-7558-121.4.346
Children of adolescent mothers are at risk for developmental delays. Less is known about the heterogeneity in these children’s developmental trajectories, and factors associated with different patterns of development. This longitudinal study used latent class growth analysis (LCGA) to identify distinct trajectories in children of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (N = 204). Three distinct groups emerged: (1) a Delayed/Decreasing Functioning group, (2) an At-Risk/Recovering Functioning group, and (3) a Normative/Relatively Stable Functioning group. Children with Delayed/Decreasing Functioning were more likely those with Normative/Relatively Stable Functioning to have families with lower income, fewer learning materials at home, and adolescent mothers with more depressive symptoms and greater co-parental conflict with mothers. The results contribute to knowledge about factors associated with risk of delay.
Seay, D. Jahromi, L. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Updegraff, K. A. (2016). Intergenerational Transmission of Maladaptive Parenting in Families of Adolescent Mothers: Effects from Grand mothers to Young Children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44, 1097-1109. doi:10.1007/s10826-013-9768-4.
The current longitudinal study examined the effect of the transmission of maladaptive parenting strategies from grandmothers to adolescent mothers on children's subsequent development. Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (N = 204) participated in home interviews when the adolescent's child (89 boys, 60 girls) was 2, 3, 4, and 5 years old. Grandmothers' psychological control toward the adolescent mother was positively related to adolescents' potential for abuse 1 year later, which was subsequently positively related to adolescents' punitive discipline toward their young child. In addition, adolescent mothers' punitive discipline subsequently predicted greater externalizing problems and less committed compliance among their children. Adolescent mothers' potential for abuse and punitive discipline mediated the effects of grandmothers' psychological control on children's externalizing problems. Finally, adolescent mothers' potential for abuse mediated the effect of grandmothers' psychological control on adolescent mothers' punitive discipline. Results highlight the salience of long-term intergenerational effects of maladaptive parenting on children's behavior.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. (in press). Mothers’ characteristics as predictors of adolescents’ ethnic-racial identity: An examination of Mexican-origin teen mothers. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology. doi:10.1037/cdp0000072 [PMID: 26479173]
Objective: The current longitudinal study examined Mexican-origin mothers' cultural characteristics and ethnic socialization efforts as predictors of their adolescent daughters' ethnic-racial identity (ERI) exploration, resolution, and affirmation.
Method: Participants were 193 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (M age = 16.78 years; SD = .98) and their mothers (M age = 41.24 years; SD = 7.11).
Results: Findings indicated that mothers' familism values and ERI exploration were positively associated with mother-reported ethnic socialization efforts 1 year later. Furthermore, mothers' ERI affirmation was a significant positive predictor of adolescents' ERI affirmation 2 years later, accounting for adolescents' ERI affirmation 1 year earlier.
Conclusion: Discussion emphasizes the significance of ERI development among adolescent mothers who are negotiating the normative development of ERI and faced with their new role as parents and cultural socializers of their young children.
Bravo, D.Y., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Zeiders, K.H., Updegraff, K.A., & Jahromi, L.B. (in press). Incongruent teen pregnancy attitudes, coparenting conflict, and support among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Journal of Marriage and Family.
The current longitudinal study examined whether differences between Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their mother figures (N = 204 dyads) in attitudes on the status attained through teen pregnancy were associated with conflict in their coparenting relationship and whether coparenting conflict was associated with adolescent mothers' perceptions of social support. Findings revealed that when adolescents held more positive attitudes than their mother figures about the status gained through teen pregnancy, they tended to report greater coparenting conflict with their mother figures. Furthermore, greater coparenting conflict was significantly associated with decreases in adolescents' perceptions of social support (i.e., emotional, instrumental, companion support) 1 year later. Findings underscore the importance of incongruent attitudes and the quality of coparenting relationships between adolescent mothers and their mother figures in relation to support processes. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' social support in the context of family subsystem attitudes and interactions.
Bravo, D., Toomey, R. B., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. J. (in press). Growth trajectories of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ educational expectations. International Journal of Behavioral Development doi:10.1177/0165025415616199
Pregnant and parenting adolescents are at significant risk for educational underachievement. Educational expectations play a critical role for understanding subsequent educational attainment; yet, limited empirical attention has been given to changes in educational expectations across the transition to parenthood among adolescent mothers. This longitudinal study explored stability and change in educational expectations across the transition to parenthood among 191 first-time pregnant Mexican-origin adolescents (M age = 16.76, SD = .98). The current study also examined how several contextually relevant risk and protective factors were associated with differential patterns of educational trajectories across this transition and subsequent educational attainment. Latent class growth analyses revealed three educational expectation trajectories: low and stable (< high-school degree), moderate and increasing (≈ associate degree), and high and increasing (≈ bachelor’s degree). Adolescent mothers in the low and stable group encountered several educational risk factors that partially explained their probability of membership in this trajectory and subsequent lower attainment. Conversely, probability of membership in the high and increasing expectations class was partially explained by adolescents’ on-track school status at the time of pregnancy and their mother figures’ educational expectations for their pregnant daughters. These findings have implications for understanding the malleable factors that help to explain why some adolescent mothers describe consistently high educational expectations and subsequent higher attainment, while others do not.
