Experiences With Deportation and Mexican-Origin Fathers’ Parenting Practices and Stress

For many Mexican-origin families in the U.S., a deportation can be a familiar sighting. Threats of deportation can infringe on parent-child bonds and the activities parents are able to participate in with their children. Using data from a community sample of 85 Mexican-origin fathers, this study utilized a culturally adapted family stress model to examine the role of fathers’ experiences with deportation in undermining positive parenting practices and heightening parenting stress, and then test whether fathers’ perceived access to informal social support moderates these associations. Multiple regression analyses showed the complexity of the role of social support in family stress processes. Findings suggest fewer positive parenting practices were reported by fathers with more deportation experiences, but only in conditions where fathers perceived lower-than-average social support. Also, fathers perceiving higher-than-average social support reported parenting stress if they were also experiencing greater depressive symptoms. Practical implications of state-sanctioned family separations are discussed.