Beyond immigrant status: Book-sharing in low-income Mexican-American families

Abstract

Data from a sample (n = 145) of low-income Mexican-American mothers and their toddlers (9–26 months) were used to explore the prevalence of high-frequency book-sharing (⩾3 days/week) and its association with maternal immigrant status (Mexico-born vs US-born), as well as other demographic and psychosocial factors. Mexico-born mothers were more likely to report frequent book-sharing than were their US-born counterparts. This was contrary to expectations, and may be representative of the “immigrant paradox.” Other variables associated with high-frequency book-sharing included not receiving welfare, low levels of parenting stress, and having 10 or more books in the home; these factors remained statistically significant in multivariate logistic regression models. The findings of this study have the potential to inform not only intervention efforts targeting emergent literacy in family contexts and children’s school readiness in Latino families, but also practitioners and policy makers in the health and social services. Pediatricians and other health and social service practitioners are encouraged to be aware of the demographic and psychosocial factors that can affect mothers’ pursuit of child-focused early literacy activities.

Keywords

book-sharing early literacy immigrant families immigrant paradox intervention Latino families psychosocial factors

Introduction

Literacy is a critical developmental accomplishment and educational goal for children across many cultural communities. In the United States, book-sharing has been promoted as a valuable activity that parents and children can do together to enhance early literacy skills (Caspe, 2009). The value of book-sharing as an important literacy learning tool emerged in the United States as early as 1908 with Edmund Huey’s (1908) seminal book, The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading, in which he opined that parents reading aloud to their children was “the secret” to children’s literacy learning (p. 332). However, a critical review of research exploring storybook reading across different cultural groups in the United States and in other countries, especially in non-mainstream populations (e.g. low-income, immigrant), revealed modest and sometimes inconsistent results in terms of the impact of book-sharing on children’s language development, and demonstrated cross-cultural variations in parents’ attitudes toward book-sharing and their book-sharing practices (Anderson et al., 2003). The purpose of this study is to determine which characteristics of low socioeconomic status (SES) Mexican-American mothers and their toddlers are associated with high-frequency book-sharing (⩾3 days/week), including demographics, social support, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress.

While little is known about the rates of mother–infant book-sharing in Mexican-American families, even less is known about the factors affecting the extent to which Mexican-American mothers engage in this activity with their young children. Studies have found that SES affects pre-literacy skills in the preschool years, and that low-SES children enter school, on average, with skills dramatically below their higher SES peers (Arnold and Doctoroff, 2003). Possibly influential parent and family factors include acculturation and psychosocial concerns. It has been hypothesized that the degree to which mothers have acculturated—that is, adopted the values, practices, and language of Anglo-Americans—may influence their literacy practices and reading (Hammer et al., 2007; Valdes, 1996). Furthermore, psychosocial factors such as depression and parenting stress may affect the degree to which pre-literacy practices are pursued. These psychosocial factors have not been well studied in Mexican-American mothers and their toddlers.

Background

Sharing books is purported to be one of the most valuable activities that parents and children can do together to promote early literacy skills (Fletcher and Reese, 2005). It has been noted that, compared to other ethnic groups, Latino parents are less likely to read books (Flores et al., 2005; López et al., 2006; Yarosz and Barnett, 2001) and share stories (López et al., 2006; Nord et al., 1999) with their young children.

Family beliefs about literacy, family literacy practices, and family involvement in children’s learning are important processes for literacy development. Thus, researchers have considered these characteristics as they sought to explain the observation that Latino families de-emphasize looking at books with very young children.

Family literacy beliefs

In one study, Latino mothers were about half as likely as were European-American mothers to report reading to their children every day (Brooks-Gunn and Markman, 2005). These differences in parent–child literacy practices may be explained by Latino parents’ beliefs about their role in their children’s learning and development. Some studies suggest that Latino immigrants perceive parental responsibilities as primarily protective and nurturing, with the role of facilitating learning activities rather than directly engaging in learning activities (Brooks-Gunn and Markman, 2005; Halgunseth et al., 2006; Nord et al., 1999). Latino parents who have recently immigrated may not see the need for reading to their young children, and if they do, there can be an emphasis on moral development, through reading Bible stories (Reese and Gallimore, 2000). Families that immigrate to the United States with the intention of staying may maintain the beliefs and values of their native culture while gradually integrating school-oriented values and practices. For instance, the conceptualization of reading as something learned in school may be associated with the belief that age 5 represents “la edad de la razón” or “the age of reason” (Reese and Gallimore, 2000). Thus, reading is viewed as a school activity rather than as a family pursuit.

