Intergenerational Transmission of Religious Values in Mexican American Families

Data from 749 Mexican-origin families across a seven-year span was used to test a model of the processes that moderate and mediate the transmission of religious values from parent to child. There were four separate reports of parenting practices (mother-report, father-report, adolescent’s report on mother, and adolescents report on father) and models were tested separately based on each report. Results suggest the mother’s role was more influential than fathers in transmitting religious values to their child, across parent and adolescent-report. In addition, results revealed different, and opposing effects for mother’s self-report of parenting practices and adolescents report on mother’s parenting behavior. Adolescents’ perceptions of maternal acceptance and consistency increased the likelihood of adolescents maintaining their religious values across adolescence, whereas mothers’ self-reported parenting practices negatively predicted late adolescents’ religious values. Lastly, results of this study lend support for the differential role of mothers in fathers in the development of adolescents’ social competence, specifically in the context of their religious values and use of positive parenting practices. The findings highlight the unique contributions of each reports’ perceptions in studying the transmission of religious values in families, as well, as the distinct role of mothers and fathers in the development of adolescents’ social competence.