The overall goal of the current dissertation is to uncover predictors and outcomes of positive parenting in ethnic minority families. Chapter 2 provides an overview of commonly used observational... Show moreThe overall goal of the current dissertation is to uncover predictors and outcomes of positive parenting in ethnic minority families. Chapter 2 provides an overview of commonly used observational instruments to measure sensitivity, showing the versatility and scientific importance of the construct. The results presented in Chapter 3 suggest that mothers of different cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic groups have a highly similar view on maternal sensitivity. In Chapter 4, the results show that both acculturation stress and general psychological distress mediated the relation between socioeconomic status and positive parenting in Turkish minority families with young children. The results of the empirical study presented in Chapter 5 suggest that family stress processes play a role in adolescents’ behavioral outcomes, whereas family investment processes play a role in adolescents’ cognitive-behavioral outcome in Turkish minority families. Overall, the studies described in this thesis have shown that parenting beliefs and behaviors in ethnic minority families can only be understood in light of factors that are often related to minority status, such as lower socioeconomic status, higher general family stress, and acculturation stress. These factors should be taken into account in research and practice regarding parenting behaviors and child development in ethnic minority families. Show less
The main focus of the current dissertation is on the associations between self-regulation and academic outcomes, with special attention to these issues in ethnic minority children. Following a... Show moreThe main focus of the current dissertation is on the associations between self-regulation and academic outcomes, with special attention to these issues in ethnic minority children. Following a systematic meta-analysis on the association between cognitive self-regulation and academic achievement regardless of ethnic group, two empirical studies focus on self-regulation and aspects of education in ethnic minority children specifically, examining self-regulatory capacities in relation to educational attainment, and the relation between the transition to primary school and the development of self-regulation. In Chapter 2, flexible thinking that is an important contributor to cognitive self-regulation (i.e., executive function), was found to be positively and substantially related to math and reading performance. The findings of Chapter 3 showed that behavioral self-regulation (i.e., effortful control) is related to educational attainment with respect to secondary school tracks via self-efficacy in Turkish minority preadolescents. Chapter 4 provided evidence that children showed differential gains in flexible thinking from kindergarten to formal schooling, as less able children made more progress following the transition. The findings provided evidence for the important role of self-regulation in school performance and for the role of the transition to formal schooling in shaping the development of higher-order cognitive processes that contribute to self-regulation. Show less
