Comparación crítica con la literatura existente

•Marianismo

•Collectivistic society

•Intergenerational knowledge transmission

•Personalismo

•Barrio Advantage

•Respeto (valuing and including older network members)

•Simpatía (valuing of interpersonal harmony)

•Familismo

•Stresses emotionally positive, supportive family relationships

•Family obligation, family as a social referent, and family support

•Fictive kinship

•Compadrazco“godparenthood”

Activity: Use poll everywhere application or facilitate class discussion with the following question: “In your experience, what are the protective factors for Mexican Migrant Mothers’ health status?”

Mexican women count on social support, age of being primi paras, familism, intergenerational knowledge transmission, collectivistic society, value on

personalismo, healthy diet, religion/spirituality, marianismo (selfless devotion), and cuarentena (McGlade, Saha, Dahlstrom, 2004).

All of the factors above suggest a sociocultural mechanism for advantages in infant mortality.

For example, let’s examine the surviving tradition of intergenerational knowledge transfer that instills morals and values. The mode of transmission is through stories, fables, and proverbs, which facilitate the bequeathing of advice from one generation to the next. Also, many mothers benefit from the support of extended family

members especially grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and aunts. The tradition of women helping other women is very strong in Latin America, which makes it logical that these practices of collective strategies of survival transfer to life in the U.S.

(Guendelman & Chavez 1994).

In terms of intergenerational family expectations, the term ‘familismo’ refers to an individual prioritizing their tribe over themselves to a degree of self-sacrifice if necessary (Pole et al., 2008). This interdependence knows no limits since resources are shared unconditionally. On the other hand, familismo means keeping problems- including stress- within the buffer zone of the family unit, which reduces the chances of stigmatizing ‘chisme’ (gossip) and outside intrusion.

Family orientation, or familism, is a multidimensional construct emphasizing family support, solidarity, and obligations within the family (Updegraff, McHale, Whiteman, Thayer, & Delgado 2005). This cultural construct is so powerful that even a study of Mexican-American youth and their parents found that children who have a strong sense of familism are less likely to become involved with deviant peers over time (Roosa et al., 2011).

It is well-documented that low infant birth weight and infant mortality rates are lower for Latinxliving in more ethnically dense enclaves or “barrios” (Shaw & Pickett, 2013; Shaw, Pickett, & Wilkinson, 2010). These environments tend to be economically disadvantaged, but culturally rich and thus thriving in health terms due to socio- cultural mechanisms that serve as protective factors.

From the Campos et al., (2008) article:

“For example, pregnant Latinas have been found to report highly positive attitudes toward pregnancy and motherhood and more support from the infant’s father and family relative to others (Engle, Scrimshaw, Zambrana, & Dunkel-Schetter, 1990; Zambrana, Dunkel-Schetter, Collins, & Scrimshaw, 1999). Pregnant Latinas also report more frequent and satisfying interactions with family compared with other groups (Sagrestanoet al., 1999).”

“Such support may mitigate the adverse effects of poverty through the pooling of resources (Sherraden & Barrera, 1996). It also may have a stress-buffering effect that improves the psychological and physiological milieu in which pregnancies occur. (Sherraden & Barrera, 1996 Poverty and family support). Whatever the mechanisms, mothers who have this support generally experience better birth outcomes than those who do not (Weigers, 2001).”

*Disclaimer: not every woman adheres to the same cultural mores, but if and when they do, they open a door of benefits in both the short and the long terms.

“Preferences for certain kinds of social support vary considerably, based on how each woman makes meaning of being pregnant. This diversity is one more piece of

evidence that minority cultures cannot be essentialized in health disparities research” (Fleuriet, 2009).

References:

Perez-Escamilla R, Pollitt E, Lonnerdal B, Dewey KG. Infant feeding policies in maternity wards and their effect on breast-feeding success: An analytical overview. Am J Public Health. 1994;84:89-97. 13.

Scrimshaw SC, Engle PL, Arnold L, Haynes K. Factors affecting breastfeeding among women of Mexican origin or descent in Los Angeles. Am J Public Health. 1987;77:467- 470.

McGlade Michael, Saha Somnath, Dahlstrom Marie. (2004). The Latina Paradox: An opportunity for Reconstructing prenatal Care Delivery. American Journal of Public Health. 94(12): 2062–2065.

Campos, B., Schetter, C. D., Abdou, C. M., Hobel, C. J., Glynn, L. M., & Sandman, C. A. (2008). Familialism, social support, and stress: Positive implications for pregnant Latinas. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14(2), 155-162.

Sherraden MS, Barrera RE. Maternal support and cultural influences among Mexican immigrant mothers. Fam Soc J Contemp Hum Serv. 1996;77: 298–313.

Sherraden MS, Barrera RE. Poverty, family support, and well-being of infants: Mexican immigrant women and childbearing. J Sociol Soc Welfare. 1996; 23:27–54.

Weigers ME, Sherraden MS. A critical examination of acculturation: the impact of health behaviors, social support, and economic resources on birth weight among women of Mexican descent. Int Migr Rev. 2001;34:804–839

Nuñez, A., González, P., Talavera, G. A., Sanchez-Johnsen, L., Roesch, S. C., Davis, S. M., Arguelles, W., Womack, V. Y., Ostrovsky, N. W., Ojeda, L., Penedo, F. J., & Gallo, L. C. (2015). Machismo, Marianismo, and Negative Cognitive-Emotional Factors: Findings From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study. Journal of Latina/o Psychology.Doi:10.1037/lat0000050

Pole, N., Gone, J. P., & Kulkarni, M. (2008). Posttraumatic stress disorder among ethno-racial minorities in the United States. Clinical Psychology: Science And Practice, 15(1), 35-61.

and white non-Hispanic women seeking government-funded prenatal care. J Community Health. 1994: 19:319-330

Fleuriet KJ. Problems in the Latina paradox: measuring social support for pregnant immigrant women from Mexico.Anthropology & Medicine. 2009;16:49-59.

Shaw, R. J., & Pickett, K. E. (2013). The health benefits of Hispanic communities for non-Hispanic mothers annd infants: Another Hispanic paradox. American Journal of Public Health, 103, 1052–1057. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300985

Shaw, R. J., Pickett, K. E., & Wilkinson, R. G. (2010). Ethnic density effects on birth outcomes and maternal smoking during pregnancy in the US linked birth and infant death data set. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 707–713. doi:10.2105/ AJPH.2009.167114

Updegraff, K. A., McHale, S. M., Whiteman, S. D., Thayer, S. M., & Delgado, M. Y. (2005). Adolescent sibling relationships in Mexican American families: Exploring the role of familism. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(4), 512-522. doi:10.1037/0893- 3200.19.4.512

Roosa, M. W., Zeiders, K. H., Knight, G. P., Gonzales, N. A., Tein, J., Saenz, D., … Berkel, C. (2011). A test of the social development model during the transition to junior high with Mexican American adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 47, 527-537.

doi:10.1037/a0021269 Photo credit: Diego Huerta

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