Abstract
Language brokering is a shared parent-child experience with implications for parent-child relationships and, in turn, individuals’ psychological well-being; however, few studies recognize the role of parents. This study took a dyadic approach to investigate the association between brokering experiences and internalizing symptoms, and the mediating role of parent-child alienation. Participants were 604 Mexican-origin adolescents (54% female, Mage = 12.41) and their mothers (N = 595). Both adolescents’ and their mothers’ brokering experiences were related to their own internalizing symptoms via their self-reported parent-child alienation. Mothers’ brokering experiences also affected adolescents so that when mothers experienced more negative brokering experiences, adolescents perceived greater parent-child alienation, and in turn more internalizing symptoms, suggesting the necessity of considering language brokering’s influence on members involved as a dyadic process.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armsden, G. C., & Greenberg, M. T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02202939.
Arnett, J. J. (1999). Adolescent storm and stress, reconsidered. American Psychologist, 54(5), 317–326. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.54.5.317.
Bögels, S., & Phares, V. (2008). Fathers’ role in the etiology, prevention and treatment of child anxiety: A review and new model. Clinical psychology review, 28(4), 539–558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2007.07.011.
Borrero, N. (2015). Bilingual and proud of it: College-bound Latinos/as and the role of interpreting in their success. Bilingual Research Journal, 38(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2015.1017027.
Boutelle, K., Eisenberg, M. E., Gregory, M. L., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2009). The reciprocal relationship between parent—child connectedness and adolescent emotional functioning over 5 years. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 66(4), 309–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.10.019.
Budiman, A., Tamir, C., Mora, L., & Noe-Bustamante, L. (2020). Facts on US immigrants. Statistical portrait of the foreign-born population in the United States. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/08/20/facts-on-u-s-immigrants/.
Buriel, R., Love, J. A., De Ment, T. L. (2006). The relation of language brokering to depression and parent-child bonding among Latino adolescents. In: Bornstein, M. H., Cote, L. R. (Eds.). Acculturation and parent-child relationships: Measurement and development (pp. 249–270). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Chao, R. K. (2006). The prevalence and consequences of adolescents’ language brokering for their immigrant parents. In Bornstein M. H., Cote L. R., Bornstein M. H., & Cote L. R. (Eds.), Acculturation and parent-child relationships: Measurement and development (pp. 271–296). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Conger, R. D., & Donnellan, M. B. (2007). An interactionist perspective on the socioeconomic context of human development. Annual Review of Psychology, 58(1), 175–199. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085551.
Corona, R., Stevens, L. F., Halfond, R. W., Shaffer, C. M., Reid-Quiñones, K., & Gonzalez, T. (2012). A qualitative analysis of what Latino parents and adolescents think and feel about language brokering. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21(5), 788–798. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9536-2.
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (2003). Understanding families as systems. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12(5), 193–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.01259.
DeMent T. L., Buriel R., Villanueva C. M. (2005). Children as language brokers: A narrative of the recollections of college students. In Hoosain R., Salili F. (Eds.), Language in multicultural education (pp. 255–272). Information Age.
Dorner, L. M., Orellana, M. F., & Jiménez, R. (2008). ‘It’s one of those things that you do to help the family’: Language brokering and the development of immigrant adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 23(5), 515–543. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558408317563.
Guntzviller, L. M. (2017). Testing multiple goals theory with low-income, mother-child Spanish-speakers: Language brokering interaction goals and relational satisfaction. Communication Research, 44(5), 717–742. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650215608238.
Hall, N., & Sham, S. (2007). Language brokering as young people’s work: Evidence from Chinese adolescents in England. Language and Education, 21(1), 16–30. https://doi.org/10.2167/le645.0.
Hardway, C., & Fuligni, A. J. (2006). Dimensions of family connectedness among adolescents with Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Developmental Psychology, 42(6), 1246–1258. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.6.1246.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118.
Kam, J. A., Guntzviller, L. M., & Stohl, C. (2017). New approaches to studying language brokering from a communication perspective. In R. S. Weisskirch (Ed.), Language brokering in immigrant families: Theories and contexts (pp. 26–46). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315644714-3.
Kam, J. A., & Lazarevic, V. (2014a). Communicating for one’s family: An interdisciplinary review of language and cultural brokering in immigrant families. In E. L. Cohen (Ed.), Communication Yearbook (Vol. 38, pp. 3–37). Routledge.
Kam, J. A., & Lazarevic, V. (2014b). The stressful (and not so stressful) nature of language brokering: Identifying when brokering functions as a cultural stressor for Latino immigrant children in early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(12), 1994–2011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0061-z.
Kam, J. A., Marcoulides, K. M., & Merolla, A. J. (2017). Using an acculturation-stress-resilience framework to explore latent profiles of latina/o language brokers. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 27(4), 842–861. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12318.
Kenny, D. A., & Ledermann, T. (2010). Detecting, measuring, and testing dyadic patterns in the actor-partner interdependence model. Journal of Family Psychology, 24(3), 359–366. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019651.
Kim, S. Y., Chen, Q., Wang, Y., Shen, Y., & Orozco-Lapray, D. (2013). Longitudinal linkages among parent–child acculturation discrepancy, parenting, parent–child sense of alienation, and adolescent adjustment in Chinese immigrant families. Developmental Psychology, 49(5), 900–912. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029169.
Kim, S. Y., Hou, Y., Shen, Y., & Zhang, M. (2017). Longitudinal measurement equivalence of subjective language brokering experiences scale in Mexican American adolescents. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 23(2), 230–243. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000117.
