Testing a U.S. Mexican cultural value transmission model of maternal socialization of youth civic responsibility values and prosocial behaviors

Abstract

Youth are taught the values that their culture considers important through socialization and cultural values, such as civic responsibility, that can serve as a guide for future social behaviors. One set of social behaviors relevant to such values are prosocial behaviors, or actions intended to benefit others. However, there is little research on the cultural value-related parenting practices that link such values and prosocial behaviors, especially in U.S. Mexican heritage early adolescents. The goal of this project was to test a cultural value transmission model of prosocial behaviors using the traditional Mexican cultural value of civic responsibility. The mediating relations between this cultural value and prosocial behaviors were investigated. This study used questionnaire measures completed by 204 U.S. Mexican mothers and their children (M age = 10.9 years; 51% girls) from Arizona. Results from path analysis partially supported the cultural value transmission model for the civic responsibility value. Implications of research in this area include the central role of cultural values in theories of prosocial development and the inclusion of such values in developing more effective positive youth development programs and public policies that affect U.S. Mexican youth.