Exploring the Social Identities of First-Born Latinas: Examining the Influence of Familial Roles on Romantic Relationships and Mental Health

Presenter(s)

Isabella Luna

Abstract or Description

The current state of mental health and counseling services often disregards the cultural nuances of Latinas’ social experiences, perpetuating systemic inequality by employing a one-size-fits-all model. This study focuses on answering the research question: how does Latino familial socio-culturalization influence the identity formation, roles, romantic relationships, and mental health of first-born Latinas? Utilizing sociocultural analyses of Latino morals/values, feminist theory, and childhood development models, I conducted in-depth interviews with first-born Latinas who are between the ages of 18-35 years old, identify as cisgender women, and who are currently in or have been in a serious romantic relationship. The study fills a gap in Latina/o sociology by bringing together the literature on the sociology of family and gender to better understand the experiences of Latinas. Data from the first phase of the study indicates patterns in increased responsibility placed on first-born Latinas—particularly in childcare and assisting in family’s emotional wellbeing—, diverse coping mechanisms—including positive mother-daughter dyadic relationships, reliance on partners and community, utilizing higher education as a liberatory tool—, and juxtaposing accounts of the positive and negative influences of Latino cultural values on individual development.

Mentor

Dr. Edelina Burciaga