Family Correlates of Adjustment Profiles in Mexican-Origin Female Adolescents

Abstract

This study used a person-centered approach to examine patterns of adjustment along psychological (i.e., depression, self-esteem, anxiety) and academic (i.e., academic motivation) domains in a sample ( N = 338) of Mexican-origin female adolescents. Four adjustment profiles were identified. A High Functioning ( n = 173) group, which exhibited high positive adjustment and academic functioning, an Average Functioning ( n = 83) group, which exhibited average psychological and academic functioning, an Academically Oriented and Stressed ( n = 19) group, which exhibited high academic motivation, but poor psychological functioning in anxiety and negative affect, and a Low Functioning ( n = 25) group, which exhibited poor adjustment overall. Further, paternal and maternal parenting characteristics (i.e., autonomy granting, parent—adolescent conflict, and supportive parenting) were differentially related to Mexican-origin female adolescents’ profiles, providing further evidence for the existence of the profiles. Results contribute to the current literature on Latino adolescents and highlight the importance of examining psychological and academic domains concurrently to determine how these two domains of adjustment are linked among this population.