Immigrant mothers’ experiences with ethnic socialization of adolescents growing up in the united states: An examination of colombian, guatemalan, mexican, and puerto rican mothers

The study explored Colombian, Guatemalan. Mexican, and Puerto Rica ? mothers’ experiences with the process of ethnic socialization. Using focus group methodology, we asked mothers (N = 90) about the ways that their adolescents learned about their ethnicity. Mothers in all groups discussed (a) strategies by which children were socialized about their ethnicity within the home, (b) ways in which community resources facilitated the process of ethnic socialization, and (c) barriers that hindered their children’s ethnic socialization. Findings suggested that within each of these domains, there were more differences than similarities among the national origin groups. Specifically, mothers were most similar in their accounts of how ethnic socialization occurred within the familial context, but mothers’ experiences with community resources and barriers differed across groups. Findings are discussed within the context of an ecological model.