Latina Daughters’ Childbearing Attitudes: The Role of Maternal Expectations and Education Communication

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Culturally Related Issues

Abstract

This study focused on adolescent girls’ and their mothers’ expectations for their daughters’ college attainment, mother-daughter communication about education, and daughters’ early childbearing attitudes were examined in 146 U.S.-raised Latina girls (Mean age = 14.4 years ) and their mostly immigrant mothers. Through structural equation modeling, three-path mediating model were tested to identify mechanisms underlying the association between maternal expectations and their daughters’ childbearing attitudes. The findings underscore the crucial role that Latina mothers can play in both supporting their daughters’ goals to pursue higher education and motivating daughters to avoid early childbearing.

Authors

• Rebeca Mireles-Rios, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Laura F. Romo, University of California - Santa Barbara