Parenting style of Mexican, Mexican American, and Caucasian-non-Hispanic families: social context and cultural influences.
To begin accounting for cultural and contextual factors related to child rearing in Mexican-descent (MD; Mexican American and Mexican immigrant) families in the United States, the current study examined parenting practices in 2-parent families of Mexican, MD, and Caucasian-non-Hispanic (CNH) parents. Parents in all groups reported using authoritative practices more often than authoritarian strategies. MD parents reported greater use of authoritarian practices than Mexican and CNH parents. Results suggest that previously found cultural variations in parenting between MD parents and CNH parents may be more related to the ecological context of MD families than to an affiliation with Mexican culture. Clinicians should explore the positive qualities of authoritative parenting in MD families along with the potential motivations for using authoritarian strategies.
Varela
R Enrique
RE
Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA. evarela@tulane.edu
Vernberg
Eric M
EM
Sanchez-Sosa
Juan Jose
JJ
Riveros
Angelica
A
Mitchell
Montserrat
M
Mashunkashey
Joanna
J
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005006:Ethnicity; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D014481:United States; D044465:White People