Patterns of parental socialization of the preventive health behavior of young Mexican origin children

Abstract

Thirty-eight (38) Mexican origin preschool children and their mothers (and 44 Euro-American mothers and their preschool children) residing in the southwestern U.S. were participants in a study of patterns of maternal socialization of children's preventive health behaviors. Mothers reported their parenting practices by completing questionnaires about their health beliefs, parenting beliefs, and parenting practices. Children's handwashing, healthy food selection, and danger avoidance were independently reported by the children's preschool teachers. Patterns of parent beliefs and parenting practices that contributed to children's autonomous performance of healthy and safe behavior, as reported independently by the children's teachers, were identified. Moreover, these patterns were unique and not similarly associated with the successful maternal health socialization of the Euro-American preschoolers. In addition, the findings demonstrated some domain specificity of Mexican origin maternal socialization practices whereby specific parenting strategies were differentially related to three different healthy and safe behaviors. Theoretically, the findings of this study provide information about unique family processes associated with ethnicity that impact on the parenting behavior of Mexican origin parents and that serve to socialize young children's health and safety. These findings can additionally inform culturally appropriate interventions designed to improve children's health outcomes.