Psychological Acculturation and Parenting Behaviors in Mexican Immigrant Families

This study examined the relation between mothers' and fathers' psychological acculturation and parenting behaviors in two samples of Mexican immigrant families. The middle childhood sample included 47 mothers, 38 fathers and 46 children in families with children age 9 - 12, and the early childhood sample included 185 mothers and 155 fathers in families with children age 2 - 6. In both samples, compared to families in which fathers reported feeling connected only to Latino culture, fathers who reported feeling connected to both Latinos and Americans engaged in fewer aversive and withdrawn interactions and more warm interactions with children. In families where fathers reported feeling connected to both Latinos and Americans, mothers also engaged in fewer aversive and withdrawn interactions and more warm interactions with children. Results were consistent across the two samples and across different family member reports of parent-child interactions.