Killoren, S., Zeiders, K. H., Updegraff, K. A., & Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2016). The sociocultural context of Mexican-origin pregnant adolescents’ attitudes toward teen pregnancy and links to fu ture outcomes. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 45, 887-899. doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0387-9
Given the negative developmental risks associated with adolescent motherhood, it is important to examine the sociocultural context of adolescent mothers’ lives to identify those most at risk for poor outcomes. Our goals were to identify profiles of Mexican-origin pregnant adolescents’ cultural orientations and their attitudes toward teen pregnancy, and to investigate how these profiles were linked to adolescents’ pregnancy intentions, family resources, and short-term family, educational, and parenting outcomes. With a sample of 205 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers, we identified three profiles based on cultural orientations and attitudes toward teen pregnancy: Bicultural-Moderate Attitudes, Acculturated-Moderate Attitudes, and Enculturated-Low Attitudes. The results indicated that enculturated pregnant adolescents had the least favorable attitudes toward teen pregnancy, and the lowest levels of family income, pregnancy intentions, pregnancy support, and educational expectations compared to acculturated and bicultural pregnant adolescents; acculturated adolescents (with the highest family income and high levels of pregnancy support) had the highest levels of parenting efficacy 10 months postpartum. Our findings suggest that enculturated adolescent mothers (with less positive attitudes toward teen pregnancy) may benefit from educational support programs and enculturated and bicultural adolescent mothers (with moderately positive attitudes toward teen pregnancy) may benefit from programs to increase parenting efficacy. Such targeted interventions may, in turn, reduce the likelihood of adolescent mothers experiencing negative educational and parenting outcomes.
Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., & Zeiders, K. H. (2015). Trajectories of ethnic-racial identity and autonomy development among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers in the United States. Child Development, 86, 2034-2050. doi:10.1111/cdev.12444 [PMID: 26450526]
This study examined trajectories of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) and autonomy development among Mexican-origin adolescent females in the United States (N = 181; Mage at Wave 1 = 16.80 years, SD = 1.00) as they transitioned through the first 5 years of parenthood. Trajectories of ERI and autonomy also were examined in relation to psychosocial functioning. Unconditional latent growth models indicated significant growth in autonomy, ERI resolution, and ERI affirmation from middle to late adolescence. Conditional latent growth models indicated that autonomy and ERI exploration growth trajectories were positively associated with psychosocial adjustment. Although adolescent mothers are experiencing transitions that are not normative during adolescence, they also engage in normative developmental processes, and their engagement in such processes is linked with better adjustment.
Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2015). An idiographic and nomothetic approach to the study of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ sociocultural stressors and adjustment. Prevention Science, 16, 386-396. doi:10.1007/s11121-014-0502-2. [PMID: 25099084]
The current study examined the longitudinal relations of socio-cultural stressors (i.e., acculturative stressors, enculturative stressors, ethnic discrimination) and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ depressive symptoms and risk taking behaviors. Utilizing an idiographic and nomothetic approach, we conducted lagged analyses to examine how individuals’ fluctuations in stressors predicted subsequent adjustment. Further, we investigated potential threshold effects by examining if the impact of fluctuations in stressors differed at varying levels of stressors. Mexican-origin adolescent females (N=184) participated in yearly in-home assessments across 5 years and reported on their experiences of acculturative and enculturative stressors, ethnic discrimination, depressive symptoms, and risk-taking behaviors. Findings revealed that within-person fluctuations in acculturative stressors and, to a lesser extent, perceived discrimination related to youths’ depressive symptoms. For risk-taking behaviors, however, only within-person fluctuations in enculturative stressors emerged as significant. Further, a threshold effect emerged in the link between enculturative stressors and risk-taking behaviors, suggesting that fluctuations in enculturative stressors predicted changes in risk taking behaviors at high levels of enculturative stressors but not low levels. Our findings highlight the differential relations between socio-cultural stressors and adolescent females’ adjustment and suggest that prevention programs aimed at reducing depressive symptoms should attend to any degree of change in socio-cultural stressors, whereas programs focused on risk-taking behaviors should be especially attuned to levels of enculturative stress.
Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2015). Acculturative and enculturative stress, depressive symptoms, and maternal warmth: Examining within-person relations among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Development & Psychopathology, 27, 293-308. doi:10.1017/S0954579414000637. [PMID: 25004391]
Mexican-origin adolescent mothers face numerous social challenges during dual-cultural adaptation that are theorized to contribute to greater depressive symptoms. Alongside challenges, there are familial resources that may offer protection. As such, the current study examined the trajectories of depressive symptoms among 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (M age = 16.80, SD = 1.00) across a 4-year period (third trimester of pregnancy, and 10, 24, and 36 months postpartum). Further, we examined the within-person relations of two unique sources of stress experienced during dual-cultural adaptation, acculturative and enculturative stress, and youths' depressive symptoms; we also tested whether adolescent mothers' perceptions of warmth from their own mothers emerged as protective. Adolescent mothers reported a decline in depressive symptoms after the transition to parenthood. Acculturative and enculturative stress emerged as significant positive within-person predictors of depressive symptoms. Maternal warmth emerged as a protective factor in the relation between enculturative stressors and depressive symptoms; however, for acculturative stressors, the protective effect of maternal warmth only emerged for US-born youth. Findings illustrate the multidimensionality of stress experienced during the cultural adaptation process and a potential mechanism for resilience among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Toomey, R. B., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B. (2015). Person-environment fit: Everyday conflict and coparenting conflict in Mexican-origin teen mother families. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 21, 136-145.doi:10.1037/a0037069. [PMID: 25111551]
The current study examined whether a match or mismatch between teen mothers’ cultural orientation and the cultural context of the family (i.e., familial ethnic socialization) predicted mother-daughter everyday and coparenting conflict, and in turn, teen mothers’ adjustment. Participants were 204 Mexican-origin teen mothers (M age = 16.81 years; SD = 1.00). Consistent with a person-environment fit perspective, findings indicated that a mismatch between teen mothers’ cultural orientation (i.e., high mainstream cultural involvement) and the cultural context of the family (i.e., higher levels of familial ethnic socialization) predicted greater mother-daughter everyday conflict and coparenting conflict one year later. However, when there was a match (i.e., high levels of familial ethnic socialization for teen mothers with high Mexican orientation), familial ethnic socialization was not associated with mother-daughter conflict. In addition, mother-daughter conflict was positively associated with depressive symptoms and engagement in risky behaviors one year later among all teen mothers.
Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Jahromi, L. B., Updegraff, K. A. (2015). Grandmothers’ familism values, adolescent mothers’ parenting efficacy, and children’s social competence. Journal of Family Psychology, 29, 624-634. doi:10.1037/fam0000103[PMID: 26075734]
The current study examined intergenerational processes related to familism values among grandmothers, adolescent mothers, and their children. Mexican-origin families (N = 180) participated in in-home interviews during adolescent mothers' third trimester of pregnancy and 10-, 24-, 48-, and 60-months postpartum. Using longitudinal path analyses, we linked grandmothers' familism values and behaviors to adolescent mothers' parenting processes and, in turn, their child's well-being, taking into account developmentally relevant needs of adolescent mothers. Results revealed that grandmothers' familism values before the birth of the baby predicted child-rearing support and communication within the grandmother-adolescent mother dyad after the birth of the baby. Support, but not communication, was in turn predictive of adolescent mothers' parenting self-efficacy, but only at high levels of autonomy granting within the grandmother-adolescent mother dyad. Finally, adolescent mothers' parenting self-efficacy predicted children's greater social competence (48 months old), which in turn, predicted greater academic functioning (60 months old). Our findings shed light on the behavioral correlates of familism values within Mexican-origin families with adolescent mothers and highlight the need to consider factors that are developmentally salient (e.g., autonomy) when understanding how familism behaviors benefit adolescent mothers and their children.
Toomey, R. B., Updegraff, K. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Jahromi, L. B. (2015). Gender role attitudes across the transition to adolescent motherhood in Mexican-origin families. Family Process, 54, 247-262. doi:10.1111/famp.12127. [PMID: 25615441]
Using longitudinal data collected at four time points from 191 dyads of Mexican-origin adolescent first-time mothers and their mother figures, we examined changes in and socialization of traditional gender role attitudes across the transition to parenthood using latent growth curve modeling (LGC) modeling and actor-partner interdependence modeling (APIM). Person-centered analyses indicated that adolescent mothers’, regardless of nativity status, and their foreign-born mother figures’ gender role attitudes became more egalitarian across adolescents’ transition to parenthood, spanning form the 3rd trimester of pregnancy to 36 months postpartum. Further, variable-centered analyses suggested that adolescents’ and their mother figures’ gender role attitudes during adolescents’ third trimester of pregnancy equally contributed to subsequent increases in one another’s gender role attitudes at 10 months postpartum. Importantly, this reciprocal socialization process was not moderated by adolescent mothers’ nor by their mother’ figures’ nativity status. Findings suggest that it is important to understand the cultural and intergenerational family processes that contribute to the development of gender role attitudes during the transition to parenthood for adolescent mothers and their mother figures in Mexican-origin families.
