Complexity of Father Involvement in Low-Income Mexican American Families*

We identify multiple predictors of five types of father involvement in 167 low- to moderate-income two-parent Mexican American families with fifth-grade children. Analyses show that fathers' egalitarian gender attitudes and mothers' education are associated with higher levels of father involvement. Fathers are more involved in monitoring and interacting with children when families place more emphasis on family rituals, they are more involved in supervising children when mothers are employed more hours, and they perform more housework when mothers earn more and the family is under economic stress. Counter to "macho" stereotypes, Mexican-identified men are more likely than more acculturated men to supervise children and engage them in conventionally feminine activities. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Key Words: families, fathers, housework, Latino (Hispanic), low-income, Mexican American, parenting. (Family Relations, 2004, 53, 179-189) When the economy falters as it has in the past few years, American parents must struggle to make ends meet and maintain families. Even when the economy is doing well, as it was in the late 1990s, such struggles are common among low-income families. Among the groups most at risk for economic stress, adolescent problems, and school dropout are Latinos (Hispanics), who are projected to comprise nearly one-quarter of the U.S. population by the year 2050. Two-thirds of U.S. Latinos are Mexican Americans, a population disproportionately composed of two-parent, working-poor families with unique needs and cultural resources. Though previous research has tended to ignore this group, in this article, we draw on this population to investigate multiple components of father involvement and offer an analysis of predictor variables associated with higher levels of men's participation in family life. When job markets do not support full employment, the family lives of marginalized ethnic groups are adversely affected. Although traditional cultural ideals call for men to be sole breadwinners and women to be stay-at-home mothers, contemporary labor markets increasingly require households to have two earners. The individualism and gender ideals commonly associated with women sharing breadwinning and men sharing child rearing are not prevalent among Latino families. Instead, such families are commonly described as having high levels of family cohesion and cooperation ("familism") but also being governed by traditional gender ideals (see Buriel, 1986; Cauce & Rodriguez, 2001; Gonzales, Knight, Morgan-Lopez, Saenz, & Sirolli, 2002; Segura, 1992; Vega, Kolody, Valle, & Weir, 1991). How, then, have recent economic and social changes affected parenting practices in working-class Latino families? We explore some of the tensions and changes facing Mexican American families and identify the cultural and labor market conditions associated with father involvement in low-income and working-poor communities. By focusing on different components of men's family involvement, we also inform methodological and conceptual debates about how to study fatherhood in diverse settings. Finally, our research can be used to improve family practice and family policy intended to encourage the participation of fathers in children's lives. Contradictory Cultural Expectations National surveys report that the vast majority of American men rank marriage and children among their most precious goals, and most American fathers say they value their families over their jobs (Coltrane, 1996). Similarly, most Americans agree that women should have equal rights to men and that job discrimination on the basis of gender should be prohibited. Reflecting this dual agenda for gender equality, 3 of 4 Americans agree that wives' and husbands' jobs are equally important, and 9 of 10 say they should share all aspects of parenting (Washington Post, 1998). Ironically, surveys also show that American husbands and fathers perform relatively little housework or child care (compared to their wives) and that American husbands and wives continue to judge unbalanced divisions of family labor as "fair" (Coltrane, 2000). …