TY - JOUR
T1 - Family Dynamics and Adjustment Across Latino/a Students’ Transition to College
T2 - Disentangling Within and Between-Person Reciprocal Associations
AU - Sasser, Jeri
AU - Waddell, Jack T.
AU - Doane, Leah D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Psychological Association
PY - 2022/10/6
Y1 - 2022/10/6
N2 - Latino/a adolescents are increasingly represented in higher education. Whereas previous work suggests that positive aspects of the family can promote adjustment during the college transition, less is known regarding the longitudinal, reciprocal nature of these associations. The current study examined changes in parenting, family dynamics, and adjustment across the transition from high school to college among 207 Latino/a young adults (Mage = 18.10; 65.0% female identifying) in the Southwestern United States and investigated within and between-person reciprocal relations using standard and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. Participants self-reported on parental support, parental monitoring, family communication, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use during their senior year of high school (Time 1; spring/summer 2017), first semester of college (Time 2; fall 2017), and second semester of college (Time 3; spring/summer 2018). Parental support, family communication, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use increased across the initial transition from high school to college, whereas parental monitoring decreased across time. Reciprocal effects were largely between-person driven. Family communication in high school was concurrently and prospectively related to fewer depressive symptoms. Higher parental monitoring during the first semester of college was related to less alcohol use within and across semesters. In addition, students who experienced within-person increases in depressive symptoms during the first semester of college perceived less parental support than usual the next semester. Study findings point to the importance of developmental timing and further highlight the role that family plays during Latino/a students’ transition to college. Implications for family-based prevention efforts are discussed.
AB - Latino/a adolescents are increasingly represented in higher education. Whereas previous work suggests that positive aspects of the family can promote adjustment during the college transition, less is known regarding the longitudinal, reciprocal nature of these associations. The current study examined changes in parenting, family dynamics, and adjustment across the transition from high school to college among 207 Latino/a young adults (Mage = 18.10; 65.0% female identifying) in the Southwestern United States and investigated within and between-person reciprocal relations using standard and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. Participants self-reported on parental support, parental monitoring, family communication, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use during their senior year of high school (Time 1; spring/summer 2017), first semester of college (Time 2; fall 2017), and second semester of college (Time 3; spring/summer 2018). Parental support, family communication, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use increased across the initial transition from high school to college, whereas parental monitoring decreased across time. Reciprocal effects were largely between-person driven. Family communication in high school was concurrently and prospectively related to fewer depressive symptoms. Higher parental monitoring during the first semester of college was related to less alcohol use within and across semesters. In addition, students who experienced within-person increases in depressive symptoms during the first semester of college perceived less parental support than usual the next semester. Study findings point to the importance of developmental timing and further highlight the role that family plays during Latino/a students’ transition to college. Implications for family-based prevention efforts are discussed.
KW - Latino/a
KW - alcohol use
KW - depression
KW - parenting
KW - transition to college
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140797444&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85140797444&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/dev0001474
DO - 10.1037/dev0001474
M3 - Article
C2 - 36201814
AN - SCOPUS:85140797444
SN - 0012-1649
VL - 59
SP - 487
EP - 502
JO - Developmental psychology
JF - Developmental psychology
IS - 3
ER -