Latina Mothers’ and Daughters’ Expectations for Autonomy at Age 15 (La Quinceañera)

Abstract

American children gain more autonomy as they progress through adolescence, however, autonomy-granting for Latina adolescent girls from immigrant families is a relatively unexplored question. In this study, we identified behaviors that Mexican mothers and their daughters deemed to be appropriate when they reach the age of La Quinceañera, a cultural rite of passage at age 15. Daughters hoped for rules regarding social activities to become less strict whereas mothers intended to continue to exert control, especially in the areas of peer and social activities, household duties, and homework responsibilities. The mothers were open to granting more independence in personal areas such as physical appearance and they were also willing to allow their daughters to group date. Although the mothers and daughters expected the mothers to continue to engage in a controlling and protective parenting style, both mothers and daughters anticipated more mutual decision-making and open communication when daughters turned 15 years of age.

Autonomy‐Supportive Parenting in Adolescence: Cultural Variability in the Contemporary United States

“…A limitation with this study was the mismatch between the guiding framework (SDT) and the type of autonomy described by mothers (PI). A study of low‐income Mexican American mothers of 15‐year‐old girls indicated that mothers granted independence to adolescents in terms of decision making about physical appearance and group dating, but they continued to exert control in peer and social activities, household chores, and homework responsibilities (Romo, Mireles‐Rios, & Lopez‐Tello, ). These findings suggest that whereas Mexican American parents engage in autonomy support in the form of decision making, that support often occurs in combination with controlling and protective parenting practices.…”

Autonomia, Responsividade/Exigência e Legitimidade da Autoridade Parental: Perspectiva de Pais e Adolescentes

“…Assim, é possível que, nesta amostra, os pais insistam mais nas regras relacionadas à segurança e a comportamentos socialmente esperados, contribuindo para que os filhos obedeçam-nas, mesmo não concordando. Ao mesmo tempo, considerando que pais e filhos estão vivenciando o iní-cio da adolescência destes, é importante que as regras também sejam ajustadas, havendo maior flexibilidade, por exemplo, quanto às regras a respeito de horários e do uso de seu tempo livre (Romo et al, 2013).…”

“…Apesar disso, é comum que o relato de adolescentes e pais sobre essa temática seja discrepante. Em geral, os adolescentes reportam ter mais desejo de autonomia do que seus pais concedem (Daddis, 2011;Romo, Mireles-Rios, & Lopez-Tello, 2013;Rote & Smetana, 2014) e se percebem como mais autônomos e competentes para lidar com ela do que seus pais os percebem (Butner et al, 2009).…”

Supporting Adolescent Daughters as They Come of Age: Latina Mothers’ Reflections and Recommendations

“…different social roles due to developmental stages of adults vs. their children). Mothers may continue to exert more control over their daughters who are yearning for greater autonomy (Romo et al 2014). This struggle for independence can even contribute to escalating aggression in girls, including aggression between daughters and mothers (Chesney-Lind 2004;Chesney-Lind and Brown 1999;Letendre 2007).…”