Gustavo Carlo - US grants

Sharing, comforting, volunteerism, and charitable donations are all considered different forms of prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions intended to benefit others) which are beneficial to society and therefore highly valued and desired. Developmental researchers have provided evidence that there are growth spurts in these behaviors across childhood and adolescence. However, existing models of prosocial development have been guided mostly by theories that emphasize the role of social cognitions and/or emotions on prosocial and moral behaviors. For the most part, the role of culture and ethnicity on prosocial development has been less clear in these theories, even though there is clear evidence of cultural and ethnic differences in prosocial development. Although both social cognitions and emotions are significant correlates of prosocial behaviors, new theories of prosocial development are needed that integrate the role of culture and ethnicity in prosocial development. Unfortunately, the bulk of the research investigating the developmental mechanisms that lead to prosocial development has been conducted with white, mostly middle class, children. Thus, our understanding of the development and predictors of prosocial behaviors in ethnic minority children is quite limited. To begin to address these issues, research is needed on the development of prosocial behaviors in ethnic minority children and adolescents. This project is designed to examine parenting, sociocognitive, and culture-related correlates of prosocial behaviors across childhood and early adolescence in one ethnic minority group (i.e., Mexican Americans). The two-phased systematic research agenda will combine qualitative and quantitative approaches. The overarching goal of the project is to gain an understanding of positive, social behaviors in Mexican American and European American children in the United States. The project is designed primarily (a) to examine ethnic group similarities and differences with respect to prosocial traits and behaviors in Mexican American and European American children and (b) to investigate the parenting, familial, and sociocognitive correlates of prosocial behaviors in Mexican American and European American children. When completed, the research will answer a number of questions that social and developmental psychologists have advanced in recent years. These questions include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Is normal development of the abilities to understand another's point of view, to feel sorrow or concern for needy others, and to make moral decisions when faced with a context in which there are societially defined right and wrong behaviors associated with high levels of prosocial behaviors in both Mexican- and European-American children? (2) Do both Mexican- and European-American children who exhibit high levels of prosocial behaviors have parents who are warm and supportive and use explanatory and empathy-inducing disciplining practices? (3) Do Mexican American parents, compared to European American parents, emphasize collectivism (i.e., orientation towards greater social group) and familial interdependence, which in turn accounts for ethnic group differences in prosocial behaviors? (4) Do family and parenting processes impact or explain the relations of the abilities to understand another's point of view, to feel sorrow or concern for needy others, and to make moral decisions to prosocial behaviors in Mexican- and European-American children? (5) Do the adaptations that Mexican American children make to the mainstream and ethnic cultures as a result of the processes of acculturation and enculturation impact prosocial development. By addressing these questions, this study is expected to yield important information about variables that might promote prosocial behaviors and produce useful and valuable new measures of prosocial behaviors to use with Mexican American children and adolescents. These products will inform existing theories of prosocial development and will enhance intervention programs aimed at increasing behaviors that benefit others and society.

There has been tremendous growth in Latinos across the U.S. in the last two decades. Despite this growth, our understanding of Latino youth development is relatively limited due, in part, to traditional theories of development that emphasize the role of cognitions and parenting. However, contemporary theoretical conceptualizations acknowledge the role of different systems of children's broader social ecology such as their community and culture. Moreover, in the past, models of youth development have been applied to understanding Latino youth (and other ethnic minorities) development without adequate consideration of culture-specific mechanisms of development. Thus, despite the emergence of newer conceptualizations, models and research that integrate the role of culture and ecology are few. The proposed project will use a state-of-the-art approach that treats culture as a dynamic system, specifying intervening processes and structures that impact Latino youth learning and development. One advantage of this approach is that it acknowledges the wide within-culture group variations in behavioral outcomes. As a result, potentially valuable information about different sources of variation can be obtained for use in developing comprehensive models of Latino youth development. To begin to construct developmental theories that are sensitive to culture-specific variables and processes, research is needed that employs multidisciplinary theories and methodology. The goals of the proposed research are to: (a) document the linkages between contextual and individual variables and Latino youth development; (b) investigate the intervening sociocognitive processes that mediate these linkages; and (c) examine the impact of acculturative stress, ethnic identity, and cultural values on Latino youth development. To accomplish these goals, Mexican American youth ages 13-16 years and their mothers will be interviewed. The sample will be recruited from two distinct communities (rural and urban) in an understudied region of the U.S. (Northern Great Plains) that has experienced substantial growth in the Latino population in the last decade. The interview will include questions regarding the community context, family and peer relationships, sociocognitive skills, cultural processes (e.g., ethnic identity, acculturative stress), and positive (e.g., helping behaviors, academic outcomes) and negative (e.g., aggression, depression) developmental outcomes.

The proposed project will have broad impact across several areas. The findings will significantly contribute to the development of scientific theories that integrate culture and ecology in Latino youth development. Furthermore, the project will greatly enhance our understanding of Latino youth development with a sample of Latino families from an understudied region of the U.S. The research will refine and validate age- and ethnic-appropriate instruments to use with Latino youth and their families in future research. Moreover, the project will provide valuable scientific training and professional skill development for junior scientists and students, especially culturally-sensitive training to work with Latino families. Finally, the findings are expected to inform practitioners, program developers, and social policy makers on important conceptual issues relevant to human development in Latino youth and families. The findings will be widely disseminated to community and social service agencies, schools, in research publications, and at national and local professional conferences.