Becoming Bicultural: Latino Immigrant Mothers Raising American Children RIG
This research interest group will address cross-cultural issues confronted by Latino immigrant mothers who are raising their children in the United States. In bringing Latino mother/ professionals together in a group setting, we expect to produce feelings of empathy, shared convictions, and cohesiveness among the group participants—creating a sense that we are not alone here raising bilingual bicultural kids. In this climate of mutual respect, validation, and encouragement from peers, we want to bring our cultural traditions into the assessment of real life situations, to better understand the issues and to develop future research projects.
Our purpose is to research the complexities of “becoming bicultural” and to discuss the effects of this transformative process. Biculturalism (paired with bilingualism) affects immigrant parents and their children differently. For example, our group could discuss how group members have been addressing family experiences in adjusting to the new culture—including discrimination, and racism. We want to explore the challenges that these processes create for social service interventions, psychological support, school counseling, and the provision of other services. To start the conversation, our research group will answer the following questions:
- What do we see as the differences between the United States and our own countries of origin regarding child rearing?
- How was our own lifestyle as children and adolescents different from that of our children?
- What does an immigrant family need to achieve a feeling of satisfaction and cohesion in the new country?
- What type of services/ assistance that are culturally appropriate would immigrant mothers in distress need?
- How could we (professional women) communicate the needs and concerns of Latino immigrant mothers more effectively?
Contacts for more information:
Marcela Mendoza (co-coordinator):
mmendoza@uoregon.edu, 541-346-5247
Ruth Vargas-Forman (co-coordinator):
forman@ohsu.edu, 541-349-0301
For info about special events associated with this RIG or information about other RIGs click on
RIG Update.
RIG Update
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