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Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 27, No. 10, 1383-1414 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0192513X06290041

Becoming an American Parent

Overcoming Challenges and Finding Strength in a New Immigrant Latino Community

Krista M. Perreira

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, perreira{at}email.unc.edu

Mimi V. Chapman

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Gabriela L. Stein

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

One in five children living in the United States is an immigrant or a child of an immigrant, and 62% of these children are Latino. Through qualitative methods, this study identifies ways that Latino immigrant parents with adolescent children cope with their new environment and how that environment shapes their parenting practices. Two primary themes emerge: overcoming new challenges and finding new strengths. Immigrant parents discuss the challenges of overcoming fears of the unknown; navigating unfamiliar work, school, and neighborhood environments; encountering and confronting racism; and losing family connections and other forms of social capital. In response to these challenges, immigrant parents discuss developing bicultural coping skills, increasing parent-child communication, empathizing with and respecting their adolescent children, and fostering social supports. The results fit well with a risk and protective factor framework and provide a basis for improving policies and programs to support effective parenting in Latino immigrant families.

Key Words: Mexican • Latino • immigrants • parenting • child development


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