Parental Gender Expectations by Socioeconomic Status and Nativity: Implications for Contraceptive Use

The role of legal status and uncertainty in the reproductive aspirations of 1.5 and second generation Mexican-origin immigrant young women: An exploratory study

Background

The 1.5 generation, brought to the U.S. prior to age 16, faces barriers that the second generation, U.S.-born to immigrant parents, does not, including only temporary legal protection through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. Little is known about how legal status and uncertainty shape cisgender immigrant young women's reproductive aspirations.

Methods

Drawing on the Theory of Conjunctural Action with attention to the immigrant optimism and bargain hypotheses, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with seven 1.5 generation DACA recipients and eleven second generation Mexican-origin women, 21-33 years old in 2018. Interviews focused on reproductive and life aspirations, migration experiences, and childhood and current economic disadvantage. We conducted a thematic analysis using a deductive and inductive approach.

Results

Data resulted in a conceptual model on the pathways through which uncertainty and legal status shape reproductive aspirations. Participants aspired to complete higher education and have a fulfilling career, financial stability, a stable partnership, and parents' support prior to considering childbearing. For the 1.5 generation, uncertainty of their legal status makes the thought of parenting feel scary, while for the second generation, the legal status of their parents makes parenting feel scary. Achieving desired stability before childbearing is more challenging and uncertain for the 1.5 generation.

Conclusions

Temporary legal status constrains young women's reproductive aspirations by limiting their ability to achieve desired forms of stability prior to parenting and making the thought of parenting frightening. More research is needed to further develop this novel conceptual model.

Cultural Underpinnings of Gender Development: Studying Gender Among Children of Immigrants

This article addresses the historical divide between gender development researchers and developmental researchers working with immigrant populations, advocating for the benefits gained by bridging research approaches and interests. For gender researchers, the immigrant context allows for the examination of how children embedded in multiple cultures navigate the potentially conflicting information about appropriate gendered behaviors and attitudes. Furthermore, research focusing on immigrant development can move beyond examining gender differences and benefit from understanding the ways in which gender differences develop. This bridging seems particularly relevant in middle childhood, given (a) the exposure to multiple contexts which increase the salience of cultural differences between home and outside-of-home environments and (b) greater awareness and internalization of collective identities (i.e., gender, ethnicity).