Patterns of family functioning and adolescent outcomes among urban AfricanAmerican and Mexican American families

The relations of patterns of family functioning, prosocial behaviors, and i nternalizing and externalizing symptoms over time were evaluated among a sa mple of economically disadvantaged inner-city African American and Mexican American male adolescents. Ethnic group differences for configurations of f amily functioning over time, levels of prosocial and problem behaviors, and relations of family functioning to risk were found. Among both ethnic grou ps, exceptionally functioning families provided a protective effect against risk. Overall, African American youth had stronger attitudes toward school and higher educational aspirations than Mexican American youth. Unlike pre vious investigations, once socioeconomic status was controlled, no differen ces were found for either internalizing or externalizing problems between t he 2 groups. The importance of considering socioeconomic status and communi ty context when evaluating minority parenting and family functioning is dis cussed.