Associations between Familism and Quality of Interaction with Primary Caregivers; Hispanic and NonHispanic White Emerging Adults

Silvana Johnston

Abstract

Despite the fact that the Hispanic community is the largest minority in California (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010), research addressing the needs of Hispanic emerging adults is limited. Familism, an emphasis on family over the individual, is a central value in Hispanic culture (Schwartz, 2007). Despite acknowledgment in the literature that familism is a multidimensional construct (Valenzuela & Dornbusch, 1994), most empirical studies measure familism as a unitary construct. Four factors have been identified in the literature: (1) Subjugation of Self for Family (FS), when the individual prioritizes the needs of the family over self-interest; (2) Interconnectedness (FI), the emotional bond and intercommunication among family members (3) Honor (H), honoring and protecting the family, and (4) Familial Support (FS), which includes physical, emotional and financial support between the family members (Steidel et al., 2003). While previous research shows that Hispanic adolescents emphasize familism more than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) (Campos et al., 2014), little research has examined how familism is associated with the quality of interactions with family members across these groups. The present study tested (1) differences in familism levels across the four subtypes and interaction quality with caregivers across Hispanic and NHW emerging adults, and (2) whether familism interacts with ethnicity to predict interaction quality. Participants included 778 students attending college in Southern California who completed an online survey as part of a larger study on family factors and academic motivation among first-generation college students. Familism was measured with the Familism Scale (Steidel & Contreras, 2003) and interaction quality was measured with the positive (PI) and negative interaction (NI) subscales of the Network of Relationships Inventory: Behavioral Systems Variation (Furman et al., 2009). Results showed that Hispanics reported higher levels of familism across all subtypes and more positive interactions with caregivers compared with NHWs (see Table 1). There were no significant differences in NI across ethnic groups. Using hierarchical multiple regression, moderation analyses revealed significant interactions between FI and FS and ethnicity in predicting NI ( ß=-.37, p=.015; ß=-.40, p=.049, respectively). Probing the interactions revealed that for FS, Hispanics had marginally lower NI when FS was high than when NI was low (see Figure 1A). Conversely, NHWs had significantly higher NI when FS was high than when NI was low. The interaction between FI and ethnicity predicting NI showed a different pattern. Hispanics demonstrated significantly lower NI when FI was high compared with when FI was low, while NHWs did not show a difference in NI across FI levels (see Figure 1B). These findings support literature that familism is a key factor in Hispanic emerging adult development. Furthermore, these findings suggest that associations between familism and quality of interactions with family members vary by type of familism. Subjugation of self for family suggests sacrifice of independence and autonomy, which our study suggests is less adaptive for NHWs compared with Hispanics. Conversely, interconnectedness showed stronger negative associations with negative interactions with caregivers among Hispanics, suggesting that this aspect of familism is particularly important for promoting positive family relationships among Hispanic emerging adults.

 
May 18th, 11:00 AM May 18th, 12:00 PM

Associations between Familism and Quality of Interaction with Primary Caregivers; Hispanic and NonHispanic White Emerging Adults

Event Center BC

Despite the fact that the Hispanic community is the largest minority in California (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010), research addressing the needs of Hispanic emerging adults is limited. Familism, an emphasis on family over the individual, is a central value in Hispanic culture (Schwartz, 2007). Despite acknowledgment in the literature that familism is a multidimensional construct (Valenzuela & Dornbusch, 1994), most empirical studies measure familism as a unitary construct. Four factors have been identified in the literature: (1) Subjugation of Self for Family (FS), when the individual prioritizes the needs of the family over self-interest; (2) Interconnectedness (FI), the emotional bond and intercommunication among family members (3) Honor (H), honoring and protecting the family, and (4) Familial Support (FS), which includes physical, emotional and financial support between the family members (Steidel et al., 2003). While previous research shows that Hispanic adolescents emphasize familism more than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) (Campos et al., 2014), little research has examined how familism is associated with the quality of interactions with family members across these groups. The present study tested (1) differences in familism levels across the four subtypes and interaction quality with caregivers across Hispanic and NHW emerging adults, and (2) whether familism interacts with ethnicity to predict interaction quality. Participants included 778 students attending college in Southern California who completed an online survey as part of a larger study on family factors and academic motivation among first-generation college students. Familism was measured with the Familism Scale (Steidel & Contreras, 2003) and interaction quality was measured with the positive (PI) and negative interaction (NI) subscales of the Network of Relationships Inventory: Behavioral Systems Variation (Furman et al., 2009). Results showed that Hispanics reported higher levels of familism across all subtypes and more positive interactions with caregivers compared with NHWs (see Table 1). There were no significant differences in NI across ethnic groups. Using hierarchical multiple regression, moderation analyses revealed significant interactions between FI and FS and ethnicity in predicting NI ( ß=-.37, p=.015; ß=-.40, p=.049, respectively). Probing the interactions revealed that for FS, Hispanics had marginally lower NI when FS was high than when NI was low (see Figure 1A). Conversely, NHWs had significantly higher NI when FS was high than when NI was low. The interaction between FI and ethnicity predicting NI showed a different pattern. Hispanics demonstrated significantly lower NI when FI was high compared with when FI was low, while NHWs did not show a difference in NI across FI levels (see Figure 1B). These findings support literature that familism is a key factor in Hispanic emerging adult development. Furthermore, these findings suggest that associations between familism and quality of interactions with family members vary by type of familism. Subjugation of self for family suggests sacrifice of independence and autonomy, which our study suggests is less adaptive for NHWs compared with Hispanics. Conversely, interconnectedness showed stronger negative associations with negative interactions with caregivers among Hispanics, suggesting that this aspect of familism is particularly important for promoting positive family relationships among Hispanic emerging adults.