The Importance of Latino Family Values in a Parenting Framework: Familism and Parenting Behaviors

PRESENTATION TYPE: Individual Poster

CATEGORY/THEME: Social and Environmental Determinants of Health

TITLE: The importance of Latino family values in a parenting framework: Familism and parenting behaviors

ABSTRACT BODY:

Introduction: The Latino population is the largest minority population in the United States, yet little is understood about their psychological adjustment. Research among Latino families is needed to address the unique stressors involved in the family dynamic, such as children acculturating at faster rates than parents. Development of culturally sensitive prevention models is particularly important because Latino families have historically shown little engagement. Prevention research has started to recognize the importance of examining cultural traditions and values as protective factors that may foster positive outcomes in children and families.  A central cultural belief of Latinos is familism, or a social structure in which family roles and obligations are highly valued.  Familism may encourage family well-being by guiding parenting practices that promote behaviors consistent with this cultural value.  The present study will examine how familism is associated with self-reported positive parenting among first generation Latino families. We hypothesize that parents’ familism beliefs are related to self-reported parenting behaviors.

Method:  Participants were first generation, predominantly Mexican, immigrant Spanish speaking families from a rural western state with a child between four and nine years of age. Families were a part of a larger study investigating a culturally adapted parenting intervention for Spanish speaking families. Parents completed informed consents and the study questionnaires in Spanish. The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire was utilized to measure five dimensions of parenting: positive involvement with children, supervision and monitoring, use of discipline, consistency in the use of discipline, and use of corporal punishment.  The Familism Scale was administered to capture all relevant aspects of the familism construct among Latino families. 

Results: Correlational analyses were performed to assess the relationship between parents’ self-reported parenting practices and familism. Results indicated familism was related to parenting practices among Spanish speaking Latino parents. Familism demonstrated a significantly positive relationship to positive parenting practices (r = .26, p< .05).

Conclusion: These findings inform future research and the cultural adaptation of preventive interventions and mental health services for Latino families. They may also be important for demonstrating the importance of familism values as a protective resource for child development.