Perez-Brena, N., Updegraff, K. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L. B., & Guimond, A. B. (2015). Coparenting profiles in the context of Mexican-origin teen pregnancy: Links to mother-daughter relationship quality and adjustment. Family Process, 54, 263-279. doi:10.1111/famp.12115. [PMID: 25438748]
The current study explored the multifaceted nature of the mother-adolescent co-parental relationship with data from 172 Mexican American adolescent mothers and their own mothers at ten months post-childbirth. Profiles of mother-adolescent co-parenting were created using adolescents’ reports of three dimensions of co-parenting (communication, involvement and conflict) with the use of latent profile analysis. Four profiles were identified: (a) Harmonious Co-Parents (equal involvement, high communication, low conflict); (b) Harmonious-Adolescent Primary (adolescent is more involved than mother, high communication, low conflict); (c) Conflictual Co-Parents (equal involvement, high communication, high conflict); and (d) Conflictual-Adolescent Primary (Adolescent is more involved than mother, moderate communication, high conflict). Next, predictors and outcomes of profile membership were explored. Mother-daughter conflict and psychological control prior to childbirth were associated with profile membership after childbirth. Specifically, adolescent girls and mothers who belonged in the Conflictual Co-Parents profile reported the least positive mother-daughter relationship qualities prenatally. In addition, adolescents’ and mothers’ depressive symptoms and parental self-efficacy after childbirth were linked to profile membership, such that the Harmonious-Adolescent Primary profile reported the most positive adjustment patterns and profiles with high co-parental conflict (i.e., Conflictual Co-Parenting and Conflictual-Adolescent Primary profiles) showed the least positive adjustment patterns. Discussion considers the implications of mother-daughter co-parenting for families of adolescent mothers in the early years of parenting.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2014). Trajectories of problem behavior among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 3, 1-10. doi:10.1037/lat0000028. [PMID: 25893152]
Engagement in problem behaviors during adolescence has important implications for academic achievement and psychosocial well-being. The current study examined engagement in problem behavior across the transition from pregnancy to parenthood among a sample of 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (ages 15-18 years; Mage = 16.8 at Time 1) to better understand the behaviors in which this sample engaged, how engagement changed over this period of transition, and what risk and protective factors were associated with reduced or enhanced risk. Descriptively, this sample engaged in relatively low levels of problem behaviors. Further, latent growth curve modeling revealed that engagement in problem behaviors decreased initially from the third trimester of pregnancy to 10 months postpartum, but increased slightly between 36 and 48 months postpartum. Higher levels of mother-daughter conflict, acculturative stress, and perceived ethnic discrimination were associated with higher initial levels of adolescent mothers’ engagement in problem behaviors, whereas higher levels of ethnic identity affirmation predicted fewer problem behaviors. Importantly, higher levels of perceived ethnic discrimination were associated with a sharper increase in problem behavior by adolescent mothers between 36 and 48 months postpartum. Findings suggest a need to consider family relationships and minority-status risk and protective factors when understanding change in problem behaviors among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers across the transition to parenthood.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Toomey, R. B., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., & Flores, L. I. (2014). Perceived discrimination and ethnic affirmation: Anglo culture orientation as a moderator among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Child Development, 85, 1357-1365. doi:10.1111/cdev.12191. [PMID: 24308319]
The current study examined whether Anglo culture orientation modified the association between adolescents’ perceived ethnic discrimination and ethnic identity affirmation over time in a sample of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (N = 205, M age = 16.24 years). Results indicated that perceived ethnic discrimination was significantly associated with decreases in ethnic identity affirmation over time for adolescents reporting high Anglo culture orientation, but no relation existed for adolescents reporting low Anglo culture orientation. Findings suggest that a person-environment mismatch (i.e., between adolescents’ perceptions of their connection to Anglo culture and the messages they receive from others regarding that connection in terms of perceived ethnic discrimination) may be detrimental to adolescents’ development of positive feelings about their ethnicity.
Bravo, D. Y., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Guimond, A. B., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2014). Familism, family ethnic socialization, and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ educational adjustment. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20, 389-400. doi:10.1037/a0036527. [PMID: 25045950]
The current longitudinal study examined how familism values and family ethnic socialization contributed to Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ (N = 205) educational adjustment (i.e., educational expectations, educational utility), and whether these associations may be moderated by adolescent mothers’ ethnic centrality. Findings showed that adolescent mothers’ reports of familism values and family ethnic socialization were positively associated with their beliefs about educational utility, but not educational expectations. Ethnic centrality moderated the association between adolescent mothers’ familism values and educational utility, such that adolescent mothers’ endorsement of familism values during pregnancy were associated with significant increases in educational utility after their transition to parenthood, but only when adolescents reported high levels of ethnic centrality. Moreover, ethnic centrality directly predicted adolescent mothers’ educational expectations. Results highlight the importance of family and ethnic centrality for promoting Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ educational outcomes. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding adolescent mothers’ educational adjustment outcomes in the context of family and culture.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Williams, D., Harvey-Mendoza, E. C., Jahromi, L. B., & Updegraff, K. A. (2014). Impact of Arizona's S.B. 1070 immigration law on utilization of health care and public assistance among Mexican-origin teen mothers and their mother figures. American Journal of Public Health, 104 (S1), S28-S34. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301655. [PMID: 24354823]
Objectives: We examined the impact of Arizona’s “Supporting Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” (SB 1070, enacted July 29, 2010) on the utilization of preventive health care and public assistance among Mexican-origin families.
Methods: Data came from 142 adolescent mothers and 137 mother figures who participated in a quasi-experimental, ongoing longitudinal study of the health and development of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their infants (4 waves; March 2007–December 2011). We used general estimating equations to determine whether utilization of preventive health care and public assistance differed before versus after SB 1070’s enactment.
Results: Adolescents reported declines in use of public assistance and were less likely to take their baby to the doctor; compared with older adolescents, younger adolescents were less likely to use preventive health care after SB 1070. Mother figures were less likely to use public assistance after SB 1070 if they were born in the United States and if their post–SB 1070 interview was closer to the law’s enactment.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that immigration policies such as SB 1070 may contribute to decreases in use of preventive health care and public assistance among high-risk populations.
