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Social Support, Parenting, and Social Emotional Development in Young Mexican and Dominican American Children

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Abstract

This study focused on social support and its association with child developmental outcomes, indirectly through parenting practices, in families of 4–5 year old Latino children. Data were collected from mothers and teachers of 610 Mexican American (MA) and Dominican American (DA) children. Mothers reported on perceived social support, parenting practices and children’s problem and adaptive behavior functioning at home, and teachers reported on mothers’ parent involvement and children’s problem and adaptive behavior functioning in the classroom. Results showed that support received from family was higher than support received from school networks for both ethnic groups. Moreover, familial support was associated with child behavior, mediated by positive parenting practices, whereas support from school networks was not associated with child outcomes. During early childhood, social support from family members may be an important protective factor that can promote positive behavioral functioning among Latino children.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by an R01 (R01 HD066122-01) to the last author and by an Alicia Koplowitz Foundation grant to the first author. The authors wish to thank the collaborating school sites, the participant families, and the research staff who made this work possible.

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  1. Child Study Center, New York University School of Medicine, One Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Maria Serrano-Villar

  2. Center for Early Childhood Health and Development (CEHD), New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Keng-Yen Huang

  3. Austin School of Social Work, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA

    Esther J. Calzada

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  1. Maria Serrano-Villar
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  2. Keng-Yen Huang
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  3. Esther J. Calzada
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Correspondence to Maria Serrano-Villar.

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Serrano-Villar, M., Huang, KY. & Calzada, E.J. Social Support, Parenting, and Social Emotional Development in Young Mexican and Dominican American Children. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 48, 597–609 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-016-0685-9

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