Gender Role Attitudes across the Transition to Adolescent Motherhood in Mexican‐Origin Families

Abstract

Using longitudinal data collected at four time points from 191 dyads of Mexican-origin adolescent first-time mothers and their mother figures, we examined changes in and socialization of traditional gender role attitudes across the transition to parenthood using latent growth curve modeling (LGC) modeling and actor-partner interdependence modeling (APIM). Person-centered analyses indicated that adolescent mothers’, regardless of nativity status, and their foreign-born mother figures’ gender role attitudes became more egalitarian across adolescents’ transition to parenthood, spanning form the 3rd trimester of pregnancy to 36 months postpartum. Further, variable-centered analyses suggested that adolescents’ and their mother figures’ gender role attitudes during adolescents’ third trimester of pregnancy equally contributed to subsequent increases in one another’s gender role attitudes at 10 months postpartum. Importantly, this reciprocal socialization process was not moderated by adolescent mothers’ nor by their mother’ figures’ nativity status. Findings suggest that it is important to understand the cultural and intergenerational family processes that contribute to the development of gender role attitudes during the transition to parenthood for adolescent mothers and their mother figures in Mexican-origin families.

Parents at‐risk and their children: intersections of gender role attitudes and parenting practices

“…The societal gender binary sets rules and expectations individuals use to form their own identities (Few-Demo et al 2014;Wiseman & Davidson 2012), and these gender role norms and attitudes may have an important influence on family relationships (Knudson-Martin & Mahoney 1999;Toomey et al 2015). Rather than unintentionally reinforcing these unexamined family patterns, it is important for clinicians to identify and discuss a family's gendered processes.…”

“…These gendered narratives become a part of the way in which individuals interact with others and are eventually perpetuated in adult relationships (Knudson-Martin & Mahoney 1999). In turn, gender role norms and attitudes may have an important influence on family relationships (Hart 1996;Knudson-Martin & Mahoney 1999;Toomey et al 2015). Gender role narratives may place added pressure on both mothers and fathers.…”

“…Taken together, research highlights the importance of gender role attitudes on parenting (Albritton et al 2014;Varner & Mandara 2014). However, researchers have called for studies using racially and ethnically diverse families in the study of gender and parenting (Toomey et al 2015;Sang et al 2014). Furthermore, while research identifies parent and child gender as importantly associated with parenting practices, some suggest that historical gender stereotypes may be more pronounced among distressed families (Carter 1988;Knudson-Martin & Mahoney 1999).…”

Prevention and Intervention Research With Latino Families: A Translational Approach

“…The articles in this special section suggest that changes in one person's values influence other family members' values Paper B;Toomey et al, 2014), and it would be compelling to test similar processes within a prevention and intervention framework. As discussed above, more work needs to examine how prevention and intervention programs impact cultural values (i.e., familism, respeto) and acculturative processes (i.e., identity, behavioral acculturation), but this work should also consider the impact of these processes at the family level.…”

The Primacy of Discourse in the Study of Gender in Family Therapy

“…Some empirical work has also been conducted. Family relations scholars have quantitatively approached the study of (sexist) gender role attitudes, exploring their link to other constructs, such as marital satisfaction, role overload, and housework (Helms, Walls, Crouter, & McHale, 2010;Shapiro, 2014;Toomey, Updegraff, Umaña-Taylor, & Jahromi, 2015). Most family therapy scholarship on gender and gender-based power is qualitative and involves analyses of interview data involving therapists (Goodwin, Kaestle, & Piercy, 2013;Keeling & Piercy, 2007;Knudson-Martin et al, 2015;Parker, 2009) or family members (Cowdery et al, 2009;Maciel et al, 2009;Reynolds and Knudson-Martin, 2015), with some studies exploring recorded interactions between therapists and clients (Ward & Knudson-Martin, 2012).…”