Imagining Her Future: Diversity in Mothers’ Socialization Goals for Their Adolescent Daughters

Abstract

According to developmental niche theory, members of different cultural and ethnic groups often have distinct ideas about what children need to become well-adapted adults. These beliefs are reflected in parents’ long-term socialization goals for their children. In this study, we test whether specific themes that have been deemed important in literature on diverse families in the United States (e.g., Strong Black Woman [SBW], marianismo, familismo) are evident in mothers’ long-term socialization goals. Participants included 192 mothers of teenage daughters from a low-income city in the United States (58% Latina, 22% African American, and 20% European American [EA]/White). Socialization goals were assessed through a q-sort task on important traits for a woman to possess and content analysis of open-ended responses about what values mothers hoped they would transmit to their daughters as they become adults. Results from ANCOVAs and logistic regression indicate significant racial/ethnic differences on both tasks consistent with hypotheses. On the q-sort task, African American mothers put more importance on women possessing traits such as independence than mothers from other racial/ethnic groups. Similarly, they were more likely to emphasize self-confidence and strength in what they hoped to transmit to their daughters. Contrary to expectation, Latina mothers did not emphasize social traits on the q-sort; however, in open-ended responses, they were more likely to focus on the importance of motherhood, one aspect of marianismo and familismo. Overall, results suggest that these mothers’ long-term socialization goals incorporate culturally relevant values considered important for African American and Latino families.

Use of the Strong Black Woman Construct in Research

“…Black women may consider “strength” to be an integral part of womanhood21 and may believe that they must cope independently, eschewing help, when they face challenges such as physical disabilities 42. Oshin and Milan43 and Ramirez et al44 suggested that the SBW construct seems to provide Black mothers a parenting “curriculum,” dictating skills and traits to instill in their adolescent daughters.…”

“…Nineteen articles (40%) [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] were survey studies. Four studies (9%) 3,[42][43][44] used a mixed-methods design, and 4 (9%) [45][46][47][48] were studies to develop an instrument to measure SBW belief. Most studies (n = 32, 62%) included an age range of 20 years and more (often young adult to elderly), while 9 studies (19%) 2,16,23,25,26,[32][33][34]38 focused on adolescents (aged 12-18 years), young women (aged 17-30 years or mean age of 19-22 years), or women in their childbearing years (aged 18-40 years), depending on the phenomenon studied.…”

Swedish mothers’ perceptions of youth well-being: understanding beliefs and behaviours

“…However, less research is available on parents' beliefs about youth. The few available studies are often based on North American parental reports, for example, concerning youth socialization goals (Ramirez et al, 2017;Richman & Mandara, 2013) or youth well-being (Alberts et al, 2006;King et al, 2005). The little existing qualitative studies on what youth well-being means to North American mothers and fathers, depict cognitive, physical and socio-emotional strengths of youth and their engagements with activities and people in their contexts, although with variations in what is emphasized.…”

25 years of psychology research on the “strong black woman”

“…For example, Ramirez et al. (2017) conducted interviews with Black mothers and daughters in the U.S. to examine how the expectation of the SBW is transferred through generations. Results showed that mothers emphasized the importance of their daughters showing strength and self‐reliance.…”

“…Analyses of family socialization indicate that Black mothers express aspirations that their daughters develop strength, independence, and a willingness to help others(Shambley-Ebron et al, 2016). For example,Ramirez et al (2017) conducted interviews with Black mothers and daughters in the U.S. to examine how the expectation of the SBW is transferred through generations. Resultsshowed that mothers emphasized the importance of their daughters showing strength and self-reliance.…”