Jahromi, L. B., Guimond, A. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Toomey, R. B. (2014). Family context, Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ parenting knowledge, and children’s subsequent developmental outcomes. Child Development, 85(2), 593-609. doi:10.1111/cdev.12160. [PMID: 24004448]
This study examined parenting knowledge among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (N = 191), family contextual factors associated with adolescents’ parenting knowledge, and toddlers’ subsequent developmental outcomes. Data came from home interviews and direct child assessments. Adolescents both under- and over-estimated children’s developmental timing, and showed differences in their knowledge concerning specific child development domains. Instrumental support from mother figures was positively linked to adolescents’ knowledge accuracy, whereas emotional support was negatively related to adolescents’ knowledge confidence. Furthermore, whereas mother figures’ autonomy-granting was positively linked to knowledge confidence, psychological control from mother figures was associated with less accurate adolescent parenting knowledge. Toddlers of adolescents with more accurate knowledge showed positive developmental functioning at age two. Intervention implications for adolescent mothers are discussed.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Guimond, A. B., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. (2013). A longitudinal examination of support, self-esteem, and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ parenting efficacy. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75 (3), 746-759. doi:10.1111/jomf.12019. [PMID: 24244049]
Guided by a risk and resilience framework, this study used a prospective longitudinal, multiple-reporter design to examine how social support from a mother figure during pregnancy interacted with Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ self-esteem to inform their parenting efficacy when their children were 10 months old. Using reports of perceived social support by adolescent mothers (Mage = 16.24, SD = .99) and their mother figures (Mage = 40.84, SD = 7.04) in 205 dyads, and controlling for demographic factors (i.e., adolescent age, adolescent nativity, family income, mothers’ educational attainment, adolescent-mother coresidence) and adolescents’ social support from a significant other, findings indicated that social support during pregnancy was positively associated with adolescent mothers’ future parenting efficacy when adolescent mothers had relatively lower self-esteem. Findings were consistent for adolescents’ and mothers’ reports, and emphasize the value of social support from a mother figure among adolescent mothers with lower self-esteem. Implications for interventions are presented.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña -Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2013). Ethnic identity development and ethnic discrimination: Examining longitudinal associations with adjustment for Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Journal of Adolescence, 36, 825 - 833. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.06.004. [PMID: 24011098]
Few studies examine normative developmental processes among teenage mothers. Framed from a risk and resilience perspective, this prospective study examined the potential for ethnic identity status (e.g., diffuse, achieved), a normative developmental task during adolescence, to buffer the detrimental effects of discrimination on later adjustment and self-esteem in a sample of 204 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Ethnic discrimination was associated with increases in depressive symptoms and decreases in self-esteem over time, regardless of ethnic identity status. However, ethnic discrimination was only associated with increases in engagement in risky behavior among diffuse adolescents, suggesting that achieved or foreclosed identities buffered the risk of ethnic discrimination on later risky behavior. Findings suggest that ethnic identity resolution (i.e., the component shared by those in foreclosed and achieved statuses) may be a key cultural factor to include in prevention and intervention efforts aimed to reduce the negative effects of ethnic discrimination on later externalizing problems.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña -Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L. B., & Updegraff, K. A. (2013). Measuring social support from mother-figures in the transition from pregnancy to parenthood among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 35, 194-212. doi:10.1177/0739986312470636. [PMID: 23729988]
Social support for adolescent mothers, particularly from mother figures, can buffer risks and promote well-being. To date, no longitudinal research has investigated how the dimensions of social support may change during the transition from pregnancy to parenthood for adolescent mothers. This study examined stability and change in dimensions of social support from the third trimester of pregnancy to two years postpartum among 191 dyads of Mexican-origin adolescent first-time mothers and their mother figures. Perceptions of social support received from a mother figure shifted from a single dimension (i.e., global support) to three distinct factors (instrumental, emotional, and companionship support) during this transition; however, social support provision as reported by mother figures remained stable. Measurement equivalence was established across interview language (English and Spanish) and across two time points postpartum. Bivariate correlations provided support for the convergent and divergent validity of these measures. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Updegraff, K. A., Perez-Brena, N., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L. B., & Harvey-Mendoza, E. (2013). Mothers’ trajectories of depressive symptoms across Mexican-origin adolescent daughters’ transition to parenthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 27 (3), 376-386. doi:10.1037/a0032909. [PMID: 23750520]
This study draws from a life-course perspective in examining trajectories of mothers’ depressive symptoms across their adolescent daughters’ transition to parenthood in 204 Mexican-origin families using latent class growth analysis. Four distinct trajectories were identified based on mothers’ depressive symptoms prior to the birth and 10 and 24 months postpartum. Two trajectories were characterized by stable levels of depressive symptoms but were differentiated in their levels of symptoms (i.e., High/Stable and Low/Stable). The remaining two trajectories were characterized by changes from pre- to post-birth, with one group exhibiting increases in depressive symptoms (i.e., Low/Post-Birth Increase) and the other group characterized by decreases in depressive symptoms (i.e., Low/Post-Birth Decrease). Consistent with a risk and resilience perspective, mothers with more disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances and fewer intrapersonal resources (i.e., self-esteem, ethnic identity affirmation) were more likely to be members of the High/Stable group. In addition, daughters of mothers in the High/Stable group were more likely to have lower self-esteem as compared to daughters in the other three groups. Collectively, these findings suggested that the High/Stable group was at risk for adjustment difficulties during and after the transition to adolescent parenthood. In contrast, membership in the Low/Post-Birth Decrease trajectory group was associated with lower depressive symptoms and higher self-esteem for mothers and daughters. Findings point to the need to identify mothers who are at risk for depressive symptoms during their adolescent daughters’ pregnancy and offer prevention and intervention programs that reduce risks and enhance protective factors.
