| Using the data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health wave 1 in home interview in 1995, this study examined whether there is ethnic variation in the effects of single-mother families (SMFs) on adolescents, whether support networks buffer the adverse effects of SMFs, and whether the buffering effects of support networks vary by ethnicity. Theory led to hypothesize that Asian Americans, who have less experience with SMFs and adhere to collectivist norms emphasizing family integrity and family "face", would be more vulnerable to the effects of SMFs and would have less effective buffers. Results are mixed. After controlling for demographic factors, adolescents in SMFs did worse on all outcomes: distress, grades, serious delinquency, minor delinquency, violent delinquency, smoking, drinking, drug use, and sex partners. The impact of SMFs was most dramatic for white adolescents, followed by Hispanic, black, and Asian American adolescents.;Disregarding ethnicity, supportive mothering, parental control, and school attachment buffered the effects of SMFs, whereas father involvement and friend involvement amplified the effects. Closeness to father in SMFs increased the risk of smoking, drinking, and drug use, but reduced the risk of distress and serious delinquency.;Ethnic variation in the effects of non-resident fathers was complex and inconsistent. Feeling close to father and sharing activities with fathers were mostly beneficial to white adolescents. For minority adolescents, feeling close to father improved psychological well-being, but worsened grades and problem behaviors. In addition, sharing activities with father improved black and Asian American adolescents' grades, but it also increased problem behaviors for Hispanic and Asian American adolescents.;Overall, the buffering effects of support networks were most effective for white adolescents, followed by black, Hispanic, and Asian American adolescents. These findings suggest that the cultural changes toward supportive parenting may have proceeded more rapidly among whites than among minorities; as a consequence, white parenting may buffer more effectively the stresses of SMFs. |
