Mothers’ Risky Behavior Communication with Early Adolescent Hispanic Daughters

Introduction: Hispanic adolescents in the U.S. are at substantial risk for negative health outcomes due to risky behaviors involving sex, drugs, and alcohol. Verbal communication may help parents reduce these risky behaviors and reinforce their expectations. Yet, the unknown is the influence of Hispanic cultural values in the conversations between mothers and daughters and how the conversations are carried out. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to identify how Hispanic cultural values influence mothers’ communication with their early adolescent daughters, and the strategies of mother-daughter communication about risky behaviors.

Methods: Five focus groups were conducted (three in Spanish, two in English). Participants were 21 Hispanic mothers or primary female caregivers of girls 12 to 14 years old enrolled in a technology-based, early pregnancy prevention intervention. Directed content analysis was used to identify examples of Hispanic cultural values influencing content and to describe strategies used in mother-daughter communication about risky behaviors. A priori codes were chosen from existing literature on Hispanic cultural values and parent-adolescent communication about risky behaviors.

Results: Consistent with familismo, mothers expressed their roles in protecting and supporting their daughters, whom they expected to communicate freely, especially when needing help. Consistent with machismo induced gender dynamics, mothers stated they often intermediate between fathers and daughters, as fathers were overly protective and hesitant to discuss sex with their daughters. Mothers also discussed their daughters’ need to respect mothers and follow house rules such as having limited privacy (e.g., enter daughters’ rooms, view cell phone messages) and deferring dating until reaching a certain age (respeto). Mothers also expressed concern about their daughters' physical and emotional development and what they encounter daily. However, mothers expressed hesitancy discussing risky behaviors with their daughters, although they would advise their daughters about alcohol and drug related topics. When doing so, they used negative personal experiences and media-based scare tactics, and emphasized academics as their daughters’ primary responsibility.

Conclusions: This study aids our understanding about the role of Hispanic cultural values and how parents actually communicate about risky behaviors with their early adolescent girls. These results have important implications for Hispanic teen pregnancy prevention interventions designed to equip parents with tools to use when talking with their children about risky behaviors.