Mixed-race youth feel less cohesion with mothers, but greater independence

ANN ARBOR-Multiethnic and mixed-race youth feel less satisfied with their moms-but more independent-compared to other youth, according to a new University of Michigan study. U-M researcher Elma Lorenzo-Blanco and colleagues compared parenting and family-related experiences between multiethnic/mixed-race youth and those from one racial/ethnic background. Data came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which included responses from nearly 9,000 12- to 17-year-olds. Teens and preteens were first sampled in 1997 and assessed annually in several areas-such as education, drug use, mental health and family relationships/events-until 2008. The youth assessed the quality of mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relationships, as well as parental monitoring, support and control. Mixed-race youth had the lowest mean score and white youth the highest for mother-adolescent relationships and maternal support, the study showed. For father-adolescent relationships, African-American youth had the lowest score, while whites had the highest.