Parenting Style of Mexican, Mexican American, and Caucasian-Non-Hispanic Families

Social Context and Cultural Influences

Varela, R. Enrique
Vernberg, Eric M.
Mitchell, Montserrat
Mashunkashey, Joanna
Sanchez-Sosa, Juan Jose
Riveros, Angelica

¹Department of Psychology, Tulane University
²Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas
³Department of Psychology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.

⁴Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to R. Enrique Varela, Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118. E-mail: [email protected].

We are grateful to Bridget K. Gamm for her statistics consultation on cross-cultural measurement.

Received Date: March 31, 2003; Revised Date: June 2, 2003; Accepted Date: June 21, 2003

Journal of Family Psychology 18(4):p 651-657, December 2004.

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.