Daily hassles, mother-child relationship, and behavior problems in Muslim Arab American adolescents in immigrant families.

HHS Public Access Author manuscript Author Manuscript

Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01. Published in final edited form as:

Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2016 October ; 22(4): 533–543. doi:10.1037/cdp0000084.

Daily Hassles, Mother-child Relationship, and Behavior Problems in Muslim Arab American Adolescents in Immigrant Families Karen J. Aroian, University of Central Florida College of Nursing Orlando, Florida

Author Manuscript

Thomas N. Templin, and Wayne State University College of Nursing Detroit, Michigan Edythe S. Hough Wayne State University College of Nursing Detroit, Michigan

Abstract Objective—This longitudinal study examines reciprocal and dynamic relations among daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems and whether the relations differed by socio-demographic variables.

Author Manuscript

Methods—Three waves of data about adolescent daily hassles, quality of the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems were collected from 454 Arab Muslim adolescents and their immigrant mothers over a three-year period. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine reciprocal relations among the study variables. Results—Relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems were reciprocal, with a poor mother-child relationship contributing to greater behavior problems and behavior problems contributing to a decline in the quality of the mother-child relationship. Relations involving daily hassles were unidirectional: A better mother-child relationship contributed to fewer daily hassles and behavior problems contributed to more daily hassles but daily hassles did not contribute to more behavior problems. Father’s education was the only sociodemographic variable that was significant: Adolescents with more highly educated fathers had a better mother-child relationship and fewer behavioral problems.

Author Manuscript

Conclusions—Findings suggest that Arab American Muslim adolescents with behavior problems are differentially exposed to daily hassles but daily hassles are not the best point of intervention. Bidirectional relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems suggest intervening to improve the mother-child relationship and manage symptoms of adolescent behavior problems. Keywords daily hassles; parenting; behavior problems; Arab American; Muslim; Adolescents

Corresponding Author: Karen Aroian, 12201 Research Parkway, College of Nursing, University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida 32816–2210 [email protected] Tel: 407-823-4290 FAX: 407-823-5675.

Aroian et al.

Page 2

Author Manuscript

In our previous study of mother-child stress and adjustment in Arab Muslim immigrant families, adolescent daily hassles and the mother-child relationship each had the strongest direct effects on adolescent behavior problems at two different time points in a complex, family-level structural equation model (Aroian, Templin, Hough, Ramaswamy, & Katz, 2011). Reciprocal relations between these variables were not investigated, nor were the relations, reciprocal or otherwise, between the mother-child relationship and adolescent daily hassles. The current study incorporates data from a third time point and combines an etiologic model of socio-environmental stress (Grant, et al., 2003) and a transactional model of parent-child relationships (Pettit & Arsiwalla, 2008) to examine reciprocal and dynamic relations among daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems. Determining dynamic and reciprocal relations between adolescent daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems allows ruling out competing theories of causation and advances the science of preventative intervention.

Author Manuscript

Adolescents in Arab Muslim Immigrant Families Our original interest in adolescents in Arab Muslim immigrant families was due to their growing number in the U.S and the special circumstances surrounding their immigration. There are approximately one million Arab immigrants in the U.S. and most are from the third wave of migration, which began in 1965 and is still current (Asi & Beaulieu, 2013; Brittingham & de la Cruz, 2005; Kayyali, 2006). A significant portion of this wave is Muslim and left the Arab world due to war, sectarian conflict, and poverty (Kayyali, 2006). Although those from Iraq primarily entered the U.S. as refugees due to brutal persecution during Saddam Hussein’s regime (Wallbridge & Aziz, 2000), many from other Arab countries (e.g., Lebanon) also experienced war and sectarian violence (Kayyali, 2006).

Author Manuscript Author Manuscript

Arab Muslim adolescents in immigrant families are confronted with two differing sets of normative expectations about adolescent behavior (Beitin, Allen, & Bekheet, 2009; Britto, 2008). American adolescents are typically reared in families that view adolescents’ increased independence from parents and socializing with members of the opposite sex as normative. In contrast, traditional Arab culture is gender-segregated and collective. There is a strong emphasis on family and group needs over individual aspirations. Transgressions against cultural norms about respect for authority, gender role differentiation, gender segregation, and dressing modestly reflect badly on the family and jeopardize family honor (Beitin & Aprahamian, 2014; Carolan, Bagherinia, Juhari, Himelright, & Mouton-Sanders, 2000; Hodge, 2005; Kulwicki & Ballout, 2013). Families embracing these norms expect Arab adolescents to remain closely tied to family, obey parents without question, and refrain from behaviors that jeopardize family honor. Anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments are also prevalent in the U.S., making Arabs a frequent target of interpersonal discrimination (Aroian, 2012; Awad, 2010; Nassar-McMillan et al., 2011). Both culture conflict and discrimination result in alienation and identity issues and put youth at risk for internalizing and externalizing behavior problems (Ahmed, Kia-Keating, & Tsai, 2011; Paradies, 2006; Pascoe & Richman, 2009). Culture conflict also engenders intergenerational disagreement in immigrant families (Choi, He, & Harachi, 2008; Rasmi, Daly, & Chuang, 2014). In Arab culture, mothers typically

Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 3

Author Manuscript

have the primary responsibility for childrearing and monitoring adolescent behavior to maintain family honor (Beitin & Aprahamian; 2014; Carolan et al., 2000; Kulwicki & Ballout, 2013). If the mother-child relationship is strained by mothers’ efforts to maintain family honor in a more permissive receiving country, Arab Muslim adolescents may not receive the parental support they need to cope with discrimination and culture conflict. Lack of parental support puts Arab Muslim adolescents at even greater risk for behavior problems (Aroian et al., 2011).

Adolescent Daily Hassles

Author Manuscript

The special circumstances surrounding Arab adolescents in immigrant families can also generate a number of adolescent daily hassles (Aroian, Templin, & Hough, 2014). Adolescent daily hassles are microstressors that pertain to normative everyday adolescent life domains, such as school, parents, and peers (Seidman, et al., 1995). Correlational studies identify adolescent daily hassles as a key risk factor for behavior problems (Aldwin, 2006; Aroian et al., 2011; Christiansen, Copeland, & Stapert, 2008; Grant et al., 2003; Schneiders et al., 2006; Zimmer-Gembeck & Skinner, 2008). Daily hassles also provide greater prediction of behavior problems than other classes of socio-environmental stress, such as major life and traumatic events (Christiansen et al., 2008; Schneiders, et al.; ZimmerGembeck & Skinner, 2008).

