Parents’ wellbeing: perceptions of happiness and challenges in parenthood in Latin America

Abstract

Traditional research on parenthood and wellbeing often employs a positivist perspective and focuses on non-LA samples -limiting our knowledge and understanding of the influence that strong components of the LA culture such as Machismo and Marianismo, have in parents’ wellbeing. This study explored how Latin American (LA) parents’ wellbeing is influenced by parenthood in a culture strongly influenced by such gender-based perspectives. An interpretative perspective was employed to explore fifteen LA parents’ lived experiences. An eight-questions interview was developed and data were analysed via Thematic Analysis. The American Psychological Association’s Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research (JARS-Qual), was followed to compile this paper. Results showed that socio-economic factors such as crime, violence, and economic inequality, negatively influence parents wellbeing -emotions experienced and life satisfaction. Notably, parents seem to find joy in sharing their own personal experiences with their children and passing on gender-based models. However, parents perceive family pressure as a “burden” since they are expected to follow principles of Machismo/Marianismo. Similar to Asian, but unlike European parents, LA parents experience a mixture of positive and negative emotions throughout the parenting journey although strongly shaped by Machismo and Marianismo. This study makes a unique contribution by uncovering the unique influence of LA socio-economic challenges and cultural impositions and expectations and its influence on parental wellbeing