Global and parenting-specific social support as protective factors for the well-being of Mexican American mothers of toddlers

Abstract

This study applies an ecodevelopmental stress process model to consider the extent to which social support buffers mothers from experiencing depressive symptoms and parenting stress among a community sample of 81 Mexican American mothers of toddlers. Specifically, we examine how mother-reported perceived global and parenting-specific social support interact with economic strain and child negative affectivity in the prediction of maternal depressive symptoms and parenting stress. We also examine the extent to which both forms of social support interact with mothers' familism support beliefs. Findings indicate that parenting-specific social support interrupts the positive associations between economic strain and negative child affect and maternal depressive symptoms, above and beyond the influence of global social support. Moreover, the combination of high familism beliefs and global social support reduces risks for maternal depressive symptoms.

Psychological adjustment among young Puerto Rican mothers: Perceived partner support and the moderating role of Latino cultural orientation.

“…Mothers with greater overall perceived social support reported fewer depressive symptoms and lower parenting stress, above and beyond the effect of partner support and demographic and life stress variables. This finding adds to the small literature linking overall perceived social support to adjustment among Latino parents, which has focused primarily on adult mothers of Mexican origin (Barnett et al, 2013;Cardoso, Padilla, & Sampson, 2010). This result is also in line with prior findings demonstrating a protective effect of overall perceived support on the parenting behaviors of Latina adolescent mothers of primarily Puerto Rican origin (Contreras, Mangelsdorf, et al, 1999).…”

“…These results suggest that foreign-born mothers were better able to benefit from the support they perceived from their close relationships than were U.S.-born mothers (Campos et al, 2008). More generally, a growing literature provides support for the role of culture as moderator of links between various support processes (e.g., provision, perceived support) and adjustment (Barnett, Mortensen, Tilley, & Gonzalez, 2013; Kim, Sherman, & Taylor, 2008; Kitayama, Duffy, & Uchida, 2007; Uchida et al, 2008). Drawing from an independence-interdependence theory of cultural self, Kitayama and colleagues (2007) showed cultural differences in the extent to which individuals benefit from perceived support.…”

Grandmother Involvement in Mexican American Families

“…In addition, we limited this sample to maternal grandmother involvement. Importantly, consistent with most research on grandparent–grandchild relationships, maternal grandmothers were the most frequently cited source of support for help with parenting (see Barnett et al (2013) for a detailed discussion of social support network composition in this sample). However, we need future research that considers maternal grandfather and paternal grandparent involvement.…”

“…Research on Latino adults consistently indicates the presence and reliance on extensive family support networks (e.g., Marshall, Noonan, McCartney, Marx, & Keefe, 2001; Villarreal & Shin, 2008), and Latino parents are likely to report extensive social support from family (Kim & McKenry, 1998; Niska, 1999). Grandparents are a particularly important, yet understudied, resource in family support networks, especially among Mexicans (Villarreal & Shin, 2008) and Mexican Americans (Barnett, Mortensen, Tilley & Gonzalez, 2013; Haxton & Harknett, 2009).…”

COVID-19 threatens maternal mental health and infant development: possible paths from stress and isolation to adverse outcomes and a call for research and practice

“…Social support is strongly related to child development across multiple levels of analysis. Indeed, mother perceived social support during infant and toddler stages is associated with reduced parenting stress [ 1 ], increased maternal responsiveness and stimulation towards infants [ 2 ], more positive mother–child interactions [ 3 ], reduced maternal depression [ 4 ], and reduced maternal anxiety and harsh behavior [ 5 ]. Likewise, there are direct relations of maternal perceived social support with reduced childhood cognitive abilities [ 6 ] as well as with increased child behavior problems, depression, and accident proneness with effects stretching into adolescence [ 5 ].…”