Jahromi, L. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., Lara, E. E. (2012). Birth characteristics and developmental outcomes of infants of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers: Risk and promotive factors. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 146-156. doi:10.1177/0165025411430777. [PMID: 22723720]
Infants of adolescent mothers are at increased risk for negative developmental outcomes. Given the high rate of pregnancy among Mexican-origin adolescent females in the US, the present study examined health characteristics at birth and developmental functioning at 10 months of age in a sample of 205 infants of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Infants were relatively healthy at birth and had near average developmental functioning at 10 months. The educational attainment of adolescents and their mothers, and infants’ temperamental regulation, promoted positive developmental functioning, while the combination of low adolescent parental self-efficacy and high infant temperamental negativity was associated with greater developmental delay. Findings are discussed with respect to implications for prevention with this at-risk population of mothers and infants.
Updegraff, K. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Perez-Brena, N., & Pflieger, J. (2012). Mother-daughter conflict and adjustment in Mexican-origin families: Exploring the role of family and sociocultural context. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development, 135, 59-89. doi:10.1002/cd.20004. [PMID: 22407882]
This study examined the role of mother-daughter conflict in both mothers’ and daughters’ adjustment. Drawing from ecologically oriented and person-environment fit models, we investigated how the family context, as defined by the transition to adolescent motherhood, and the sociocultural context, as measured by mother-daughter discrepancies in cultural orientations, shaped the associations between conflict and adjustment in Mexican-origin families. Overall, conflict was positively related to mothers’ and adolescents’ depressive symptoms and adolescents’ risky behaviors. This relation was strongest when daughters were more Mexican-oriented than their mothers, and weakest when mothers were more Mexican-oriented than their daughters.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., White, R. M. B., Herzog, M., Pflieger, J., & Madden-Derdich, D. (2011). Developing and testing a measure of social support with Mexican-origin pregnant adolescents and their mother figures. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 33, 377-397. doi:10.1177/0739986311412930.
The current study describes the development and psychometric testing of the Global Support from Mother Figure during Pregnancy scale (GSMF-P). The measure was developed in both Spanish and English to assess social support provided to adolescents during their pregnancies. The current study examined the reliability, cross-language equivalence, and validity of the scale with a sample of 207 pregnant, Mexican-origin adolescents (M age = 16.2, SD = .98) and their mother figures (M age = 40.9, SD = 7.01). The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency across reporters and language versions. Furthermore, findings provided support for the measurement equivalence of the English and Spanish versions. Finally, all construct validity hypotheses were supported, providing initial evidence that the GSMF-P appears to be assessing the construct of mother figure social support from both adolescents’ and mother figures’ perspectives.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Gonzales-Backen, M. A. (2011). Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ stressors and psychosocial functioning: Examining ethnic identity affirmation and familism as moderators. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 140-157. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9511-z. [PMID: 20148359]
Mexican-origin adolescent mothers are at increased risk for poor psychosocial functioning as a result of various stressors with which they must contend; however, existing theory suggests that cultural strengths may help mitigate the negative effects of stress. As such, the current study examined the associations between cultural and economic stressors and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ (N = 207; M age = 16.23 years, SD = 1.0) internalizing and externalizing behaviors, as well as the degree to which ethnic identity affirmation and familism values moderated these links. Adolescent mothers who reported higher levels of discrimination, acculturative stress, and economic stress also reported higher depressive symptoms and greater involvement in risky behaviors. Importantly, ethnic identity affirmation minimized the negative associations between cultural stressors and adolescents’ involvement in risky behaviors, with the associations being weakest among adolescents with high levels of ethnic identity. Familism appeared to serve a protective function under conditions of low levels of discrimination, but not under conditions of high levels of discrimination. Findings are discussed with special attention to the developmental and cultural contexts in which these adolescent mothers’ lives are embedded, and implications for future research and practice are presented.
Presentations
Bravo, D.Y., Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Updegraff, K.A., & Jahromi, L.B. (2016). Achievement Motivation among Mexican-origin Adolescent Mothers: The Moderating Role of Familism Values. Poster presented at Society for Research on Adolescence, Baltimore, MD.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2016, March). Processes that inform Mexican-origin children's ethnic-racial identification over time. Poster presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
Wendelberger, B. J., Seay, D. M., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L. B., & Updegraff, K. A. (2016, March). Dimensions of social support and their associations with Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' mental health. Poster presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
Bravo, D.Y., Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Derlan, C. L., Updegraff, K.A., Jahromi, L.B. (2015, November). Autonomy granting and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ educational adjustment. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations, Vancouver, B. C., Canada.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Bravo, D.Y., Jahromi, L.B., Updegraff, K.A. (2015, November). Change in children’s disruptive play over time: Predictors and outcomes. Poster presented at the National Council on Family Relations, Vancouver, B. C., Canada.
