Proving their love: Violence and gender norms in descriptions of relationships among rural Mexican adolescents

Abstract

Mexican youth from impoverished areas are at increased risk for experiencing relationship violence. Research in the United States has suggested that perpetration may be contextualized by culturally-influenced gender values, specifically performance of negative aspects of male masculinity (i.e., machismo) and its female counterpart (i.e., marianismo). This study utilized focus group methods to explore how middle school adolescents (N = 98) from a rural area of Central Mexico differentiate between healthy and unhealthy dating relationships. We evoked a feminist developmental lens to interpret themes which centralized males as physical and sexual aggressors and to offer culturally-relevant program and practice recommendations.

An Assessment of Mental Wellbeing and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Youth Living in Central Mexico

“…The gender differences could also be due to the unique cultural expectations among adolescent males and females, which are particularly salient in rural migratory communities of Central Mexico (Hoffman, 2014). These include financial expectations for young men in the form of migration (Kandel & Massey, 2002), as well as norms surrounding dating violence and high-risk sexual behavior, where communities tend to be more lenient towards males than females (Ayers, Marsiglia, Hoffman, Urbaeva, & Booth, 2012;Rueda, Hoffman, & Grytza, 2019).…”

The Relationship Between Family Communication Pattern and Youth Selfconcept in Rural Malaysia

“…The family environment, including communication within the family, is an essential element in shaping a teenager's identity and self-concept. Positive communication in a happy and harmonious family can lead to a positive self-concept, while negative communication can result in a negative self-concept and various problems in interpersonal relationships (Lee & Kim, 2019). Negative self-concept can also lead to inappropriate behaviors and risks (Noviandari & Mursidi, 2019).…”

Violencia en el noviazgo en mujeres jóvenes de Coahuila

“…Por su parte, en un estudio con adolescentes mexicanos (Rueda et al, 2019), se observaron las construcciones que tienen respecto a los noviazgos saludables y los no saludables. En ambos tipos de relaciones prevalecen los roles de género en donde el hombre tiene facultades para tomar decisiones, mientras que las mujeres son quienes tienen la responsabilidad sobre la relación.…”

“…Dentro de los aspectos que retoman las adolescentes como indicadores de una relación sana están la fidelidad, la reciprocidad, el saber todo el uno del otro, la comunicación sincera, el que el otro sea feliz, el no pelear verbal ni físicamente, con una conducta sexual en donde ambos deciden. Mientras que los hombres adolescentes agregan a estos indicadores, el que las chicas no les den ordenes en frente de otros, que las chicas sean discretas en cuanto a su sexualidad y que no los quieran manipular (Rueda et al, 2019).…”