Nativity Status and Latinx Mothers: Stress, Resilience, Depression and Motherhood

Immigration has been implicated as a factor in determining the psychological well-being of Latinx parents and their children. Processes related to immigration may result in greater stress and depression over time; however, they may also foster greater resilience. Psychological symptomology and the development of stress, depression, and resilience compounded with immigration experiences may affect how Latinx mothers conceptualize motherhood. The ideology of child-centric support and intensive mothering present in the United States is associated with class status (Lareau, 2011) and racial or ethnic identity (Crane & Christopher, 2018) in which those with lower class status or marginalized racial or ethnic identities may hold more meaningful ideologies in the face of this hegemonic ideology. The current study examines the association between the nativity status of Latinx women and their stress, depression, and resilience, and how their experiences of immigration affect their conceptions of motherhood and their roles as mothers through a mixed-methods design. There was no significant effect of nativity status on total stress, depression, and resilience, though a marginally significant effect of lack of health insurance on increased stress was identified. Latinx mothers in the sample expressed child-centric support as proscribed by intensive mothering ideology regardless of nativity status. Further research should investigate the role that nativity status and immigration have on psychological factors for Latinx mothers, as well as the unique role nativity, plays in the experience of motherhood for Latinx mothers.