Family Members’ Relationship Qualities and Prosocial Behaviors in U.S. Mexican Young Adults: The Roles of Familism and Ethnic Identity Resolution

Abstract

Scholars have asserted that family relationships may have a prominent role in fostering prosocial behaviors. However, there is limited research on the quality of relationships with fathers and siblings in predicting prosocial behaviors, particularly in U.S. Mexican samples. Furthermore, culture-related mechanisms are rarely considered in examining these relations. The present study examines the associations between family relationship quality and U.S. Mexican young adults’ prosocial behaviors. Participants included 186 U.S. Mexican young adults who completed measures of parental acceptance, sibling intimacy, familism values, ethnic identity resolution, and prosocial behaviors. Relationship quality was positively associated with greater endorsement of familism values. In turn, familism values were positively associated with ethnic identity resolution, and ethnic identity resolution was associated with multiple forms of prosocial behaviors. These results highlight the importance of examining multiple sources of socialization and culture-related processes as mechanisms that may predict positive social outcomes in U.S. Mexican young adults.