Author Manuscript

Prospective studies of adolescent daily hassles and behavior problems give the strongest evidence for theories of causation and targeting interventions (Grant, Compas, Thrum, McMahon, & Gipson, 2004). Most prospective studies on this topic investigate if earlier adolescent daily hassles make a significant contribution to later behavior problems after controlling for earlier levels of behavior problems (Grant et al., 2003). With some exception (Carter & Grant, 2012; Sheldow, Henry, Tolan, & Strachan, 2013), the majority of studies employing this design have noted a significant unique contribution of adolescent daily hassles (DuBois, Felner, Brand, Adan, & Evans, 1992; DuBois, Felner, Meares, & Krier, 1994; Johnson & Sherman, 1997; Norman & Malla, 1994; Pinquart, 2009; Tessner, Mittal, & Walker, 2011; Wagner, Compass, & Howell 1988).

Author Manuscript

Alternative reasoning is that behavior problems generate daily hassles (Grant et al., 2003). Few prospective studies have investigated this line of reasoning, but those that did found a bidirectional relation between adolescent daily hassles and behavior problems (DuBois et al., 1992; DuBois et al., 1994; Wagner et al., 1988). However, the primary focus of these studies was the effect of daily hassles on behavior problems rather than the effect of behavior problems on daily hassles. Clearly, more studies are needed that employ a fully reciprocal design.

Parent-child Relationships Compelling evidence suggests that the quality of the parent-child relationship mediates the relation between various types of socio-environmental stressors and adolescent behavior problems (Bartlett, Holditch-Davis, Belyea, Halpern, & Beeber, 2006; Crosnoe & Cavanagh, 2010; Heaven, Newbury, & Mak, 2004; Parker & Benson, 2004; Sheeber, Hops, & Davis,


Aroian et al.

Page 4

Author Manuscript

2001). Although research on the parent-child relationship specific to adolescent daily hassles is limited, there is evidence that family functioning, a construct that includes the quality of the parent-child relationship, mediates the effect of baseline adolescent daily hassles on later behavior problems (Sheldow et al., 2013).

Author Manuscript

Sameroff and Chandler ‘s (1975) seminal work has generated a transactional approach to the parent-child relationship, which views parents as not only shaping but also being shaped by their children (Pardini, 2008; Pettit & Arsiwalla, 2008; Smetana, 2011). Accumulating evidence suggests that adolescent behavior problems contribute to a decline in the parentchild relationship, which in turn contributes to subsequent increases in adolescent behavior problems (Branje, Hale, Frijns, & Meeus, 2010; Buist, Deković, Meeus, & Aken, 2004; Burke, Dustin, Pardini, & Loeber, 2008; Gault-Sherman, 2012; Hipwell et al., 2008; Keijsers, Loeber, Branje, & Meeus, 2011; Pardini, Fite, & Burke, 2008). Most of this evidence pertains to externalizing behavior problems, but there is also support of reciprocal relations between the parent-child relationship and internalizing behavior problems (Buist et al., 2004; Branje et al., 2010; Hipwell et al., 2008). Since internalizing and externalizing disorders tend to co-occur in adolescents, child effects from behavior problems likely exist regardless of the specific disorder or diagnosis (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001; Grant et al., 2003).

The Current Study

Author Manuscript

We used three occasions of measurement to test the following three hypotheses about reciprocal relations among adolescent daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems; (H1) Daily hassles contribute to more behavior problems and behavior problems contribute to more daily hassles, (H2), A poor mother-child relationship contributes to more behavior problems and behavior problems contribute to a decline in the mother-child relationship, and (H3) A poor mother-child relationship contributes to more adolescent hassles and adolescent daily hassles contribute to a decline in the mother-child relationship. We also explored whether the relations between adolescent daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems differed by socio-demographic variables (i.e., country of origin of the mother and child, child’s age at immigration, mother’s immigration status (refugee, non refugee), when the mother emigrated, and mother’s and father’s education and employment). Figure 1 displays the hypothesized reciprocal relations over time among daily hassles, mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems in a fully cross-lagged SEM with three occasions of measurement (Burkholder & Harlow, 2003; Hays, Marshall, Wang, & Sherbourne, 1994; Little, Preacher, Selig, & Card, 2007).

Author Manuscript

Methods Participants Human subject use was approved by the affiliated university. The sample was 454 dyads of Arab Muslim immigrant mothers and their adolescent children who participated in all three study waves and were living in metropolitan Detroit, an area in the Midwest with a large and reportedly highly traditional Arab Muslim population (Aroian, Katz, & Kulwicki, 2006;


Aroian et al.

Page 5

Author Manuscript

Schopmeyer, 2000). To participate, the mothers had to self-identify as Arab Muslim, have emigrated since 1989 and have at least one child between the age of 11 and 15 at Time 1 who was also willing to participate. [Before 1989, Arab immigration was mostly Christians (David, 1999)]. Reading and English ability were not required. Data collection occurred verbally in English or Arabic. The majority of mothers (97%) and minority of youth (9.1%) chose Arabic.

Author Manuscript

The sample was recruited by 13 Arabic-speaking research assistants who were also Arab immigrants from the local community. Using social network sampling, they verbally advertised the study to the mothers and recruited interested participants during informal dayto-day contact with Arab Muslims. To offset the bias of social network sampling, the research assistants were strategically selected to represent local subgroups of Arab Americans. (See Aroian et al. (2006) for further details.) The response rate was not recorded. Of the 635 dyads recruited at Time 1, 181 were lost to follow-up. Most of the attrition was between times 1 and 2. Almost half (45%) of the attrition was because of a mother or adolescent refusing further participation or scheduling difficulty, which was interpreted as a “polite” form of refusal. Only 7.8% of the attrition was due to not being able to locate the family. Additional attrition was due to the family moving out of the area, the child no longer living with the mother, or the marriage of the child.

Author Manuscript

Most families were from Iraq (n = 196), followed by Lebanon (n = 165). The remaining 93 families were from Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Syria, or the United Arab Emirates. Child’s age at each time point is displayed in Table 1. Table 2 displays additional demographic and migration characteristics of the sample. Mothers’ average age reflects the fact that only women with a child between the ages of 11 to 15 at Time 1 were eligible for participation. Note that although all of the mothers were first generation immigrants, 73 of the children were born in the U.S. The number of mothers who were married and/or reported homemaker as their employment status is consistent with traditional Muslim expectations for Arab women (Beitin & Aprahamian, 2014). Dyads lost to follow-up were compared to the dyads remaining in the study at Time 3 on the sociodemographic variables, daily hassles, mother-child relationship, and behavior problems. The behavior problems score was significantly higher at Time 3 for those remaining in the study than for dropouts (30.54 vs. 35.28, p < .05) but this was a relatively small effect, η2 = .01. Daily hassles and mother-child relationship were not significantly different. Small but significant differences were also found for husband’s employment and mother’s education, with dropouts more likely to be in families with unemployed husbands and mothers with less than a high school education, η2 = .01, .007, respectively. With a Bonferroni corrected p value (.05/5 = .01) no differences were significant.

