“What Defines Us as People Is How We Treat Others”: Ethnotheories, Socialization Goals, and Practices of “Exemplary” Guatemalan Mothers

Abstract

Parenting beliefs and practices are deeply embedded in cultural values, ideologies, and norms. The cultural ecologies of Guatemala, a Central American country, highlight familism, religiosity, and collectivism. To understand the parenting goals, parental ethnotheories, and parenting practices of a group of highly educated, economically advantaged Guatemalan mothers of school-age children, we conducted a qualitative study about their goals for their children and ways of inculcating desired qualities. The nine mothers had been nominated by school staff as outstanding mothers. After asking open-ended questions about desired goals and parenting strategies, we posed dilemmas adapted from the United States National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Spanish-language booklet, “¿Qué significa ser padres?” (“What does it mean to be parents?”). Interviews took place in an unoccupied school classroom and lasted an average of 37 minutes; they were recorded and transcribed in the original Spanish. Coding according to reflexive thematic analysis was conducted in Spanish by two members of the research team. Interpersonal relatedness, kindness, and prosocial behavior were foremost among the mothers’ socialization goals. Ethnotheories included the importance of providing both love and limits, recognizing individual differences among children, and promoting children’s autonomy. Mothers’ parenting strategies emphasized preserving emotional intimacy, taking children’s perspectives, and rejecting permissiveness. These goals and practices derive from Guatemalan cultural values of collectivism, familism, and religiosity, in which interpersonal relationships are prioritized. Well-educated, economically advantaged Guatemalan mothers endorsed socialization goals and parenting practices that differed from Western prescriptions. The findings imply that cultural values should inform parenting interventions.