Acculturation, Social Support, and Maternal Parenting Stress among U.S. Hispanic Mothers

Abstract

ObjectivesFew studies have examined racial-ethnic differences in parenting stress and findings have been inconsistent on how Hispanics fare on this issue. This paper is the first to examine these differences among US Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black mothers, as well as the mediating role of acculturation and social support.MethodUsing nationally-representative data from the first two waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, our analysis employs multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models of 1096 Hispanic and Black mothers.ResultsWe find that both foreign-born and native-born Hispanic mothers have significantly lower levels of maternal parenting stress compared to Black mothers. Using multidimensional measures, we provide evidence that both acculturation and social support influence maternal parenting stress. However, neither of these fully mediate the relationship between race-ethnicity and maternal parenting stress.ConclusionThus, this study demonstrates support for a Hispanic paradox for maternal parenting stress that is unexplained by acculturation or social support.