Author Manuscript

Instruments The measures of interest to the cross-lagged SEM are the Adolescent Daily Hassle Scale [ADHS; (Seidman et al., 1995)]; an Arab adaptation of Ellison’s (1985) Family Peer Relationship Questionnaire [A-FPRQ; (Aroian, Hough, Templin, & Kaskiri, 2008)]; the Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL; (Achenbach, 1991a)] and its youth version, the Youth Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 6

Author Manuscript

Self-Report [YSR: (Achenbach, 1991b)]; and a demographic and migration questionnaire. Arabic language versions were developed using translation and back-translation and committee consensus to resolve disagreements. See Aroian (2013) for more details.

Author Manuscript

The ADHS (Seidman et al., 1995) is a 30-item self-report that assesses the intensity of daily hassles about parents, peer, school, neighborhood, and resources, including hassles related to parental monitoring and inter-parental conflict, difficulty making friends and conflict with peers, academic achievement, neighborhood amenities and safety, and material resources like clothes and money. The adolescent responds "yes" or "no" to whether the hassle occurred in the past month. For each "yes" response, intensity is scored on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all a hassle) to 4 (a very big hassle). Intensity ratings are summed to yield a total score. A high score indicates greater exposure to daily hassles. Seidman et al (1995) confirmed the five-factor structure of the ADHS in a sample of Black, White, and Latino adolescents. The internal consistency coefficients for the five subscales ranged from . 69 to .97 and the total internal consistency coefficient for the total intensity scale was .89. As expected with a state measure, the 10-month test-retest reliabilities were low to moderate, ranging from .29 to .52. The Cronbach’s alpha we obtained with Arab Muslim adolescents for the total intensity scale was .87.

Author Manuscript

The parent subscales of the A-FPRQ (Aroian et al., 2008)–the Togetherness, NurtureDisclosure, and Parent-as-Mediator subscales -- were used to measure the quality of the mother-child relationship. Togetherness items ask about the types and frequency of activities in which mother and child engage. Nurturance-Disclosure items ask about disclosure by the child to the mother about a variety of the child’s experiences. Parent-as-Mediator items ask about the mother’s role facilitating and monitoring the child’s peer relationships. The items are scored on a 1 (never) to 5 (always) scale, with a higher score indicating a better motherchild relationship. Composite scores for each subscale were computed by summing mother and child responses because composite scores provided a more reliable, duel perspective (Aroian et al., 2008). The disattenuated validity coefficients between mother and child reports (i.e., correlations between the two forms corrected for unreliability) ranged from .39 to .69 for Parent-as-Mediator and Togetherness scales, respectively. Cronbach’s alphas for the Togetherness (24 items), Nurturance (6 items), and Mediator (8 items) subscales were . 86, .79, and .71, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses and concurrent and discriminant validity are available in Aroian et al (2008).

Author Manuscript

Parallel measures of child behavior problems, the CBCL/4-18 (Achenbach, 1991a) and the YSR (Achenbach, 1991b), were used to obtain mother and adolescent reports of the adolescent’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Internalizing and externalizing behaviors include items from the Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints, and Anxious/Depressed Scales; and items from the Delinquent Behavior and Aggressive Behavior scales, respectively. Both the CBCL/4-18 and the YSR use a 3-point rating scale (not true (0), somewhat/sometimes true (1), or very/often true (2) now or within the last 6 months) to rate the items. High scores indicate more behavior problems. Composite scores are calculated for internalizing and externalizing behavior problems by summing mother and child ratings.


Aroian et al.

Page 7

Author Manuscript

The CBCL/4-18 and YSR have been translated into more than 30 languages and used in a number of foreign-born populations (Achenbach, 1991a; Achenbach, 1991b). Achenbach reported no significant differences in scores when these measures were administered to samples from different SES or cultural backgrounds. Internal consistency reliabilities were high for boys and girls on both the Internalizing (.89 − .92 and .89 − .91) and Externalizing (.93 and .89) scales of the CBCL/4-18 and YSR, respectively. Correlations between the CBCL scale scores and scores from the closest counterpart scales of other child behavior parent ratings, such as the Corner Parent Questionnaire and Quay-Peterson Revised Behavior Problem Checklist, were moderate to high [r = .82 and .81, respectively; Achenbach & Rescorla, (2001)]. In the current study, the Cronbach’s alphas for the total (63 item) internalizing and the total (65 item) externalizing scales were .90 and .92, respectively.

Author Manuscript

The Demographic and Migration Questionnaire asked about the age and country of origin of the mother and child, child’s gender and age at immigration, mother’s immigration status (refugee, non refugee), when the mother emigrated, and the mother’s and father’s education and employment. Procedure Participants were asked to participate at three time points over the course of approximately three years. Consent was obtained from the mother and adolescent at Time 1. Data were collected in the participants’ homes by physically separating the mother and adolescent in two private rooms and verbally administering the measures. Mothers completed the demographic and migration questionnaire, adolescents completed the ADHS, and both mothers and adolescents completed their respective versions of the A-FPRQ and CBCL/ YSR. The mother was given $60 each time she and her adolescent participated.

Author Manuscript

Analyses Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with linear and quadratic trends was used to examine the trajectories of the primary outcome variables across the three waves of data. The purpose of the trend analysis was to determine the nature of the functional relationship between each outcome and wave of data collection (T1, T2, & T3).

Author Manuscript

Correlations among primary outcome and socio-demographic variables were examined using Pearson correlations. Socio-demographic variables that significantly correlated with two or more of the primary outcome variables were selected as potential confounders and further tested for inclusions in the cross-lagged SEM analysis. This process of using both causal and empirical criteria for selecting covariates is recommended to avoid over adjustment and bias (Sauer, Brookhart, Roy, & VanderWeele, 2013). A three-wave three-variable cross-lagged SEM (Burkholder & Harlow, 2003) was used to determine the relations among the primary outcome variables. The cross-lagged SEM model is based on the idea that if A is a possible cause of B, A at time one is expected to be a better predictor of B at time two than the reverse (i.e., than B at time one predicting A at time two). A cross-lagged SEM uses maximum likelihood to estimate both effects simultaneously. Unidirectional effects are supported when the reverse pathways are not significant and can be omitted from the model without reducing fit. Otherwise bi-direction effects are retained. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 8

Author Manuscript

Figure 1 shows the direct paths and coefficients in the hypothesized general model. Error terms and error covariance terms are not shown; correlations among adjacent errors are assumed, as are errors within each occasion of measurement. The diagonal pathways shown are the cross-lagged effects, e.g., a21, a31, and the horizontal paths are stability effects, e.g., a11, b21. Whether the presumed causal process was stationary over the three measurement intervals was tested to support causal interpretation of the model effects (Cole & Maxwell, 2003).

