Cultural Factors Moderating Links Between Neighborhood Disadvantage and Parenting and Coparenting Among Mexican Origin Families

Background: Mexican origin families with young children living in the United States are disproportionately likely to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods that may threaten engagement in positive parenting processes. However, the influences of contextual risks on family processes among Mexican origin families remain unclear. Objective: The goal of the present study is to assume a cultural strengths perspective to consider the extent to which acculturation and the Mexican American cultural value of familism buffers associations between objective (i.e., census data) and subjective (i.e., mother-reported) neighborhood disadvantage and mother-reported supportive parenting and coparenting cooperation. Methods: The present study draws self-report data from mothers along with census data for family home addresses from a community sample (N = 71) of Mexican origin families with toddlers. Results: The findings indicate that the processes linking subjective and objective neighborhood disadvantage to family processes differ. Specifically, mothers’ reports of neighborhood disadvantage are linked to reduced supportive parenting for mothers with low levels of acculturation. Objective measures of neighborhood disadvantage are linked to reduced supportive parenting and less coparenting cooperation for mothers who report lower levels of familism beliefs. Conclusions: The findings highlight complex links between neighborhood contexts and family processes. Further, the findings support the role of familism beliefs as a promoter of resilient parenting in the context of objective neighborhood disadvantage.