Hispanic Fathers' Nativity as a Predictor of Spanking

The “Hispanic Paradox” proposes that immigrant status buffers Hispanics from the deleterious consequences associated with low socioeconomic status (Markides & Eschbach, 2005). Based on previous research linking acculturation and Hispanic parenting practices, the majority of which has been conducted on mothers, this study extends the Hispanic Paradox to the parenting behaviors of fathers. We hypothesize that greater acculturation is associated with more spanking, which, in turn, is related to increased aggressive behaviors in children. Maximum likelihood path analyses were conducted using MPlus 5.2 to examine predictors of spanking and aggressive child behavior among 372 foreign- and native-born Hispanic fathers who participated in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a multi-site, community study of urban families. Models accounted for numerous socio-demographic, child-related, and psychosocial variables. The hypothesized model provides a good fit to the data (χ2=8.60, df=5; CFI=.92; RMSEA=.044). Foreign-born fathers are significantly less likely to spank their 3-year-old children than native-born fathers (B=-0.33, p=.001). Further, foreign-born status (B=-0.09, p=.023) and greater religiosity (B=-0.02; p=.048) protect against the development of child aggressive behavior, even in the presence of other significant predictors (spanking B=0.07, p =.001; interpersonal violence B=0.05, p=.015; parenting stress B=0.07, p=.001). This study shows that, among a variety of predictors, fathers' nativity emerges as the strongest predictor of spanking and that less acculturation may serve as a protective mechanism against some negative outcomes typically associated with corporal punishment (e.g., Gershoff, 2002). Child abuse prevention efforts should target changes in parenting practices among Hispanic fathers that occur with acculturation.