Author Manuscript

A series of models was estimated. The first model, Model 1 in Table 4, estimated each path coefficient (e.g., a11, a12) and error covariances in the hypothesized general model displayed in Figure 1. Subsequent models (2–4) estimated overall fit when certain parameters were constrained to equality or set equal to zero. Reciprocal pathways in the hypothesized model (Figure 1) were removed when a pathway linking the effect of a variable on itself could be omitted without affecting the fit of the overall model. Model 2 (see Table 4) tested the stationarity assumption, i.e., that the corresponding path coefficients from Time 1 to Time 2 are of the same magnitude as the path coefficients from Time 2 to Time 3 (Cole & Maxwell, 2003). In this and subsequent models, path coefficients representing the same relationship between variables (e.g., the effect of daily hassles on the mother-child relationship) were constrained to be equal across time, for example, a21 = a22, and a31 = a32. Model 3 omitted nonsignificant paths to simplify the model and interpretation of causality. The final model, Model 4, included covariates with significant path coefficients. Indirect/mediated pathways are significant when each of the component paths is significant (Mallinckrodt, Abraham, Wei, & Russell, 2006). Covariates without significant path coefficients were trimmed from the model.

Author Manuscript

Results The trend analysis showed a significant but small linear decline in behavior problems and the mother-child relationship with increasing average age of the child at data collection, T1, T2, and T3 (see Table 3). The quadratic trends for these variables were not significant. There were no significant trends associated with adolescent daily hassles. The absence of nonlinear trends facilitates the structural equation modeling of cross-lags.

Author Manuscript

The correlations among the primary variables were as follows: the correlations between behavior problems and adolescent daily hassles at T1, T2 and T3 were .49, .60, and .62, respectively; between behavior problems and the mother-child relationship, -.42, -.46, and −. 50, respectively; and between adolescent daily hassles and the mother-child relationship, −. 15, −.37, and −.39, respectively. To identify potential confounders, the correlations between the primary and socio-demographic variables were examined. Each of the primary variables was averaged over time (T1, T2, and T3) and correlated with the socio-demographic variables (see Table 4). Husband’s education and Husband’s employment were each significantly correlated with two primary variables. These two variables were tagged potential confounders and further tested for inclusions in the cross-lagged SEM analysis.


Aroian et al.

Page 9

Author Manuscript

The model fitting results are shown in Table 5. The initial unconstrained model had an acceptable fit to the data after allowing one additional error covariance between Time 1 Daily Hassles and Time 3 Adolescent Behavior Problems (Model 1, Table 5). This error covariance was not needed to achieve an acceptable fit in other models and was subsequently omitted. The difference between Model 1 and Model 2 was not significant (Model 2, Table 5), indicating stationarity or that the effects from Time 1 to Time 2 were not greater or less than the effects from Time 2 to Time 3. Four cross-variable paths in Model 2 were not significant; Daily Hassles 1 → Mother-child Relationship 2, Daily Hassles 1 → Behavior Problems 2; Daily Hassles 2 → Mother-child relationship 3 and Daily Hassles 2 → Behavior Problems 3. These cross-paths were omitted from Model 3. Because of the path constraints, omitting these paths increased degrees of freedom from Model 2 to Model 3 by two rather than four. Omitting these paths resulted in a significant increase in the difference chi-square but the RMSEA and CFI were virtually unchanged.


The final model (Model 4, Table 5) is shown in Figure 2. The correlational analysis indicated that husband’s education and husband’s employment were possible confounders but the only covariate that remained significant in the model was husband’s education. The final model fit well (Figure 2; Model 4, Table 5) and all coefficients shown were significant (p < .05). Father’s education was only related exogenously. Youth with more educated fathers had a better mother-child relationship and fewer behavior problems. As expected, the largest effects were found in the stability coefficients, i.e., in the direct effect of a variable on itself. The standardized path coefficients for these effects were in the range from .34 to .65, whereas the cross-lagged effects ranged from .12 to .24. Contrary to the hypotheses about the reciprocal relations between daily hassles and behavior problems (H1) and reciprocal relations between daily hassles and the mother-child relationship (H3), relations concerning daily hassles were unidirectional: Both the mother-child relationship and behavior problems affected daily hassles at later time points but daily hassles had significant effects only on itself over time. This pattern of results suggests that daily hassles are more of a consequence of the mother-child relationship and behavior problems than a cause of them. The hypothesis about reciprocal relations between the mother-child relationship and behavior problems (H2) was supported: The mother-child relationship and behavior problems were reciprocally related with the mother-child relationship at Time 1 affecting the mother-child relationship at Time 3 directly and indirectly through behavior problems at Time 2. Likewise, behavior problems at Time 1 affected behavior problems at Time 3, directly and indirectly through the mother-child relationship at Time 2. For example, behavior problems at Time 1 predicted a less positive mother-child relationship at Time 2, which in turn predicted increasing behavior problems at Time 3.

Author Manuscript

Discussion This study examined reciprocal and dynamic relations among daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems. One of the three study hypotheses was supported: Relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems were reciprocal: Over time, a poor mother-child relationship contributed to greater adolescent behavior problems and, in turn, adolescent behavior problems contributed to a decline in the quality of the mother-child relationship. Neither of the two study hypotheses Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 10

Author Manuscript

regarding reciprocal relations about daily hassles was supported. Rather, relations involving daily hassles were unidirectional; adolescent behavior problems contributed to more daily hassles but daily hassles did not contribute to more adolescent behavior problems. Similarly, a better mother-child relationship contributed to fewer daily hassles but more daily hassles did not contribute to a poorer mother-child relationship. The relations between the three sets of variables -- daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems -- were stable over the approximate 3-year study period. Only one socio-demographic factor, father’s education, was significant: Adolescents with more highly educated fathers had a better mother-child relationship and fewer behavioral problems.

Author Manuscript

The reciprocal effects we obtained between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems is consistent with growing evidence about the difficulty of maintaining a good parent-child relationship with adolescents with behavior problems (Burke et al., 2008; Hipwell et al., 2008; Keijsers et al., 2011; Pardini et al., 2008; Sameroff, 2000). This difficulty likely stems from symptoms of adolescent behavior problems. Although the underlying mechanisms probably differ according to the specific behavior problem or associated symptom cluster, clinical anecdotes suggest that symptoms like withdrawal, depression, anger, and hostility are often manifested as being unresponsive or uncooperative in interpersonal relationships. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that unresponsive and uncooperative adolescents not only discourage parents from communicating and spending time with them but also are less willing to initiate conversations and activities with their parents (Dishion, Neslon, & Bullock, 2004; Kerr & Stattin, 2000; Racz & McMahon, 2011; Stattin & Kerr, 2000; Willoughby & Harmza, 2011). Child effects were also found in our previous study of Arab Muslim adolescents whereby adolescents’ greater use of assistanceseeking coping contributed to a better mother- child relationship (Aroian et al., 2011).

