Objectives & Hypotheses RQ1:What are the childrearing goals that mothers from Mexican and Dominican cultural backgrounds have at the birth of their babies? RQ2: How do these goals change as their infants enter their second year? Hypotheses: Mothers of younger infants are expected to be more concerned about happiness and health-related goals. At 14 months, given the saliency of language development is expected that mothers will focus more on achievement. Childrearing Goals of Mexican and Dominican Mothers from NYC Yana Raufova Department of Applied Psychology & Center for Research on Culture, Development and Education New York University Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda and Dr. Ronit Kahana Kalman for their invaluable support and guidance. Background Literature & Rationale Beliefs that parents hold about the desirable qualities of their children help to elucidate the meanings that underlie parenting practices and developmental outcomes. Culture, education, and economic status are the most consistent predictors of parents’ developmental goals (e.g., Harwood, 1995). Much is known about the goals of middle-class European Americans parents; less is known about other cultural groups. Latino groups make up 14% of the total US population and are the fastest growing immigrant group (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). Latino parents promote goals related to collectivism and interdependence, such as “familism, respect, and moral education” (Halgunseth, Ispa, & Rudy 2006). Few studies have addressed the goals of Latino parents across the first year of their infant’s lives, a time of major family transitions. Participants 97 Mexican mothers (100% immigrant) and 114 Dominican (85% immigrant) were recruited from NYC hospitals after the birth of the focus child. Mothers had to self identify as either Mexican or Dominican, and had be at least 18 years of age. Baseline Statistics Dominican Mexican Has HS Diploma/GED 28.1% 35.1% Has Beyond HS Diploma 40.4% 10.3% Average HH Income $24,225 $17,144 Conclusions Understanding childrearing goals offers insight into the beliefs that shape actual parenting practices, leading to different developmental outcomes. The goals emphasized by both Mexican and Dominican mothers at 1-month and 14-month were achievement, individuality, proper demeanor, connectedness, safety, self control, and health. Much emphasis was placed on achievement (e.g., knowing his ABC’s), proper demeanor (e.g., listens) and individuality (e.g., be potty trained), as mothers described these traits as the most desired. Results are consistent with evidence that parents hold different beliefs and expectations for their children’s early developmental milestones in the infant years. Findings also align with prior research that highlights the emphasis of collective communities on values related to family, respect and moral education (Halgunseth, Ispa, & Rudy, 2006). It is important for further research to investigate how these early beliefs might relate to child outcomes and parenting practices. Understanding what parents wish most for their children is the first step in the development of culturally sensitive parenting interventions programs. Coding Mothers’ responses were transcribed, translated and coded. A coding scheme was devised based on the 27 goals that emerged in the 1 month data. Interrater reliability was established on the final set of 27 goals and reached optimal agreement (90%). The 27 goals were collapsed into 7 distinct overarching domains: Mexican Mothers Dominican Mothers Childrearing Goals at 1-Month Procedure Phone interviews were conducted 1 month after the birth of the focus child. Mothers were visited in their homes 14 months after the birth of their child. Mothers were asked to name a desired quality they wished their children to have by age three, to define, and provide an example. Mothers gave multiple qualities and all were coded. Developmental Changes Repeated-measures analyses showed significant changes in the desired goals mothers reported across the two age periods. Specifically, mothers emphasized achievement (p <.001) and individuality (p <.001) as desired goals at 14 months significantly more than they did at 1 month In addition, mothers’ emphasis on health (p <.001) and self-control decreased by 14 months (p <.05) Dominican Mothers Mexican Mothers Childrearing Goals at 14-Months