latina mothers, values and beliefs, the role of men in hispanic families

Latina

Recently , the Latino population in the US has become the largest ethnic group . According to the Census data , the Latino population grew by 58 from 1990 to 2000 , whereas the period (Skogrand , 2005 . The number is estimated to be much larger but due to their undocumented status many Latino people did not participate during the 2000 census . The term "Latino " includes a wide variety of immigrant subgroups that speak Spanish , and encompasses a number of groups from Central and South Americas , with migrants from Mexico Puerto Rico and Cuba being the

largest , and Latina ' is the feminine form

Young Latino Mothers

A research conducted by Berkowitz and Kahn (1995 ) titled , Sources of Support for Young Latina Mothers , highlighted the plight of young Latina mothers in the US and ways to address their problems . Due to high rates of immigration and fertility of young Latina women , which is twice compared to the rest of the US population , their numbers are growing rapidly . According Berkowitz and Kahn , many young mothers and their children are poor , and young mothers who raise their children independently bear the brunt of hardship compared to those who live with husbands or parents or other adults who are financially sound . However neither getting married nor outside support to cushion the young mothers from poverty and other adverse affects

There is no single to pattern to describe Latina mothers as they are diverse however , there are certain features each of the subgroups Puerto Rican mothers are impoverished compared with other groups , remain single , live away from parents or relatives , and are welfare dependents Cuban mothers are economically well off with low rates of welfare benefits . Central and South American mothers living patterns are similar to Anglos , though they are poorer to the Anglos

Young teenage mothers who raise the children on their own are found to be the most vulnerable . Teen mothers who live with their parents and relatives tend to remain in school and less likely to be poor . Married teen mothers are better off compared to single teen mothers who live with relatives or parents . However , married teen mothers are less likely to attend school than unmarried , resulting in lower education levels Mothers who delayed their first births after the teen years had done well compared to parents who became teen mothers - they completed school and college

Social and cultural influences

Acculturation and biculturalism , according to several researchers influence the parenting style among young mothers . Acculturation is the process in which an individual acquires the skills required for life in a new environment . Hence , the impact of acculturation has altered traditional gender roles that resulted in women taking up employment yet they fall into low income groups . Latinas who are less acculturated have traditional gender role beliefs , whereas more acculturated Latinas see more life choices (Latina Adolescent Health , 2007

Within the community , there are large cultural differences , however there are commonalities within many Latino families . According to research the Latino families give importance to family , religion...