Author Manuscript

Consistent with Larsson and colleagues (2008), the parent and child effects we obtained were symmetrical or comparable in magnitude. However, not all transactional parent-child studies have found symmetry in bidirectionality (Hipwell et al., 2008; Burke et al., 2008). Inconsistent findings about symmetry may pertain to differences in adolescent age as well as the dimensions of the parent-child relationship under study.

Author Manuscript

The unidirectional path we obtained from the mother-child relationship to subsequent daily hassles is not surprising. Similar to how a good parent-child relationship operates to prevent adolescent behavior problems (Keijsers, Branje, Van derValk, & Meeus, 2010; Willoughby & Hamza, 2011), a good parent-child relationship likely provides advice information, and positive affect similar to the general provision of social support from friends, family, and other personal network members (Cohen, Underwood, & Gottlieb, 2000). Social support operates as a type of coping assistance (Thoits, 1986) and likely minimizes the occurrence or intensity of daily hassles. The significant linear trend in the mother-child relationship suggests that the dimensions of the mother-child relationship measured in this study decline as adolescent children grew older. However, the stability of the mother-child relationship with daily hassles and adolescent behavior problems suggests that the mother-child relationship remains influential for Arab adolescents, at least through the later years of mid adolescence. Arab and Muslim


Aroian et al.

Page 11

Author Manuscript

cultural expectations and norms may account for this finding. Unlike American expectations for greater independence and a loosening of parental influence during adolescence, Arab cultural norms legitimize parental authority regardless of the offspring’s age (Beitin & Aprahamian, 2014). Another primary feature of Arab culture that transcends age is close family relationships and heavy reliance on family support for problem solving and managing stressors (Beitin & Aprhamian, 2014). On the other hand, studies with White and African American and Dutch youth have found that the mother-child relationship continues to exert important salutatory effects throughout adolescence even though these adolescent groups assume more independence with age (Branje et al., 2010; Pardini et al., 2008).

Author Manuscript

We also found that Arab Muslim adolescents with more educated fathers had a better mother-child relationship than those with less highly educated fathers. This finding may be due to Arab and Islamic cultural norms pertaining to gender relations between spouses. Gender relations are traditionally based on respect rather than equality, with husbands/ fathers as the head of household and dictating which behaviors are permissible for their children (Beitin & Aprahamian, 2014; Carolan et al., 2000). In a qualitative study of Arab immigrant mothers in the U.S., mothers described negotiating with husbands about criteria for acceptable adolescent behavior and balancing husbands’ wishes with helping youth live in a more permissive society without compromising family honor (Hattar-Pollara & Meleis, 1995). Perhaps more highly educated fathers are more tolerant of differences between American and Arab/Islamic cultural norms and encourage mothers to use nurturing rather than dictatorial strategies for maintaining family honor.

Author Manuscript

Unlike findings about the mother-child relationship, the insignificance of paths from earlier daily hassles to subsequent behavior problems was unexpected and at odds with most prospective studies on the topic (DuBois et al., 1992; DuBois et al., 1994; Johnson & Sherman, 1997; Norman & Malla, 1994; Pinquart, 2009; Tessner et al., 2011; Wagner et al., 1988). Different from these other prospective studies, we employed cross-lagged SEM. Cross-lagged SEM is an advance over earlier correlational studies because it incorporates multiple waves of data and error covariance within and across time and variables.

Author Manuscript

The direction of the daily hassle effects we obtained (i.e., that behavior problems contribute to greater daily hassles at later time points) is supported by the few prospective studies that pursued this line of inquiry (DuBois et al., 1992; DuBois et al., 1994; Wagner et al., 1988). Studies that investigated the effect of behavior problems on daily hassles were among the earlier prospective studies, which were driven primarily by diathesis-stress theory. According to diathesis-stress theory, psychopathology results from stress exposure or predisposing vulnerability to stress exposure (Ingram & Luxton, 2005). Unlike later etiological models that propose reciprocal relations between stressors and psychopathology (Grant et. al., 2003), early researchers may have been treating the contribution of adolescent behavior problems to stressors as a competing or rule-out hypothesis to support the directional assumptions underlying the diathesis-stress model. Our study findings contradict diathesis-stress theory by depicting youth with behavior problems as differentially exposed to daily hassles and daily hassles as more a consequence than a cause of behavior problems. Perhaps the normative and relatively minor nature of daily hassles limits their effect on behavior problems because many Arab Muslim youth in immigrant families have been


Aroian et al.

Page 12

Author Manuscript

exposed directly or indirectly to more serious life problems. Much of contemporary Arab immigration is to escape war, sectarian violence and poverty (Kayyali, 2006), conditions that may assist with putting daily hassles in perspective.

Author Manuscript

Two major strengths of this study were its prospective study design and obtaining dual assessments by questioning both mothers and adolescents about the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems. However, the use of questionnaires does not provide direct evidence about how reciprocal relations develop during interactional exchanges. This information is needed to develop nuanced interventions to change negative parent and child effects. Although mothers are the primary caregivers in Arab families, omitting fathers’ influence is a shortcoming. Another limitation pertains to the convenience sample, which limits the generalizability of the findings. The relatively short study period (i.e., three years spanning early to middle adolescence) is another limitation. A 3-year time period was optimal for studying relations between daily hassles and behavior problems, but not for studying developmental trends and changes in the mother-child relationship over the entire course of adolescence. Also of note is that the magnitude of the cross-variable effects was not large. Other variables in addition to the ones we investigated likely contribute to explaining the relations we obtained among the study variables. Although we controlled common socio-demographic causes of confounding, other unmeasured influences are a possible source of model misspecification. As with any correlational analysis, significant pathways may be due to common causes not included in the model.


Despite limitations, this study offers a number of points for intervening to prevent or minimize adolescent behavior problems in Arab Muslim youth with immigrant parents. One point of intervention would be to help youth manage symptoms of behavior problems so that they do not generate daily hassles or erode the mother-child relationship. For example, aggressive behavior is likely to escalate situations and generate daily hassles in related life domains (e.g., parent, peers, school). Encouraging adolescents to employ cognitive or behavioral scripts for managing aggression, such as thought stopping or physically removing themselves from the situation (Beck & Fernandez, 1998), could be viable interventions for reducing daily hassles. Another crucial point of intervention would be to assist mothers of adolescents with behavior problems to maintain a positive mother–child relationship despite challenges. This assistance should include acknowledging child effects while directing mothers to reframe child effects as symptomatic of larger issues that are not necessarily volitional or under the adolescent’s control. Reframing (Watzlawick, Weakland, & Fisch, 1974) is not to abdicate adolescent responsibility but rather to help mothers persist in helping uncooperative or unresponsive adolescents with larger issues. Reframing to relieve maternal self-blame may be particularly important in a culture, such as the Arab culture, that explicitly charges mothers with nurturing adolescents as well as controlling their behavior to maintain family honor (Carolan et al., 2000; Kulwicki & Ballout, 2013). However, cultural expectations about maintaining family honor must be expanded to include the explicit understanding that the mother-child relationship is transactional: Both parties, mothers and adolescents with behavior problems, are responsible for interrupting mutually reinforcing negative behaviors.