Within the larger group of Latinos, little is known about the literacy beliefs of Mexican-American families, who represent the largest subgroup of the US Latino population (United States Census Bureau, 2011). It has been demonstrated that, when compared with their non-Hispanic European-American peers, Mexican-American children tended to start kindergarten knowing less about letters and numbers (Perry et al., 2008). Although there has been little systematic research addressing the mother–child book-sharing interactions of Mexican-American dyads, one published study of mothers from Mexico reported that these mothers have lower baseline rates of book-sharing with young children when compared with other Latino parents (Sanders et al., 2000). A possible explanation for this reticence to engage in early mother–child book-sharing is Mexican-American maternal belief that infants are not capable of communicating verbally with mothers and therefore reading with a baby may not be conceived of as a worthwhile activity (Hammer et al., 2007; Loera et al., 2011; Valdes, 1996).

Family literacy practices

Current studies on early literacy practices of Mexican-American families suggest that there is parental guidance, participation, and concern with children’s reading and writing development. They read to their elementary age children and homework has been found to be the most common printed text and literacy practice among the working-class, Mexican-American families (Ortiz and Ordonez-Jasis, 2005). Several studies of Mexican-American families found that kindergarten and first grade children were the initiators of home literacy activities (Delgado-Gaitan, 1990; Goldenberg et al., 1992). Latino parents appropriated school-related literacy activities into their existing repertoire when they believed it would best help their children to succeed academically. They modified school-related literacy activities to reflect their existing cultural beliefs and practices (Perry et al., 2008).

In Caspe’s (2009) study, she found that families are foundational for their young children’s development, regardless of their culture, economic status, or education levels. Maternal education was not nearly as important as book-sharing style in predicting child outcomes. Latino mothers favored a storytelling style that positively predicted children’s print-related literacy skills. Other researchers have noted that Mexican-American families incorporated oral storytelling (e.g. folk tales, fables, family history) and themes (e.g. herbal medicines) related to the home culture as meaningful literacy practices (Valdes, 1996).

In a study of Puerto Rican mothers, Hammer et al. (2007) compared maternal beliefs and literacy practices of School English Communication (SEC) families (40% immigrant parents, Spanish is the home language and English is introduced to children in preschool) to Home English Communication (HEC) families (8% immigrant parents, Spanish and English are used in the home). They found that compared to mothers in the SEC group, mothers in the HEC group read to their preschool children more frequently and reported teaching their children early literacy skills more frequently. Of note, mothers from both groups had fewer than 10 children’s books in the home (Hammer et al., 2007).

Family involvement in learning

In the study of Mejía-Arauz et al. (2005), Latino families who had less education favored an ‘intent participation’ approach to learning (i.e. closely observing and listening in anticipation of engaging in learning) in the preschool years. In the study by Hammer et al. (2007), Spanish-speaking mothers held mainstream beliefs about children’s education (e.g. parents should support their children’s learning at home), while also holding traditional beliefs about their children’s education (e.g. schools and teachers are primarily responsible for children’s education; parent’s responsibility is to teach obedience and social skills).

Demographic factors

Demographic variables are related to both frequency and duration of shared parent–child reading, and to language and emergent literacy skills. The ritual of the bedtime story, which is widely accepted by mainstream middle-class parents in the United States, is infrequently practiced by low-income Latino parents (Reese and Gallimore, 2000). However, Latino parents with more urban backgrounds in their native countries, higher education levels, more exposure to schooling in the United States, and English fluency, take responsibility for helping their children learn to read by engaging in shared book reading (Saenz and Felix, 2007). Caucasian mothers with higher family incomes are more likely than are mothers with lower incomes to read to their infants (Arnold and Doctoroff, 2003; Brooks-Gunn and Markman, 2005; Karrass et al., 2003). Studies have found that SES affects pre-literacy skills in the preschool years (Arnold and Doctoroff, 2003; Valdes, 1996). If lower SES Latino parents read less often to their children than middle- and upper-SES parents, it is possible they might also begin shared reading at later ages (Arnold and Doctoroff, 2003; Brooks-Gunn and Markman, 2005). For Latino parents of low SES, studies show that poor financial resources, low levels of education, and limited time are associated with inability to provide children with supportive language and literacy environments (López et al., 2006; Reese and Gallimore, 2000). Even when they perceive shared book reading as an important and valuable activity for their young children, low-income Latino parents may feel challenged by lack of time or opportunity and a sense of limited expertise in language and literacy pursuits.

Psychosocial factors

The act of parents sharing books with their very young children and teaching them that looking at books together is an enjoyable experience may be influenced by other psychosocial factors, including level of social support, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress. Previous studies have shown that protective factors contribute to the development of book-sharing and early literacy practices. The ratio of adults to children in the home, two-parent families, neighborhood, and peer social support as well as group membership provide an environment more conducive to optimal literacy development (High et al., 1999; Roberts et al., 2005; Sanders et al., 2000).

