Gender role attitudes across the transition to adolescent motherhood in Mexican-origin families.

Abstract

Using longitudinal data collected at four time points from 191 dyads of Mexican-origin adolescent first-time mothers and their mother figures, we examined changes in and socialization of traditional gender role attitudes across the transition to parenthood using latent growth curve modeling and actor-partner interdependence modeling. Longitudinal growth models indicated that, regardless of nativity status, adolescent mothers' and their foreign-born mother figures' gender role attitudes became more egalitarian across adolescents' transition to parenthood, spanning from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy to 36months postpartum. Furthermore, actor-partner interdependence modeling suggested that adolescents' and their mother figures' gender role attitudes during adolescents' third trimester of pregnancy equally contributed to subsequent increases in one another's gender role attitudes at 10months postpartum. Importantly, this reciprocal socialization process was not moderated by adolescent mothers' nor by their mother figures' nativity status. Findings suggest that it is important to understand the cultural and intergenerational family processes that contribute to the development of gender role attitudes during the transition to parenthood for adolescent mothers and their mother figures in Mexican-origin families.