Aroian et al.

Page 13

Author Manuscript

In conclusion, study findings suggest that youth with behavior problems are differentially exposed to adolescent daily hassles but daily hassles are not the best point of intervention. Rather, bidirectional relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems suggest that the focus should be on improving the mother-child relationship and alleviating or managing symptoms of adolescent behavior problems. Comparatively symmetrical child and parent effects suggest that mothers and adolescents should be equally targeted. Mechanisms for obtaining the desired transactions are already embedded in Arab and Islamic culture, which has long codified conclusions from accumulating evidence from transactional parenting studies about using strong authority beliefs, collective values, and supportive parenting to limit problem behaviors in adolescents (Steinberg, 2001). Adolescent disclosure thrives with this kind of parenting, which in turn reinforces mothers’ efforts and feeling valued in the mothering role (Racz & McMahon, 2011).

Author Manuscript

Supplementary Material Refer to Web version on PubMed Central for supplementary material.

Acknowledgments This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, R01 NR 0085 5,973 words, including abstract

References


Achenbach, TM. Manual for the child behavior checklist/4-18 and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry; 1991a. Achenbach, TM. Manual for the youth self-report and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry; 1991b. Achenbach, TM.; Rescorla, LA. Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms and profiles: An integrated system of multi-informant assessment. Burlington, VT: Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families; 2001. Ahmed SR, Kia-Keating M, Tsai KH. A structural model of racial discrimination, acculturative stress, and cultural resources among Arab American adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology. 2011; 48(34):181–192. [PubMed: 21287262] Aldwin, C. Stress, coping, and development: An integrative perspective. 2. New York: Guilford; 2006. Aroian KJ. Discrimination against Muslim American adolescents. Journal of School Nursing. 2012; 48(3):206–213. Aroian KJ. Adapting a large battery of research measures for immigrants. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2013; 15(3):636–645. [PubMed: 22527747] Aroian KJ, Katz A, Kulwicki A. Recruiting and retaining Arab Muslim mothers and children for research. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 2006; 38(3):1–7. Aroian KJ, Hough ES, Templin TN, Kaskiri EA. Development and Psychometric Evaluation of an Arab Version of the Family Peer Relationship Questionnaire. Research in Nursing and Health. 2008; 31:402–416. [PubMed: 18389498] Aroian KJ, Templin TN, Hough EE. Longitudinal study of daily hassles in adolescents in Arab Muslim immigrant families. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2014; 16(5):831–838. [PubMed: 23430463] Aroian KJ, Templin TN, Hough EE, Ramaswamy V, Katz A. A longitudinal family-level model of Arab Muslim adolescent behavior problems. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2011; 40(8):996– 1011. [PubMed: 21161350] Asi M, Beaulieu D. Arab households in the United States: 2006–2010. American Community Survey, ACSBR/10-20. 2013


Aroian et al.

Page 14

Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript

Awad GH. The impact of acculturation and religious identification on perceived discrimination for Arab/Middle Eastern Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. 2010; 16(1): 59–67. [PubMed: 20099965] Bartlett R, Holditch-Davis D, Belyea M, Halpern CT, Beeber L. Risk and protection in the development of problem behaviors in adolescents. Research in Nursing & Health. 2006; 29:607– 621. [PubMed: 17131284] Beck R, Fernandez E. Cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of anger: A meta-analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research. 1998; 22(1):63–73. Beitin, BK.; Aprahamian, M. Family values and traditions. In: Nassar-McMillan, SC.; Ajrouch, KJ.; Hakim-Larson, J., editors. Biopsychosocial perspectives on Arab Americans. NY, NY: Springer; 2014. p. 67-88. Beitin BK, Allen KR, Bekheet M. A critical analysis of western perspectives on families of Arab descent. Journal of Family Issues. 2009; 31(2):211–233. Branje SJT, Hale WW, Frijns T, Meeus WHJ. Longitudinal associations between perceived parentchild relationship quality and depression in adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2010; 38:751–763. [PubMed: 20217211] Brittingham, A.; de la Cruz, GP. We the people of Arab Ancestry in the United States, Census 2000 brief no. C2KBR-23. U.S. Census Bureau; Washington D.C: 2005. Britto PR. Who am I? Ethnic identity formation of Arab Muslim children in contemporary U.S. society. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry. 2008; 47(8):853–857. [PubMed: 18645418] Buist KL, Deković M, Meeus W, Aken MAGv. The reciprocal relationship between early adolescent attachment and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviour. Journal of Adolescence. 2004; 27:251–266. [PubMed: 15159087] Burke JD, Dustin A, Pardini DA, Loeber R. Reciprocal relations between parenting behavior and disruptive psychopathology from childhood through adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2008; 36:679–692. [PubMed: 18286366] Burkholder GJ, Harlow LL. An illustration of a longitudinal cross-lagged design for larger structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling. 2003; 10(3):465–486. Carolan MT, Bagherinia G, Juhari R, Himelright J, Mouton-Sanders M. Contemporary Muslim families: Research and practice. Contemporary Family Therapy. 2000; 22(1):67–79. Carter J, Grant K. A prospective comparison of moderating relationships among stressor, hopelessness, and internalizing symptoms in low income urban youth with asthma. Journal of Urban Health. 2012; 89(4):598–613. [PubMed: 22674462] Christiansen LM, Copeland EP, Stapert EB. Predictors of somatic symptoms in younger rural adolescents, Adolescence. 2008; 43(172):791–806. [PubMed: 19149146] Choi Y, He M, Harachi TW. Intergenerational Cultural Dissonance, Parent Child–Conflict and Bonding, and Youth Problem Behaviors among Vietnamese and Cambodian Immigrant Families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2008; 37(1):85–96. [PubMed: 18645631] Cohen, S.; Underwood, LG.; Gottlieb, BH. Social relationships and health. In: Cohen, S.; Underwood, LG.; Gottlieb, BH., editors. Social support, measurement and intervention. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 2000. p. 3-25. Cole DA, Maxwell SE. Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2003; 112(4):558. [PubMed: 14674869] Crosnoe R, Cavanagh S. Families with children and adolescents: A review, critique, and future agenda. Journal of Marriage and Family. 2010; 72:594–611. David, G. The mosaic of Middle Eastern communities in Metropolitan Detroit. Detroit: United Way Community Services; 1999. Dishion TJ, Nelson SE, Bullock BM. Premature adolescent autonomy: Parent disengagement and deviant peer process in the amplification of problem behaviour. Journal of Adolescence. 2004; 27:515–530. [PubMed: 15475044] DuBois DL, Felner RD, Brand S, Adan A, Evans E. A prospective study of life stress, social support, and adaptation in early adolescence. Child Development. 1992; 63:542–557. [PubMed: 1600821] Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 15


