Away From Home: Paradoxes of Parenting for Mexican Immigrant Adults

This study explores immigrant parents' experiences of raising children in the United States, using data from the Immigrant Parent Project, a larger study of immigrant parents from 6 nations. The authors conducted face-to-face qualitative interviews with 1 parent and I adolescent child from 30 families with at least I immigrant parent from Mexico. Findings suggest that parents experience several paradoxes related to freedom and control, American culture and Mexican culture, the provider and servant roles, and dreams of the future. Prior studies have typically examined immigrant parents' effects on child outcomes. This study fills the research gap related to parents' own experiences and outcomes and informs practitioners of Mexican immigrant parents' unique parenting objectives.