Associations Among Maternal Distress, Parenting Behaviors, And Child Self-Regulation In Latina Mother-Child Dyads: Exploring The Role Of Cultural Factors
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Date
2024-01-09
Authors
Onofrietti Magrassi, Antonella
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
There is extensive evidence on the negative effects of maternal depression and parenting stress on child development. Specifically, there is a robust body of literature suggesting that depression and stress decrease maternal responsiveness which affects the mother-child interactions and relationship. This disruption in the dyad may hinder appropriate child self-regulation development which has been extensively linked to important outcomes (e.g., school readiness, academic achievement, social-emotional competence). However, most of this research work has focused on White European families which considerably differ from the rapidly growing Latino population in the United States. The present cross-sectional study sought to examine the associations among maternal distress (maternal depression and parenting stress), parenting behaviors, and child self-regulation while considering racial stress (stress of immigration and perceived racism) in a community sample of 150 Latina mother-child dyads across the country. This study also explored the moderating effects of cultural factors such as acculturation, ethnic identity, and social support on these associations. Latina mothers of preschool aged children participated remotely by completing a demographic questionnaire via phone call and filling out several self-report, standardized surveys assessing aspects of maternal distress, parenting, and child behavior. Several regression analyses were conducted. Findings from this study indicate that in a low-risk sample of Latina mother-child dyads higher levels of maternal distress were negatively associated with child self-regulation even when controlling for child sex. Results also showed that this relation may be partially mediated by negative parenting. Although in this sample racial stress was not significantly correlated with child self-regulation, it was positively correlated with maternal distress suggesting that culture specific stressors significantly contribute to reductions in maternal psychological well-being.
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Keywords
Latina mothers, maternal depression, maternal distress, parenting behaviors, preschoolers, self-regulation