Burdened or Efficacious? Subgroups of Chinese American Language Brokers, Predictors, and Long-Term Outcomes
Date
2019-01
Authors
Shen, Yishan
Kim, Su Yeong
Benner, Aprile D.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
Despite growing research on youth language brokering in immigrant families, evidence regarding its developmental outcomes remains mixed. This study took a person-centered approach, exploring subgroups of language brokers and identifying predictors and long-term outcomes of the subgroup membership. Participants were Chinese American adolescents (N = 350 at Time 1; M<sub>age</sub> = 17.04; SD = 0.72; 59% female) followed over two waves spaced four years apart (longitudinal N = 291). Two distinct subgroups of adolescent language brokers were identified using latent profile analyses on language brokering feelings: efficacious and burdened brokers. Adolescents proficient in both English and Chinese were more likely to be efficacious brokers. Furthermore, burdened brokers reported higher parent-child alienation, and in turn, more depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood, compared to efficacious brokers and non-language-brokers. The current findings inform future interventions that burdened language brokers may be most at risk and that improving parent-child relationships may be one way to promote the well-being of young brokers.
Description
Keywords
Chinese American, emerging adulthood, language brokering, adolescence, Family and Consumer Sciences
Citation
Shen, Y., Kim, S. Y., & Benner, A. D. (2019). Burdened or efficacious? Subgroups of Chinese American language brokers, predictors, and long-term outcomes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(1), pp. 154-169.