Latent Profiles of American and Ethnic-Racial Identity in Latinx Mothers and Adolescents: Links to Behavioral Practices and Cultural Values

Few studies have examined national identity processes in Latinx immigrant mothers and their children. This study uses a person-centered approach to examine how profiles of American and ethnic-racial identity are related to American and Latinx cultural values, group orientation, and socialization practices in a sample of 172 Latinx mother-youth dyads in an emerging immigrant community. Latent profile analyses produced a 4-profile solution for mothers (high-bicultural-, moderate-bicultural-, enculturated-, and assimilated-identity mothers) and a two-profile solution for youth (high- and low-bicultural identity) with respect to ethnic-racial and American identity. Mothers low in White cultural orientation and mainstream American values were more likely to be in the enculturated-identity profile, whereas mothers low in Latinx group orientation were more likely to be in the assimilated-identity profile. Likelihood of youth profile membership did not differ based on our covariates. Testing mean-level profile differences. high-bicultural mothers delivered the most frequent familism socialization messages and delivered more cultural socialization messages than assimilated and enculturated mothers. High-bicultural-identity youth reported receiving more familism socialization messages, but fewer promotion-of-mistrust messages than low-bicultural youth. Our results support past work finding relations between identifications, values, and behavioral practices for both host (Latinx) and receiving (American) cultures. Our study also highlights the fact that 3 of our 4 profiles of L.atinx immigrant mothers (high-bicultural, moderate-bicultural, and assimilated mothers), an understudied population when it comes to national identity, are heavily incorporating a sense of being American into their identities.