Familism, Family Ethnic Socialization, and Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers' Educational Adjustment

The current longitudinal study examined how familism values and family ethnic socialization impacted Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' (N = 205) educational adjustment (i.e., educational expectations, educational utility), and whether these associations were moderated by adolescent mothers' ethnic centrality. Findings indicated that adolescent mothers' reports of familism values and family ethnic socialization were positively associated with their beliefs about educational utility, but not educational expectations. Ethnic centrality moderated the association between adolescent mothers' familism values and educational utility, such that adolescent mothers' endorsement of familism values during pregnancy were associated with significant increases in educational utility after their transition to parenthood, but only when adolescents reported high levels of ethnic centrality. Moreover, ethnic centrality was positively associated with adolescent mothers' educational expectations. Results highlight the importance of familism, ethnic socialization, and ethnic centrality for promoting Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' educational outcomes. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding adolescent mothers' educational adjustment in the context of family and culture.