Work

Young Puerto Rican Mothers’ Cultural Orientation and Parenting Behaviors: Associations with Subsequent Child Emotion Dysregulation

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: SYNOPSISObjective. Children of Latinx adolescent mothers are at risk for regulatory difficulties. However, a paucity of research has examined parenting behaviors and children’s early emotional development in such families. Design. Longitudinal associations between observed parenting behaviors (sensitivity, directiveness, child-directed language) at 18 months and children’s emotion dysregulation at 18 and 24 months were tested among young mainland Puerto Rican mothers (N = 123) and their toddlers. Given the cultural variability present in Latinx families, whether mothers’ cultural orientation moderated these associations was also tested. Results. Maternal sensitivity predicted less child emotion dysregulation at 24 months at all levels of cultural orientation. Directiveness was unrelated to dysregulation. Child-directed language predicted lower dysregulation only when mothers endorsed lower levels of American cultural orientation. Conclusions. It is important to consider families’ cultural context when identifying maternal behaviors that are most beneficial to child development.

Source: Parenting

DOI: 10.1080/15295192.2022.2130329

Authors: Jordan Weith, Aimee Hammer, Josefina Grau

Institution: Kent State University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development