Ecological and Ethical Perspectives on Filial Responsibility: Implications for Primary Prevention with Immigrant Latino Adolescents

This article considers processes from an ecological-ethical viewpoint that may help explain the high rate of school failure and dropout of immigrant Latino adolescents. Drawing from research on filial responsibility and risk and protective processes in this population, a conceptual model is presented that accounts for both negative and positive developmental outcomes. For example, it is speculated that different stressors linked to immigration (e.g., poverty, discrimination) occasion a marked increase in filial responsibility (e.g., assuming the role of interpreter and liaison to the English speaking community, working to earn money for the family) that may compete with other sociocognitive tasks, such as schooling and peer involvement. Yet, Latino youths who perform major caregiving tasks in the family also appear to derive an increased sense of personal and interpersonal competence. The implications of the model for research and prevention programming are discussed.