Filial responsibility, perceived fairness, and psychological functioning of Latino youth from immigrant families.

Abstract

The contributions of filial responsibility to psychological functioning were examined longitudinally among Latino young adolescents from immigrant families. Participants included 199 7th and 8th Grade Latino boys and girls (M age = 13.8) who were either immigrants (79%) or children of immigrants (21%). The term, filial responsibility, refers to children's family caregiving efforts (e.g., household chores, caring for siblings). Perceived fairness, which refers to perceptions of equity, reciprocity, and acknowledgment, was examined as an important corollary describing the familial context in which youths' responsibilities are enacted. Over the course of this 1-year longitudinal study, a significant decline was observed in mean levels of caregiving, whereas a significant increase was observed in perceived fairness. Consistent with a conceptualization of filial responsibility as contributing to psychological development in positive and, in some contexts, negative ways, caregiving activities predicted increases in cooperative behavior and interpersonal self-efficacy, whereas perceived fairness predicted declines in psychological distress. Implications for practitioners and policymakers working with this population are discussed.