Latine children of immigrants: does familismo protect against school-based discrimination?

Vollmer, April Rose (2023) Latine children of immigrants: does familismo protect against school-based discrimination? Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

There is a disparity in Latine students’ educational attainment in higher education compared to individuals from other cultural backgrounds in the United States. Discrimination is a risk factor for the academic success of Latine students, whereas familismo is promotive of academic success. Biological sex and national origin are also found to contribute to differences in academic achievement for Latine adolescents. As such, this study explored how these factors influence high school grade point average (HSGPA).The Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study data set was used to examine (a) the relationships between school-based discrimination, family cohesion, family obligation, and HSGPA and (b) the extent to which these relationships differ between Latine subgroups split by sex and immigrant generation. The sample used for this study included majority Cuban Americans (40%) and Mexican Americans (25%) and a smaller, but diverse representation of other Central and South Americans (35%). A majority of participants were recruited in Florida (73%) and were female (51%). The results demonstrated that both school-based discrimination and family obligation had a significantly negative association with HSGPA. In contrast, family cohesion had a significantly positive association with HSGPA. There were no significant interactions between discrimination, family cohesion, or family obligation, and there were no differences in any estimated pathway across the subgroups. The negative association between school-based discrimination and HSGPA sheds light on future avenues of research to continue exploring discrimination within school contexts. The lack of interaction between discrimination, family cohesion, and family obligation highlights the importance of discrimination being addressed within school settings and not within family units. It is vital for school personnel to recognize the negative impact of discrimination within school settings has on important academic outcomes for Latine youth.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	academic achievement; adolescent; Latine/Latinx; school-based discrimination
Subjects:	L Education > LC Special aspects of education
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Psychological Sciences
Date Deposited:	22 Oct 2025 21:37
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2025 21:37
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6229

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