A new study found that young Mexican American and Dominican American children are more prone to experience depression and somatization while being brought up in an authoritarian style of parenting at home. This is reported by The University of Texas at Austin News.
This study was led by professor Esther Calzada and was published in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. It delves into how the resulting behaviors such as anxiety, depression and somatization among the children being studied came up as a result of a strict style of parenting. Somatization is defined as a condition of having physical symptoms without any physical cause. The children being tested were aged 4 to 6.
It showed that 50 percent of the subjects are at risk for anxiety disorders, and 10 percent were prone to depression and somatization. The rates are also increasing in the long run. These were considered to be among the most common disorders that young children of Mexican and Dominican descent in the United States are experiencing. They appear to be more prone to these conditions compared to the general population.
Professor Calzada states, "Our study suggests that the disproportionate risk for anxiety, depression and suicide attempts observed among Latino, compared to non-Latino, youths begins way before adolescence. By understanding how parenting can promote healthy emotional development starting early in a child's development, we hope to develop programs to support Latino families in preventing these serious negative mental health outcomes."
For children in Mexican American households, a strict and controlling type of without a responsive attitude to a child's needs, has a correlation to the probability of children experiencing depression.
There is also a positive correlation between authoritative parenting and depression among Dominican American children while there is a negative correlation between this type of parenting, but with a responsive attitude to a child's needs, and somatization, as published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information website.
There is also the practice of respeto among Mexican American children towards their elders which in the long run, if not made with a responsive attitude towards the younger ones' needs, may cause a high rate of depression and somatization. In Mexican American children, parents' emphasis on respeto correlated with somatization in their children. This requires unquestioning obedience to the elders.
Calzada further explained, "Parents' adherence to respeto may impact children not only by fostering authoritarian parenting styles but also directly, by making young children more nervous or distressed during interactions with adults who hold clear authority, such as teachers."
Proper assessment of personal and social values in childrearing practices should probably be suggested for parents to create a well-balanced environment for their children, no matter what the traditional practices may be.
