Latino Children and Families: Development in Cultural Context

The children of immigrant Latinos begin school with excellent social skills, but this early success is likely to be eroded by mediocre schools and peer pressure in poor neighborhoods, according to a special report published by the American Psychological Association.

The special section, published in the May 2010 issue of Developmental Psychology, includes the findings from five studies. One study, based on 19,500 kindergartners nationwide, found that Latino children were actively engaged in the classroom. Their cooperative and social skills were equal to those of white non-Latino children, despite large differences in family income between the two groups. Researchers also found that the Latino children’s social agility contributed to their learning about mathematical concepts during the first year of school. Another study linked Latino children’s enthusiasm in the classroom to the “warm yet firm” parenting approach observed in Latino families.

Three out of the five studies explored how early gains for Latino children can be undermined during adolescence through peer pressure, poor schools and the perception of ethnic discrimination. A study following 294 Latino and Asian immigrant children found that those who attended highly violent or segregated schools went downhill in their own school achievement. The remaining studies explore how racial and socioeconomic barriers affect how minorities form vocational expectations and how Latino customs influenced children’s attention to instruction.

Read the report.