Parenting and families in the United States and Canada

Abstract

This chapter reviews the current state of knowledge regarding parenting and family influence on positive development among ethnic minority adolescents in the United States and Canada. First, general family processes that promote positive development are reviewed in relation to the "Five C's" of positive youth development: connection, competence, confidence, character, and caring (Lerner et al. in J Early Adolesc 25 (1):17-71, 2005). The review includes research related to the role of supportive family relationships in promoting connection, parental school involvement in promoting academic competence, and positive parenting practices in promoting social and behavioral competence. Next, culture-related family influences on positive development are identified, including links between family cultural values and academic competence, parents' cultural socialization efforts and adolescents' academic competence and ethnic heritage culture identification, and parents' support for adolescents' competent functioning in the mainstream culture. Third, family dynamics associated with navigating a bicultural environment are addressed. These dynamics include family support of adolescents' biculturalism, the benefits of parent-child similarities in cultural orientations, and the positive developmental correlates of adolescents' language brokering assistance for parents. Finally, research investigating family influences on positive adolescent development in the context of adversity is reviewed. The chapter concludes with a discussion of policy implications and recommendations for future research, including a call to direct research attention to the role of families in promoting a variety of as yet unstudied domains of positive adolescent development, such as hope, purpose, spirituality, thriving, civic engagement, and media literacy.