It has been well studied that depressed mothers book-share with their children less and engage in less literacy-enhancing behaviors. Cox et al. (1987) studied depressed Caucasian mothers of 2- and 3-year-old children. During social interactions with their children, depressed mothers were more likely than were non-depressed mothers to use less positive tone, to ignore child approaches, and to use controlling talk or action. They also used less elaborate talk with their children, for example, fewer explanations, suggestions, and questions. In another study, low income ethnically diverse depressed mothers engaged in fewer literacy behaviors with their children (Bigatti et al., 2001). Similar findings have been documented in highly stressed Caucasian mothers, who do not have the kinds of conversations and interactions that foster vocabulary (Noel et al., 2008).

Other predictors related to book-sharing indicate that mothers who reported less general hassles and parenting stress were more likely to read to their infants (Karrass et al., 2003). It has been argued that stresses of poverty prevent mothers from shared reading because resources are not available to engage in and therefore contribute to a lesser stimulating parental environment (Crosnoe and Cooper, 2010). In the current study, characteristics of low-SES Mexican-American mothers and their toddlers are investigated as it relates to high-frequency book-sharing (⩾3 days/week) and associations with demographics, social support, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress.

Hypotheses

This study was designed to describe the prevalence of high-frequency book-sharing in low-income Mexican-American families, and its association with maternal immigrant status as well as other demographic and psychosocial factors. It was hypothesized that, in Mexican-American families with toddlers, substantial US acculturation (as indicated by maternal birth in United States) would be associated with high-frequency book-sharing. Based on extant literature in other ethnic groups, it was also hypothesized that certain psychosocial factors would be associated with high-frequency book-sharing: higher levels of social support, lower levels of maternal depressive symptomatology, and lower parenting stress.

Methods

Study design

This study used a cross-sectional design and reflects a secondary data analysis. Information was drawn from baseline data collected during an evaluation of the effects of a home-based emergent literacy intervention program called “Raising a Reader.” Pre-intervention data represented the socio-demographics and book-sharing practices of low-income Mexican-American toddlers and their mothers. Methodologies included interviews with mothers and in-home questionnaires of children and their home environments completed by the toddlers’ parent. The mother’s interview included information on demographic characteristics, economic and employment status, child book-sharing frequency, perceived social support, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress.

Sample

The sample (n = 145) consisted of Mexican-American mothers who were receiving home-based services through the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and the San Jose Catholic Charities. These organizations utilize a home visitation model, with regular home visits by nurses or social workers to deliver information about child health, and counseling about community programs for housing, education, and public health. Inclusion criteria included mothers who (a) had a child aged 9–26 months, (b) already were enrolled in home visitation program, (c) reported a family annual income that was 30 percent–50 percent of the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development annual median income guidelines for the county, and (d) were able to communicate in English or in Spanish. Exclusion criteria included parent report of atypical or delayed development of the child and parent inability to communicate in Spanish or English.

Measures

A research interview was conducted in Spanish or English. Specific measures used in the current analysis are described below; they address socio-demographics, book-sharing practices, perceived social support, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress.

Family demographics/books and book-sharing

A semi-structured interview was derived from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2003) and included closed- and open-ended questions about family demographics and background (e.g. list of all family members living in the home and each member’s education level, age, occupation, ethnicity, country of origin). Items also addressed the home literacy environment, including the number of days each week that parent and child engaged in book-sharing and the estimated number of children’s books in the home. These baseline data did not require qualitative methods for interpretation. In accordance with previous studies (Golova et al., 1999), high-frequency book-sharing was defined as parent–child time spent looking at books at least 3 days per week.

Maternal perceived support

Maternal perceived support was measured by using eight items from the Family Support Scale (Dunst et al., 2007). Each item had a 3-category response format (not very helpful, somewhat helpful, very helpful). Responses to all item scores were combined; this combined score reflected the perceived helpfulness of sources of support to families rearing children (including other family members, friends, coworkers, religious groups).

Maternal depressive symptoms

Maternal depressive symptoms were measured by using the Center for Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) (Kim et al., 2011). This is a 20-item self-report depression scale developed by the National Institute of Mental Health to detect major or clinical depression in adolescents and adults. The CES-D has four separate factors, including (a) depressive affect, (b) somatic symptoms, (c) positive affect, and (4) interpersonal relations. Studies using the CES-D indicate that it has very good internal consistency, acceptable test–retest stability, and construct validity. For this study, higher and lower depressive symptomatology groups were created using a median split.

