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Structural equation modeling was used to explore associations between maternal work-to-family conflict, maternal involvement in schooling, and academic outcomes in early adolescents. Among a subsample of 725 fifth graders (and their employed mothers and teachers) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD), multigroup analyses were used to explore differences in this relationship between groups with mothers working part-time versus full-time. Results revealed that among part-time employed mothers maternal involvement in school fully mediated the relationship between maternal work-to-family conflict and fifth graders' academic achievement. For full-time employed mothers, maternal work-to-family conflict was not related to maternal involvement in school or academic outcomes. These findings suggest that mothers' involvement in school may be an important way in which negative outcomes of work-to-family conflict may be minimized. Prior research has not investigated the associations between work-to-family conflict and child outcomes. The present study suggests a need to further understand how aspects of the work-family interface relate to children. Further, results suggest a need to better understand the differences in the work-family interface between families where mothers are employed part-time versus full-time.

Latinos are the second largest ethnic group after Whites in the education system, yet there is still a large gap between Whites’ and Latino’s graduation rates. Research indicates that parental involvement in children’s education plays a significant role in children’s academic success. For this reason, this study aims to understand Latino parents’ perspectives on their participation in their child’s school. More specifically, how often Latino parents receive invitations from the school and whether or not they respond to these invitations. The research design for this study is exploratory and qualitative and uses one-on-one interviews with Latino parents. The central themes the emerged from this study were effective communication from the school to parents, a lack of structure for reciprocal communication, parents’ welcoming attitudes of school invitations and “being present/involved” as the major responsibility parents identified for themselves for ensuring a successful school experience for their children. The results of this study have major implications for social work practice in that it allows schools to better understand how to involve Latino parents in the school setting. This study also proposes that school social workers educate school staff and Latino parents about the importance of Latino parental school involvement.

Research has demonstrated much evidence for the positive effect of parent involvement on academic achievement in children (Jeynes, 2003, 2007; Hoover-Dempsey, Walker, Sandler, Whetsel, Green, Wilkins, & Closson, 2005; Fan & Chen, 2001; Griffith, 1996). As children from low income and ethnic minority families are at the greatest risk for academic failure, it is important to study the processes that lead parents to become involved within at-risk populations. A comprehensive model such as the one proposed by Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1995, 1997) provides a map of important constructs to study. Research using this model appears promising as a way to conceptualize the processes that lead to parent involvement (Walker, Wilkins, Dallaire, Sandler, & Hoover-Dempsey, 2005). However, there are few studies that have tested this model with minority populations, and none that have focused on a primarily Latino population. Parent involvement research indicates inconsistent findings regarding the role of family background variables in the process of parent involvement (Ho & Willms, 1996; Griffith, 1998). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of parent perceived invitations for involvement on parent involvement behavior with a primarily low-income, urban, Latino population. Two levels of the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model were tested: parent perceived invitations for involvement (child invitations, school invitations, and teacher invitations) and parent involvement behavior (home-based and school-based). Child invitations and teacher invitations were both found to be important types of invitation for total parent involvement (home-based and school-based combined). Home language, employment status, and parent education level moderated the effect of child invitations on total parent involvement. When parent involvement was differentiated into home-based and school-based involvement as separate dependent variables, child invitations had a significant effect on both types of involvement. Home language, employment status, and parent education level moderated the effect of child invitations on home-based parent involvement. For this population, child invitations for involvement appear to be the most important means to invite parent participation. Future research should continue to investigate the utility of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s model of parent involvement with specific ethnic groups, and consider family background variables due to their potentially moderating role. / text