DuBois DL, Felner RD, Meares H, Krier M. Prospective investigation of the effects of socio-economic disadvantage, life stress, and social support on early adolescent adjustment. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1994; 103(3):511–522. [PubMed: 7930051] Ellison ES. A multidimensional, dual-perspective index of parental support. Western Journal of Nursing Research. 1985; 7:401–424. [PubMed: 3853394] Gault-Sherman M. It’s a two-way street: The bidirectional relationship between parenting and delinquency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2012; 41:121–145. [PubMed: 21431892] Grant KE, Compas BE, Stuhlmacher A, Thurm AE, McHahon SD, Halpert J. Stressors and child/ adolescent psychopathology: Moving from markers to mechanisms of risk. Psychological Bulletin. 2003; 129:447–466. [PubMed: 12784938] Grant KE, Compas BE, Thurm AE, McHahon SD, Gipson PY. Stressors and child and adolescent psychopathology: Measurement issues and prospective effects. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 2004; 23(2):412–425. Hattar-Pollara M, Meleis AI. Parenting their adolescents: The experiences of Jordanian immigrant women in California. Health Care for Women International. 1995; 16:195–211. [PubMed: 7797451] Hays RD, Marshall GN, Wang EYI, Sherbourne CD. Four-year cross-lagged associations between physical and mental health in the Medical Outcomes Study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1994; 62(3):441. [PubMed: 8063971] Heaven PCL, Newbury K, Mak A. The impact of adolescent and parental characteristics on adolescents’ levels of delinquency and depression. Personality and Individual Differences. 2004; 36:173–185. Hipwell A, Keenan K, Kasza K, Loeber R, Stouthamer-Loeber M, Bean T. Reciprocal influences between girls’ conduct problems and depression, and parental punishment and warmth: A six year prospective analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2008:663–677. [PubMed: 18172753] Hodge DR. Social work and the house of Islam: Orienting practitioners to the beliefs and values of Muslims in the U.S. Social Work. 2005; 50(2):162–173. [PubMed: 15853193] Ingram, RE.; Luxton, DD. Vulnerability-stress models. In: Harkin, BL.; Abela, JRZ., editors. Development of psychopathology: A vulnerability stress perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications; 2005. p. 32-46. Johnson JG, Sherman MF. Daily hassles mediate the relationship between major life evens and psychiatric symptomatology: Longitudinal findings from an adolescent sample. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 1997; 16(4):389–404. Kayyali, R. The Arab Americans. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press; 2006. Keijsers L, Branje SJT, Van derValk IE, Meeus W. Reciprocal effects between parental solicitation, parental control, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent delinquency. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2010; 20:88–113. Keijsers L, Loeber R, Branje S, Meeus W. Bidirectional links and concurrent development of parentchild relationships and boys’ offending behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2011; 120(4): 878–889. [PubMed: 21842967] Kerr M, Stattin H. What parents know, how they know it, and several forms of adolescent adjustment: Further support for a reinterpretation of monitoring. Developmental Psychology. 2000; 36:366– 380. [PubMed: 10830980] Kulwicki, AD.; Ballout, S. People of Arab heritage. In: Purnell, LD., editor. Transcultural health care. Philadelphia, PA: FA Davis Company; 2013. p. 159-177. Larsson H, Viding E, Rijsdijk FV. Relationships between parental negativity and childhood antisocial behavior over time: A bidirectional effects model in a longitudinal genetically informative design. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2008; 36(5):633–645. [PubMed: 17602294] Little TD, Preacher KJ, Selig JP, Card NA. New developments in latent variable panel analyses of longitudinal data. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 2007; 31(4):357–365. Mallinckrodt B, Abraham TW, Wei M, Russell DW. Advances in testing the statistical significance of mediation effects. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 2006; 53(3):372–378.


Aroian et al.

Page 16


Nassor-McMillan SC, Lambert RG, Hakim-Larson J. Discrimination history, backlash fear, and ethnic identity among Arab Americans: Post 9/11 snapshots. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. 2011; 39:38–47. Norman RMG, Malla AK. A prospective study of daily stressors and symptomatology in schizophrenic patients. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 1994; 29:244–249. [PubMed: 7825035] Norris AE, Aroian KJ. Assessing reliability and validity of the Arabic language version of the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) symptom items. Psychiatry Research. 2008; 160(3):327–34. [PubMed: 18718671] Paradies Y. A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2006; 35:888–901. [PubMed: 16585055] Pardini DA. Novel insights into longstanding theories of bidirectional parent–child influences: introduction to the special section. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2008; 36:627–631. [PubMed: 18437550] Pardini D, Fite P, Burke J. Bidirectional associations between parenting practices and conduct problems in boys from childhood to adolescence: The moderating effect of age and AfricanAmerican ethnicity. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2008; 36:647–662. [PubMed: 17899362] Parker JS, Benson MJ. Parent-adolescent relations and adolescent functioning: Self-esteem, substance abuse, and delinquency. Adolescence. 2004; 39(155):519–530. [PubMed: 15673227] Pascoe EA, Richman LS. Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin. 2009; 135(4):531–54. [PubMed: 19586161] Pettit GS, Arsiwalla DD. Commentary on special section on bidirectional parent child relationships: the continuing evolution of dynamic, transactional models of parenting and youth. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2008; 36:711–718. Pinquart M. Moderating effects of dispositional resilience on associations between hassles and psychological distress. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 2009; 30:53-53-60. Racz SJ, McMahon RJ. The relationship between parental knowledge and monitoring and child and adolescent conduct problems” A ten year update. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. 2011; 14:377–398. [PubMed: 22086648] Rasmi S, Daly TM, Chuang SS. Intergenerational conflict management in immigrant Arab Canadian families. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 2014; 45(7):1124–1144. Sameroff AJ. Developmental systems and psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology. 2000; 12:297–312. [PubMed: 11014740] Sameroff, AJ.; Chandler, MJ. Reproductive risk and the continuum of caretaking casualty. In: Horowitz, FD.; Heterington, M.; Scarr-Salapatek, S.; Siegal, G., editors. Review of child development research. Vol. 4. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1975. p. 187-244. Sauer BC, Brookhart MA, Roy J, VanderWeele T. A review of covariate selection for non-experimental comparative effectiveness research. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. 2013; 22(11):1139– 1145. [PubMed: 24006330] Schneiders J, Nicolson NA, Berkhof J, Feron FJ, van Os J, deVries MW. Mood reactivity to daily negative events in early adolescence: Relationship to risk for psychopathology. Developmental Psychology. 2006; 42:543–554. [PubMed: 16756444] Schopmeyer, KA. Demographic Portrait of Arab Detroit. In: Abraham, N.; Shryock, A., editors. Arab Detroit from Margin to Mainstream. Detroit: Wayne State University Press; 2000. p. 61-92. Seidman E, Allen L, Aber JL, Mitchell C, Feinman G, Yoshikawa H, Comtois KA, Golz J, Miller RL, Ortiz-Torres B, Roper GC. Development and validation of adolescent-perceived microsystem scales: Social support, daily hassles, and involvement. American Journal of Community Psychology. 1995; 23:355–369. [PubMed: 7572836] Sheeber LB, Hops H, Davis B. Family processes in adolescent depression. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. 2001; 4:19–35. [PubMed: 11388562] Sheldow AJ, Henry DB, Tolan PH, Strachan MK. The role of stress exposure and family functioning in internalizing outcomes of urban families. Journal of Child and Family Studies. 2013 Smetana, JG. Adolescents, families, and social development: How teens construct their worlds. WileyBlackwell; West Sussex, United Kingdom: 2011. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 17


