Adolescence is a difficult developmental transition for foreign-born mothers and their children. The typical identity issues and peer pressure associated with this developmental transition for adolescents of foreign parentage are complicated by living in two cultures with conflicting norms and values. Yet, little is known about their adjustment. Even less is known about the parenting of foreign-born mothers or the effects of their stress on parenting during adolescence. These issues are even greater for Arab Muslim immigrants because their culture is markedly different from dominant US values. This longitudinal study of Arab Muslim immigrant and refugee mothers and their children will investigate stress, coping, social support, and parent-child relationship from the dual perspective of mothers and youth. The pathways in a causal model of how maternal, family, and child variables affect child psychosocial adjustment will be examined during transition into early and late adolescence.
Study aims are to: 1) determine the baseline relationships in a causal model of maternal and child stress, coping, and social support; socio-demographic risk; maternal adjustment; parent-child relationships; and child psychosocial adjustment for pre- and early adolescent Arab youth, and 2) determine the stability of the pathways of the above variables for explaining the adjustment of Arab youth, 18 and 36 months later during transitions into early and late adolescence. Data about maternal, family, and child variables will be collected from 608 mother-child dyads at baseline when the child is a pre- or early adolescent and at 18 and 36 months later to capture transition into later stages of adolescence. Structural equation modeling will be used to develop a model of the baseline relationships among the latent variables and examine the model's ability to predict adjustment outcomes at 18 and 36 months. Model stability will be evaluated by assessing systematic change in the latent variables over time, determining the reliability of the change, and obtaining empirical Bayes (EB) estimates of individual true score change. A change score model, incorporating EB estimates, will determine how changes in the latent variables are related to the 18- and 36-month child adjustment outcomes. Information from the proposed study is needed to develop service delivery programs for this vulnerable population of women and children, particularly to determine the relative value of interventions focused on inter/intrapersonal dynamics versus contextual/environmental features.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NR008504-03
Application #
7001233
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-NSCF (01))
Program Officer
Bryan, Yvonne E
Project Start
2004-04-01
Project End
2008-12-31
Budget Start
2006-01-01
Budget End
2006-12-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$505,603
Indirect Cost
Name
Wayne State University
Department
Type
Schools of Nursing
DUNS #
001962224
City
Detroit
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48202
Aroian, Karen; Uddin, Nizam; Blbas, Hazar (2017) Longitudinal study of stress, social support, and depression in married Arab immigrant women. Health Care Women Int 38:100-117
Aroian, Karen J; Templin, Thomas N; Hough, Edythe S (2016) Daily hassles, mother-child relationship, and behavior problems in Muslim Arab American adolescents in immigrant families. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol 22:533-543
Aroian, Karen J; Templin, Thomas N; Hough, Edythe S (2014) Longitudinal study of daily hassles in adolescents in Arab Muslim immigrant families. J Immigr Minor Health 16:831-8
Aroian, Karen J (2013) Adapting large batteries of research measures for immigrants. J Immigr Minor Health 15:636-45
Norris, Anne E; Aroian, Karen J; Nickerson, David M (2011) Premigration persecution, postmigration stressors and resources, and postmigration mental health: a study of severely traumatized U.S. Arab immigrant women. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc 17:283-93; discussion 294-6
Aroian, Karen; Templin, Thomas N; Ramaswamy, Vidya (2010) Adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support for Arab immigrant women. Health Care Women Int 31:153-69
Ramaswamy, Vidya; Aroian, Karen J; Templin, Thomas (2009) Adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the multidimensional scale of perceived social support for arab american adolescents. Am J Community Psychol 43:49-56
Aroian, Karen; Hough, Edythe S; Templin, Thomas N et al. (2009) A model of mother-child adjustment in Arab Muslim immigrants to the US. Soc Sci Med 69:1377-86
Norris, Anne E; Aroian, Karen J (2008) Assessing reliability and validity of the Arabic language version of the Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) symptom items. Psychiatry Res 160:327-34
Norris, Anne E; Aroian, Karen J (2008) Avoidance symptoms and assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in Arab immigrant women. J Trauma Stress 21:471-8

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