Les difficultés intériorisées et extériorisées sont bien documentées pour leur impact négatif sur le développement des adolescents au secondaire. Les effets nuisibles de ces dernières sont d’autant plus marqués chez les jeunes de milieux défavorisés. Certains auteurs se sont donc penchés sur les facteurs qui peuvent contribuer à l'augmentation et au maintien des difficultés intériorisées et extériorisées chez les adolescents. Parmi ces facteurs, on identifie certaines caractéristiques individuelles et caractéristiques familiales qui présentent des associations bien documentées avec les difficultés intériorisées et extériorisées. Plus spécifiquement, les caractéristiques individuelles mises de l’avant sont l’estime de soi et l’engagement scolaire comportemental. Du côté des caractéristiques familiales, on reconnaît l’implication scolaire parentale. Toutefois, à ce jour, aucune étude longitudinale n’a exploré l’apport respectif des ces caractéristiques individuelles et familiales au développement des difficultés intériorisées et extériorisées. Conséquemment, la présente thèse vise l’approfondissement de la compréhension de ces liens chez les adolescents de milieux défavorisés. Ainsi, un premier article (Chapitre II) a permis d’explorer caractéristiques individuelles des adolescents d’écoles défavorisées comme précurseur aux les comportements intériorisés et extériorisés. Les résultats ont permis d’identifier que les difficultés intériorisées et extériorisées, soit la violence relationnelle et la dépression agissent comme médiateur dans la relation entre l’estime de soi et l’engagement scolaire comportemental. De plus, cette étude établit que ce constat s’applique de manière identique aux adolescents et aux adolescentes. Ensuite, le second article (Chapitre III) a permis d’explorer les comportements intériorisés et extériorisés comme résultat du contexte de vie, soit des caractéristiques familiales. Cette étude se penche aussi sur la stabilité homotypique et hétérotypique des comportement intériorisés et extériorisés. Globalement, les résultats montrent que les symptômes dépressifs agissent comme mécanisme explicatif du lien entre l’implication scolaire des parents et les difficultés extériorisées telles que la délinquance et la violence relationnelle. De plus, nos conclusions soulignent que la dépression et la délinquance montrent toutes deux une stabilité hétérotypique et hétérotypique chez les adolescents au secondaire. Finalement, on observe que ces résultats s’appliquent de la même manière tant chez les garçons que chez les filles. En somme, l’exploration de la contribution respective des caractéristiques individuelles et familiales mènent à la conclusion que dans les deux cas, les difficultés intériorisées et 3 extériorisées sont un mécanisme central en secondaire 3. En effet, cela permet de dégager que les difficultés intériorisées et extériorisées sont aux cœur des processus individuels chez les adolescents de milieux défavorisés. De plus, les deux études mettent de l’avant que ces mécanismes sont identiques chez les garçons et chez les filles. / Internalizing and externalizing difficulties are well documented for their impact on adolescent development in high school. The harmful effects of the latter are known for their greater impact in youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Some authors have therefore focused on the factors that can contribute to the emergence or maintenance of internalizing and externalizing difficulties in adolescents. Among these factors, some individual and family characteristics have been identified for their well-documented associations with internalizing and externalizing difficulties. More specifically, the individual characteristics highlighted are self-esteem and behavioral school engagement. In terms of family characteristics, parental school involvement was given prominence. However, to date, no longitudinal study has explored the respective contribution of these individual and family characteristics to the development of internalizing and externalizing difficulties. Consequently, this thesis aims to deepen the understanding of these links among adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds. Thus, the first article (Chapter II) made it possible to explore internalizing and externalizing behaviors as a precursor to individual characteristics of adolescents from disadvantaged schools. The results identified that internalizing and externalizing difficulties, namely relational violence, and depression, mediate the relationship between self-esteem and behavioral school engagement. Moreover, this study establishes that this finding applies equally to boys and girls. Then, the second article (Chapter III) explored internalizing and externalizing behaviors as a result of the life context, i.e., family characteristics. This study also examines the homotypic and heterotypic stability of internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Overall, the results show that depressive symptoms act as an explanatory mechanism for the link between parental school involvement and externalizing difficulties such as delinquency and relational violence. Moreover, our findings highlight that both depression and delinquency show heterotypic and homotypic stability in high school adolescents. Finally, we observe that these results apply the same way to boys and girls. In short, the exploration of the respective contribution of individual and family characteristics leads to the conclusion that in both cases, internalizing and externalizing difficulties are a central mechanism in grade 9. Indeed, this allows us to put forward that internalizing and externalizing difficulties are central to individual processes in adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, both studies show that these mechanisms are identical in boys and girls.

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