Mixed-race youth feel less cohesion with mothers, but greater independence

Posted in Articles, Family/Parenting, Media Archive, Social Work, United States on 2013-02-28 02:16Z by Steven

Mixed-race youth feel less cohesion with mothers, but greater independence

University of Michigan News Service
2013-02-26

Contact: Jared Wadley

ANN ARBOR—Multiethnic and mixed-race youth feel less satisfied with their moms—but more independent—compared to other youth, according to a new University of Michigan study.

U-M researcher Elma Lorenzo-Blanco and colleagues compared parenting and family-related experiences between multiethnic/mixed-race youth and those from one racial/ethnic background.

Data came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which included responses from nearly 9,000 12- to 17-year-olds. Teens and preteens were first sampled in 1997 and assessed annually in several areas—such as education, drug use, mental health and family relationships/events—until 2008.

The youth assessed the quality of mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relationships, as well as parental monitoring, support and control.

Mixed-race youth had the lowest mean score and white youth the highest for mother-adolescent relationships and maternal support, the study showed. For father-adolescent relationships, African-American youth had the lowest score, while whites had the highest…

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