Stattin H, Kerr M. Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development. 2000; 71:1072–1085. [PubMed: 11016567] Steinberg L. We know some things: Parent and adolescence relationships in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2001; 11(1):1–19. Tessner KD, Mittal V, Walker EF. Longitudinal study of stressful events and daily stressors among adolescents at high risk for psychotic disorders. Schizophrenia Bulletin. 2011; 37(2):432–411. [PubMed: 19734244] Thoits PA. Social support as coping assistance. Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology. 1986; 54(2):416–23. Wagner BM, Compass BE, Howell DC. Daily hassles and major life events: A test of an integrative model of stress. American Journal of Community Psychology. 1988; 16:189–205. [PubMed: 3407632] Wallbridge, LS.; Aziz, TM. After Karbala: Iraqi refugees in Detroit. In: Abraham, N.; Shryock, A., editors. Arab Detroit from Margin to Mainstream. Detroit: Wayne State University Press; 2000. p. 321-342. Watzlawick, P.; Weakland, J.; Fisch, R. Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution. N.Y: Norton; 1974. Willoughby T, Hamza CA. A longitudinal examination of the bidirectional associations among perceived parenting behaviors, adolescent disclosure and problem behavior across the high school years. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2011; 4:463–478. Zimmer-Gembeck MJ, Skinner EA. Adolescents’ coping with stress: Development and diversity. Prevention Researcher. 2008; 15:3–7. [PubMed: 19953191]

Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 18

Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Figure 1.

Author Manuscript

The general model used for cross-lagged analyses. In the baseline model, each variable is a consequence of the other two. For example, Adolescent Hassles at Time 2 is a consequence of the mother-child relationship at Time 1 and Behavior Problems at Time 1, and each path coefficient (e.g., a11, a12) is estimated separately. In subsequent models, corresponding path coefficients are constrained to be equal. For example, a11 = a12, and a21 = a22, and nonsignificant paths are omitted. The multi group analysis used this same model in separate groups. Covariance terms among exogenous variables and error terms are not shown for clarity but explained in the text.

Author Manuscript Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 19


Figure 2.

Author Manuscript

Final results with standardized path coefficients from fitting a series of three-wave threevariable cross-lagged SEMs (Table 5, Model 5). All coefficients are significant (p < .05). Figure shows that Daily Hassles is more of a consequence of the Mother-child relationship and Behavior Problems than a cause of these. Residual covariances were allowed across error terms within time but not across adjacent time points. Covariance terms were also allowed for six nonadjacent time points as follows: r11 and r13, r21 and r23, and r31 and r33.

Author Manuscript Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 20

Table 1

Author Manuscript

Child’s Age and Retest Interval (N = 454) by Time of Testing Variable

SD pooled

Child's Age (years)

1.18

Retest Interval (months)

2.24

Time of Testing T1

T2

T3

13.78

15.33

16.62

18.56

15.49

Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Aroian et al.

Page 21

Table 2

Author Manuscript

Demographic Characteristics of Sample (N = 454) M (SD) Mother’s age

40.61(6.50)

a Child age at immigration

5.65 (4.35)

b Mother’s yrs. In U.S.

8.16 (4.23) Percent

Author Manuscript

a

Child gender (% girls)

49.8

Married mothers

86.6

Refugee mothers

43.8

Mothers working outside the home

11.7

Fathers employed full or part time

57.9

Mothers less than high school

64.8

Fathers less high school

54.4

n = 381; excludes the 73 children who were born in the U.S.

b

middle interquartile range (50%) is 4.5 to 11 years in the U.S.

Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 October 01.

Author Manuscript

Author Manuscript

Author Manuscript 35.28 32.48 31.71 0.59 0.60 0.59 19.42 19.18 18.94

Behavior Problems T1



Daily Hassles T1

Daily Hassles T2

Daily Hassles T3

Mother-child Relationship T1



M

3.24

3.25

3.10

0.47

0.46

0.41

21.64

21.43

21.84

SD

12.57

0.002

19.30

Linear Trend F(1,453)

.03

Sexual information needs of Arab-Muslim patients with cardiac problems.

Extracurricular participation among adolescents from immigrant families.

Filial piety and intergenerational relationship in Korean immigrant families.

In-home generalization of social interactions in families of adolescents with behavior problems.

Autopsy in Islam and current practice in Arab Muslim countries.

The relationship between daily hassles and sexual function in men and women.

Early Academic Achievement Among American Low-Income Black Students from Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Families.

Immigrant Arab adolescents in ethnic enclaves: physical and phenomenological contexts of identity negotiation.

Exploring Identity in Muslim Moroccan and Pakistani Immigrant Women.

Daily hassles' role in health seeking behavior among low-income populations.

Cognitive appraisal of daily hassles in college students showing Type A or Type B behavior patterns.

Minor stressful life events (daily hassles) in chronic primary headache: relationship with MMPI personality patterns.

Type A-B behavior and the self-report of daily hassles and uplifts.

Culture, parenting, and child behavioral problems: a comparative study of cross-cultural immigrant families and native-born families in Taiwan.

Ruminative and catastrophizing cognitive styles mediate the association between daily hassles and high anxiety in Hong Kong adolescents.

Comparison of WIC benefit redemptions in Michigan indicates higher utilization among Arab American families.

Associations between positive parenting practices and child externalizing behavior in underserved Latino immigrant families.

Stress from daily hassles in couples: its effects on intradyadic stress, relationship satisfaction, and physical and psychological well-being.

Parental endorsement of spanking and children's internalizing and externalizing problems in African American and Hispanic families.

Behavior problems of Anglo and Mexican-American children.

Breast cancer screening practices among first-generation immigrant muslim women.

Military mental health: the role of daily hassles while deployed.

Effects of Mexican Immigrant Parents' Daily Workplace Discrimination on Child Behavior and Family Functioning.

Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Migrant Children and Adolescents in American Countries: A Systematic Review.