Seay, D.M., Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Jahromi, L.B., Updegraff, K.A. (2015, November). Family conflict and child behavior over time: Effortful control as a moderator.Poster presented at the National Council on Family Relations, Vancouver, B. C., Canada.
Bravo, D.Y., Jahromi, L.B., Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Updegraff, K.A. (2015, March). Teen mothers’ kindergarten readiness beliefs and the home context: The role of parenting stress, risk, and protective factors. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Zeiders, K. H., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2015, March). Examining the prospective association between ethnic discrimination and ethnic-racial identity using a within-person approach. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Hollis, N.D., Umaña-Taylor, A., Jahromi, L.B., & Updegraff, K. Identifying adolescent mothers most in need of targeted interventions to prevent physical child abuse. (2015, March). Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Jahromi, L. B., Zeiders, K. H., Umana-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A. (2015, March). The role of effortful control in the link between coparenting conflict and academic readiness for children of teen mothers. Paper symposium presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Jahromi, L. B., Umana-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., Zeiders, K. H. (2015, March). Trajectories of developmental functioning among children of adolescent mothers: Factors associated with risk for delay. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Seay, D. M., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L. B., & Updegraff, K. A. (2015, March). A prospective study of adolescent mothers’ social competence, children’s effortful control and compliance, and children’s subsequent developmental outcomes. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2015, March). Are ethnic and personal identity unique constructs? An investigation among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J, Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2015, March) Family sociocultural stressors, parenting behaviors, and children’s well-being: A longitudinal examination from pregnancy to 5-years postpartum. Paper symposium presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Bravo, D., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2014, November). Mothers’ Educational Expectations as a moderator of Acculturative Stress and Adolescent Mothers’ Adjustment. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations, Maryland, Baltimore.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., & Fuentes, S. (2014, November). A prospective test of the family stress model with Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. In N. Cabrera (Chair), Mexican American Families: Illuminating Under-studied relationships. Symposium conducted at the 76th annual National Council on Family Relations Conference, Baltimore, MD.
Toomey, R. B., Jones, S. K., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2014, November). Two sides of the same coin: Reporter discrepancies in Latina families. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Baltimore, MD.
Seay, D. M., Jahromi, L. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Updegraff, K. A. (2014, November). Intergenerational transmission of maltreatment in Latina families. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development 2014 Special Topic Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J, Jahromi, L. B., & Updegraff, K. A. (2014, November). Intergenerational benefits of familism values for Mexican-origin families. Poster presented at the 76th annual National Council on Family Relations Conference, Baltimore, MD.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Toomey, R. B., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2014, June). Measuring Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ cultural socialization of their preschool-aged children. Paper presented at the Third Biennial Conference of the American Psychological Association Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues, Eugene, OR.
Bravo, D. Y., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Toomey, R., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. (2014, March). Mexican-origin Adolescent Mothers’ acculturative stress and the educational aspiration-expectation gap. Poster session presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, Austin, TX.
Harvey-Mendoza, E. C., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Derlan, C. L., Zeiders, K. H., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2014, March). Contextual influences on Mexican-origin teen mothers’ values and ethnic identity. Poster session presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, Austin, TX.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2014, March). Trajectories of problem behavior among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers: An examination of risk enhancing and reducing factors. Paper presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, Austin, TX.
Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2014, March). Cultural adaptation stress, depressive symptoms, and maternal warmth: Examining within-person relations among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Paper presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting, Austin, TX.
Bravo, D. Y., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Zeiders, K. H., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., & Harvey-Mendoza, E. C. (2013, November). Implications of mother-adolescent relationships across economic hardship classes. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, San Antonio, TX.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., & Zeiders, K. H. (2013, November). Values and stressors as predictors of ethnic socialization behaviors. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, San Antonio, TX.
Harvey-Mendoza, E. C., Bravo, D. Y., Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2013, November). Language competency pressures among Mexican-origin mother-daughter dyads. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, San Antonio, TX.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2013, November). Gender role attitudes across the transition to parenthood among teen moms. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, San Antonio, TX.