Kim, S. Y., Wang, Y., Weaver, S. R., Shen, Y., Wu-Seibold, N., & Liu, C. H. (2014). Measurement equivalence of the language-brokering scale for Chinese American adolescents and their parents. Journal of Family Psychology, 28(2), 180–192. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036030.
Laursen, B., & Collins, W. A. (2009). Parent-child relationships during adolescence. In Lerner, R. M. & Steinberg, L. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology: Contextual influences on adolescent development., Vol. 2, (3rd ed., pp. 3–42). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Lazarevic, V. (2017). Effects of cultural brokering on individual wellbeing and family dynamics among immigrant youth. Journal of Adolescence, 55, 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.12.010.
López, G., & Radford, J. (2017, May 3). Statistical portrait of the foreign-born population in the United States. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2017/05/03/2015-statistical-information-on-immigrants-in-united-states/.
Love, J. A., & Buriel, R. (2007). Language brokering, autonomy, parent-child bonding, biculturalism, and depression: A study of Mexican American adolescents from immigrant families. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 29(4), 472–491. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986307307229.
Martinez, Jr., C. R. (2006). Effects of differential family acculturation on Latino adolescent substance use. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 55(3), 306–317. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00404.x.
Martinez, Jr., C. R., McClure, H. H., & Eddy, J. M. (2009). Language brokering contexts and behavioral and emotional adjustment among Latino parents and adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 29(1), 71–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431608324477.
Morales, A., & Hanson, W. E. (2005). Language brokering: An integrative review of the literature. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27(4), 471–503. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986305281333.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998 –2019). Mplus user’s guide (8th ed.). Author.
Orellana, M. F., Dorner, L., & Pulido, L. (2003). Accessing assets: Immigrant youth’s work as family translators or “para-phrasers”. Social Problems, 50(4), 505–524. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2003.50.4.505.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306.
Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. O. (1997). What I think and feel: A revised measure of children’s manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 25(1), 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1025751206600.
Shen, Y., Kim, S. Y., Wang, Y., & Chao, R. K. (2014). Language brokering and adjustment among Chinese and Korean American adolescents: A moderated mediation model of perceived maternal sacrifice, respect for the mother, and mother–child open communication. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 5(2), 86–95. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035203.
Shen, Y., Tilton, K. E., & Kim, S. Y. (2017). Outcomes of language brokering, mediators, and moderators: A systematic review. In Weisskirsh R. S. (Eds.), Language Brokering in Immigrant Families (pp.47–71). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315644714.
Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. W., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092–1097. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.
Tilghman-Osborne, E. M., Bámaca-Colbert, M., Witherspoon, D., Wadsworth, M. E., & Hecht, M. L. (2016). Longitudinal associations of language brokering and parent-adolescent closeness in immigrant Latino families. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 36(3), 319–347. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431614566944.
Updegraff, K. A., McHale, S. M., Zeiders, K. H., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Perez-Brena, N. J., Wheeler, L. A., & Rodríguez De Jesús, S. A. (2014). Mexican–American adolescents’ gender role attitude development: The role of adolescents’ gender and nativity and parents’ gender role attitudes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(12), 2041–2053. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0128-5.
Valdés, G. (2003). Expanding definitions of giftedness: The case of young interpreters from immigrant communities. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Valenzuela, Jr., A. (1999). Gender roles and settlement activities among children and their immigrant families. American Behavioral Scientist, 42(4), 720–742. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764299042004009.
Weisskirch, R. S. (2007). Feelings about language brokering and family relations among Mexican American early adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 27(4), 545–561. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431607302935.
Weisskirch, R. S. (2013). Family relationships, self-esteem, and self-efficacy among language brokering Mexican American emerging adults. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(8), 1147–1155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9678-x.
Weisskirch, R. S. (2017). A developmental perspective on language brokering. In Weisskirch, R. S. (Ed.), Language brokering in immigrant families: Theories and contexts (pp. 7–25). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315644714-2.
Wu, N. H., & Kim, S. Y. (2009). Chinese American adolescents’ perceptions of the language brokering experience as a sense of burden and sense of efficacy. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(5), 703–718. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9379-3.
Yip, T., Gee, G. C., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2008). Racial discrimination and psychological distress: The impact of ethnic identity and age among immigrant and United States-born Asian adults. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 787–800. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.787.
Funding
Support for this research was provided through awards to Su Yeong Kim from (1) National Science Foundation, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, 1651128 and 0956123, (2) National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities 1R21MD012706-01A1 and 3R21MD-012706-02S1, (3) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 5R03HD060045-02, (4) Russell Sage Foundation, 2699, (5) Spencer Foundation, 10023427, (6) Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, JRG-102, (7) Office of the Vice President for Research and Creative Grant and Special Research Grant from the University of Texas at Austin, (8) College of Natural Sciences Catalyst Grant from the University of Texas at Austin, and (9) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 2P2CHD042849-19 grant awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. These funding sources had no role other than financial support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
S.J. conceptualized the study, participated in its design and coordination, conducted the statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript. H.Y. participated in the interpretation of the results and provided a critical review of the manuscript. H.N.L. participated in the interpretation of the results and provided a critical review of the manuscript. L-B.E. participated in the interpretation of the results and provided a critical review of the manuscript. K.S.Y. created the design of the larger project and was responsible for data collection and curation, project management, and supervision of the current research. She also participated in the conceptualization of the current study and interpretation of the results, and provided critical reviews of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the review and revision of this manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Song, J., Hou, Y., Hazen, N.L. et al. Do Mothers’ Experiences Count? An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model of Language Brokering Experiences in Mexican Immigrant Families. J Youth Adolescence 51, 888–903 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01586-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01586-5