A Cross-Ethnoracial Comparison Of Objective And Subjective Neighborhood Predictors Of Early Adolescents' Prosocial Behavior

Although the Family Stress Model (FSM) has been widely tested, expanded conceptualizations of stressors, intervening mechanisms, and developmental outcomes from this perspective is becoming increasingly common in order to better explain the adolescent adjustment. Additionally, though extant research analyzes the utility of the FSM in African American and European-American samples, little is known about the representativeness of the FSM in Latino/a samples, and cross-ethnoracial comparisons are scarce. The present study addresses these gaps by conducting cross-ethnic comparisons in a modified FSM between African American, European-American, and U.S. Latino/a ethnoracial adolescents. Findings revealed that perceived neighborhood safety was indirectly associated with youth prosocial behavior through parent mental health symptoms and family conflict for African Americans, U.S. Latino/as, and European-Americans. Objective neighborhood risk predicted parent mental health symptoms but was not indirectly associated with youths' prosocial behavior. Results generally suggest that the FSM may adequately represent family processes across ethnoracial groups. The usefulness and practical implications of the FSM are discussed.