Toomey, R., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Williams, D., Harvey-Mendoza, E., Jahromi, L., & Updegraff, K. (2013, April). The impact of Arizona’s immigration law on health and service utilization of Mexican-origin teen mothers. Paper presented at the 2013 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Bravo, D., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Toomey, R., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2013, April). Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ academic expectations: Predictors and outcomes associated with different growth trajectories. Paper presented at the 2013 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Derlan, C., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., & Guimond, A. B. (2013, April). The family system over time: Mother-grandmother and mother-father co-parenting among Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and families. Poster presented at the 2013 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Derlan, C., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., (2013, April). Maternal cultural characteristics and ethnic socialization as predictors of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ ethnic identity. Poster presented at the 2013 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Harvey-Mendoza, E., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Guimond, A. B., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2013, April). Cultural and family factors on Mexican-Origin teen mothers’ educational aspirations, expectations, and attainment. Poster presented at the 2013 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Killoren, S., Updegraff, K. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Jahromi, L. B. (2013, April). Exploring cultural correlates of pregnant Mexican-origin adolescents' attitudes toward teen pregnancy. Poster presented at the 2013 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Bravo, D., Umaña-Taylor, A., Guimond, A., Updegraff, K., & Jahromi, L. (2012, October). Teen pregnancy attitudes, coparenting, and teen moms’ depressive symptoms. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Guimond, A., Toomey, R. B., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2012, October). Person-environment fit: Co-parenting in Mexican-origin teen mother families. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
Guimond, A., Jahromi, L. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Updegraff, K. A. (2012, October). Teen moms’ parenting competence and child social-emotional outcomes. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
Harvey-Mendoza, E. C., Umaña-Taylor, A., Guimond, A., Updegraff, K., & Jahromi, L. (2012, October). Maternal and school influences on Mexican-origin pregnant teens’ education. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
Jahromi, L. B., Guimond, A. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A. & Toomey, R. B. (2012, October). Family context promotes teen moms’ parenting knowledge and child outcomes. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
Perez-Brena, N., Updegraff, K. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Guimond, A. (2012, October). Co-parenting profiles in the context of Mexican-origin teen pregnancy: Links to mother-daughter relationship quality and adjustment. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L. B., & Updegraff, K. A. (2012, October). Does support change? The transition from teen pregnancy to raising toddlers. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
Updegraff, K.A., Perez-Brena, N.J., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L.B., & Harvey-Mendoza, E.C. (2012, October). Mexican-origin mothers’ adjustment across daughters’ transition to parenthood. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
Flowers, K., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Guimond, A., Jahromi, L., & Updegraff, K. (2012, April). Mexican American adolescent repeat pregnancy: Predictive factors. Poster presented at the 2012 Arizona State University Barrett, The Honors College Celebrating Honors Symposium, Tempe, AZ.
Bravo, D., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Guimond, A., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. B. (2012, March). Familism, family ethnic socialization, and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ psychosocial adjustment. Poster presented at the 2012 Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Conference, Vancouver BC, Canada.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Toomey, R. B., Updegraff, K. A., Jahromi, L. B., & Flores, L. I. (2012, March). A longitudinal examination of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ discrimination, acculturation, and ethnic identity. Poster presented at the 2012 Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Conference, Vancouver BC, Canada.
Toomey, R. B., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L., & Updegraff, K. A. (2012, March). Ethnic identity development and ethnic discrimination: Examining dynamic associations over time for Latina adolescent mothers. Paper presented at the 2012 Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Conference, Vancouver BC, Canada.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Guimond, A. B., Updegraff, K. A., & Jahromi, L. (2012, March). A longitudinal examination of social support and self-esteem interacting to inform Mexican-origin teen moms’ parenting efficacy. Paper presented at the 2012 Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Conference, Vancouver BC, Canada.
Derlan, C. L., Umaña-Taylor, A., Guimond, A. B., & Updegraff, K. (2011, November). Intergenerational transmission of enculturation in Mexican-origin families. Poster to be presented at the 2011 National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Orlando, FL.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Jahromi, L., & Updegraff, K., (2011, March). A longitudinal examination of factors that promote or inhibit Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' readiness to parent. Paper presented at the 2011 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Montreal, Canada.
Jahromi, L., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Updegraff, K., (2011, March). Birth characteristics and developmental outcomes of infants of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers: Risk and protective factors. Paper presented at the 2011 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Montreal, Canada.
Gonzales-Backen, M. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K., & Derlan, C. L. (2011, March). Intergenerational transmission of ethnic identity within Mexican-origin families: Examining at-risk and community-based samples. Poster presented at the 2011 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Montreal, Canada.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K., White, R., Herzog, M., & Pflieger, J. (2010, November). Examining a measure of social support among Mexican-origin teen mothers and their mother figures. Paper presented at the 2010 National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Gonzales-Backen, M. A. (2010, March). Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ stressors and psychosocial functioning: Ethnic identity affirmation and familism as moderators. Paper presented at the Biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Philadelphia, PA.
Updegraff, K. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Pflieger, J. & Perez-Brena, N. (2010, March). Mother-daughter conflict and adjustment in Mexican-origin families: Exploring the role of family context. Paper presented at the Biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Philadelphia, PA.
Gonzales-Backen, M. A., Alfaro, E. C., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Updegraff, K. A. (2009, November). Mothers’ and adolescents’ ethnic identity: The role of relationship quality. Poster presented at the 2009 National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Updegraff, K. A., & Gonzales-Backen, M. A. (2009, June). Findings from the Supporting MAMI Project: How cultural factors can protect Mexican-origin Teen Mothers from the Effects of Common Stressors. Invited Speaker for Department of Health and Human Services Adolescent and Family Life Research Webcast, Rockville, MD.
Derlan, C. L., Gonzales-Backen, M. A., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Updegraff, K. A. (2009, April). An examination of ethnic identity, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms among pregnant Mexican-origin adolescents. Poster presented at the Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.
Killoren, S. E., Pflieger, J. C., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., & Updegraff, K. A. (2009, April). Correlates of Mexican-origin pregnant adolescents' attitudes toward pregnancy. Poster presented at the Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, CO.