Examined sixth graders' support from siblings and friends. Results indicated that (1) isolated children perceived their school friendships as least supportive and their favorite sibling relationship as most supportive; and (2) isolated, aggressive, and average children did not differ in their perceptions of support from nonschool friends. (BC)

This study examined how Mexican American youths' extent of sibling caretaking is related to their personal and school adjustment, and whether mothers' gender-role attitudes and youths' familistic beliefs moderate these associations. One hundred and ninety-five Mexican American youth ("M" age 14.8 years; 64% girls) and their mothers…

The younger siblings of childbearing adolescents have poorer school outcomes and exhibit more internalizing and externalizing problems compared to their peers without a childbearing sister. We test a model where living with an adolescent childbearing sister constitutes a major family stressor that disrupts mothers' parenting and well-being, and…

Latinos have had the highest teenage birthrate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States for the past 15 years, yet little is known about how Latino families are affected by a teenage daughter's childbearing. In-depth interviews were conducted with 32 Mexican American younger siblings of parenting teens to discern how their sister's…

This study examines the differential availability of family and parenting resources to children depending on their birth planning status. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data were analyzed, 3,134 mothers and their 5,890 children (M = 7.1 years, range = 1 month-14.8 years), of whom 63% were intended at conception, 27% were mistimed, and…

The extent and experiences of youths' caretaking of their adolescent sisters' children have been assessed in two longitudinal studies. The first study examines the caretaking patterns of 132 Latino and African American youth during middle and late adolescence. The second study involves 110 Latino youth whose teenage sister has recently given…

Reports on study conducted to understand the consequences of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing on the family. Study reveals changes in attitudes of the mothers of pregnant teens could create prime context for younger siblings to engage in delinquent or sexual behavior. Suggests the whole family participate in an intervention treatment to…

One hundred ten Mexican American adolescents (12-17 years) who provide infant care for their older sisters were studied to determine the effects of family caregiving responsibilities on adolescents' adjustment. Controlling for prior adjustment and family context factors, providing many hours of caregiving predicted an increase in youths' school…

Compared attitudes, expectations, and behaviors of early adolescent girls with an adolescent childbearing sister to those of girls with nonchildbearing adolescent sisters. Found that the younger sisters of childbearing adolescents were consistently different from those of nonchildbearing adolescents on key characteristics known to be correlated…