Perceived Parental Psychological Control, Familism Values, and Mexican American College Students' Adjustment

Drawing from cultural ecological and risk and resilience perspectives, we investigated associations among Mexican American college students' perceptions of mothers' and fathers' psychological control and familism values, and college students' adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms and self-esteem). Additionally, we examined how familism values moderated the relations between perceived psychological control and college students' adjustment. Methods: Participants were 186 Mexican American college students (78.5% women; M-age = 21.56 years), and data were collected using self-report online surveys. Results: Using path analyses, we found that perceived maternal psychological control was positively associated and familism values were negatively associated with college students' depressive symptoms. Additionally, perceived paternal psychological control was negatively associated with college students' self-esteem when college students reported low, but not high, familism values. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of family relationships for Mexican American college students and the significance of examining these relationships within this cultural context.