Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Fall 2004
Abstract
The present study was designed to examine the roles of family cohesion and adaptability, parent and peer attachment, and acculturation in predicting prosocial behavior tendencies in Latino adolescents from Nebraska, A total of 63 Latinos (M age = 14.52 years) from Lincoln, NE, completed measures of acculturation, parent and peer attachment, family adaptability and cohesion, and tendencies to perform prosocial behaviors. Results of a series of multiple regression analyses suggest that acculturation negatively predicted pro social behavior tendencies (i.e., the higher the level of acculturation, the lower the tendency to perform prosocial acts). Peer but not parent attachment, and family adaptability but not cohesion, positively predicted prosocial tendencies. Discussion focuses on the integral roles that parents and peers play in healthy social development of Latino youth, and in the importance of incorporating culture into current models of prosocial development.
Comments
Published in Great Plains Research Vol. 14, No. 2, 2004. Copyright © 2004 The Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Used by permission.