Parental documentation status and academic attitudes and expectations among early adolescent latinos

Abstract

Many Latino youth are U.S. citizens but live with parents whose immigration status is unauthorized. The association between parental documentation status and early adolescent academic attitudes and expectations is unclear. Using a general population sample of urban 7th grade students who self-identified as Latino in the South Central U.S. (n = 514), we examine the associations between parental documentation status and youth attitudes about the importance of graduating high school and college and expectations of the likelihood of completing high school and attending college. Findings suggest that parent documentation status is not associated with attitudes toward the importance of high school and college among Latino early adolescents, but it is significantly associated with perceptions of the likelihood of achievement. Thus, parent immigration status may be an educational barrier that needs to be addressed early for Latino youth, as efforts in high school may be too late for some students.