Traditional and Culture-Specific Parenting of Prosociality in US Latino/as

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of theory and research on parenting and moral development in US Latino/a populations, including acculturation and enculturation, ethnic identity, and exposure and responses to discrimination and culture-related stress experiences. First, we briefly review traditional theories on the influence of parents in children’s prosocial development. Second, broad ecological and developmental theories that speak to the role of culture-related processes are covered. The third section presents a brief history of US Latino/as and highlights cultural values and characteristics relevant to understand the role of parents in US Latino/a children’s prosocial development. The fourth section presents an integrative cultural stress-based model of US Latino prosocial development and summarizes supporting research. Finally, the authors identify gaps in the existing literature and directions for future research.