NCJ Number
209236
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 16 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 1139-1157
Date Published
November 2001
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationships among domestic violence, parenting stress, and perceived parenting competence among Latino families.
Abstract
While the relationship between parenting and domestic violence has been extensively researched over the past two decades, relatively little of this research has involved male batterers, particularly Latino male batterers. The current study sought to fill this gap by examining predictors of parenting stress and competence among 43 immigrant Latino couples, 26 of whom had histories of violence and 17 of whom served as a comparison group. It was expected that the presence and prevalence of physical and psychological abuse perpetrated by men against their partners would be associated with higher levels of parenting stress and lower levels of parenting competence for both fathers and mothers. Participants completed a series of questionnaires measuring parenting stress and competence, domestic violence, and parenting support. Results indicated that parenting stress experienced by fathers was considerably less than that experienced by mothers and was not related to domestic violence variables. However, mother’s parenting stress was related to physical but not psychological domestic violence. Father’s parenting competence, on the other hand, was significantly related to both physical and psychological domestic abuse, whereas mother’s parenting competence was unrelated to domestic violence variables. The findings suggest that even in the face of domestic violence, Latino women’s sense of self-efficacy as mothers is not easily shaken, perhaps as a result of strong cultural emphasis on women’s role as mothers. Future research should continue probing issues of family violence and child rearing within Latino populations so that appropriate and effective interventions may be developed. Tables, note, references