Maternal parenting stress

Maternal parenting stress was measured by using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI-Short-Form) (Diaz-Herrero et al., 2010). This index is a 36-item self-report designed for the early identification of parenting and family characteristics that fail to promote normal development and functioning in children; children with behavioral and emotional problems, and parents who are at risk for dysfunctional parenting. Clinically significant scores are greater than 85 percentile.

Statistical analysis

Baseline univariate analyses included all subjects. Frequency counts of categorical variables and means and standard deviations of normally distributed continuous variables provided descriptive information about the sample as a whole. Bivariate analyses were used to assess the primary dependent variable of frequency of book-sharing (high ⩾ 3 days/week); group comparisons were analyzed using t-tests and chi-square (χ²). Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the strength of the association between immigrant status and the frequency of book-sharing before and after adjusting for selected characteristics and risk factors represented by the independent variables associated with group differences (p < .2) in the bivariate analyses. Specifically, in addition to the crude association between immigrant status and book-sharing frequency (Crude odds ratio (OR)), four sets of analyses were performed: (1) ORs adjusted for demographic variables, including preferred language, welfare status, and child gender (Model 1); (2) ORs adjusted for demographics variables plus maternal psychosocial characteristics (Model 2); (3) ORs adjusted for demographics variables plus home literacy environment (Model 3); and (4) ORs adjusted for all variables (Model 4). Data were analyzed using the SPSS Base 19.0 statistical software (IBM Corporation, 2010).

Results

Demographic characteristics

Descriptive data for the study sample are shown in Tables 1 and 2. On average, mothers were 25.5 years of age with 10.5 years of education. Mexico-born mothers had been living in the United States for 11 years and had a monthly income of US$1859.25. The average total number of children in the home was 2.8 and number of adults was 3.1. Many families had extended family living in the home, or shared the home with another family. Most mothers were Mexico-born (83%) and the remainder US-born (17%). The majority (71%) of mothers were married or living with their children’s father, and 28 percent were single. Slightly more than half (58%) of mothers had at least a high school degree, with 42 percent having an education level less than high school. For almost all mothers (91%), the preferred language was Spanish. A minority of mothers (20%) had welfare benefits.

Table 1.

Demographic and psychosocial characteristics: continuous variables.

	n	Minimum	Maximum	Mean	SD
Child age (months)	145	9	26	16.8	5.0
Maternal age (year)	145	16	39	25.5	5.7
Maternal education (grades completed)	145	0	16	10.5	3.2
If immigrant, maternal years in US—T1	114	1	35	10.9	8.2
Monthly family income (USD)	145	492	5000	1859	916
Total number of children	145	1	9	2.8	1.7
Total number of adults	145	1	9	3.0	1.6
Maternal depressive symptoms	145	12	47	18.5	6.8
PSI, total percentile	145	1	99	40.7	32.0

PSI: Parenting Stress Index; SD: standard deviation.

Table 2.

Demographic and psychosocial characteristics: categorical variables.

		All families N (%)
Demographics	Child age group
	18–26 months	70 (48.3)
	9–17 months	75 (51.7)
	Child gender
	Female	67 (46.2)
	Male	78 (53.8)
	Mother immigrant status
	Birth place, United States	24 (16.6)
	Birth place, Mexico	121 (83.4)
	Mother age group
	⩾21 years	112 (77.2)
	16–20 years	33 (22.8)
	Mother marital status
	Married or living with father	103 (71.0)
	Single	41 (28.3)
	Missing data	1 (0.7)
	Mother education
	High school degree or higher	84 (57.9)
	Less than high school degree	61 (42.1)
	Mother preferred language
	English	13 (9.0)
	Spanish	132 (91.0)
	Mother work
	Not working outside the home	92 (63.4)
	Part-time	22 (15.2)
	Full-time	24 (16.6)
	Missing data	7 (4.8)
	Monthly household income
	⩾US$1750	73 (50.3)
	<US$1750	72 (49.7)
	Welfare
	No	116 (80.0)
	Yes	29 (20.0)
	Total number of adults in household
	2	69 (47.6)
	1	68 (46.9)
	⩾3	8 (5.5)
	Total number of children in household
	1	113 (77.9)
	>1	32 (22.1)
Maternal psychosocial characteristics	Depressive symptoms
	Low depressive symptoms	71 (49.0)
	High depressive symptoms	74 (51.0)
	Social support from others
	High level of social support	54 (37.2)
	Moderate level of social support	83 (57.2)
	Low level of social support	8 (5.5)
	Parenting stress
	Nonclinical level of parenting stress	122 (84.1)
	Clinical level of parenting stress	21 (14.5)
	Missing	2 (1.4)
Home literacy environment	Number of children’s books in home
Home literacy environment	⩾10	60 (41.4)
	<10	82 (56.6)
	Missing	3 (2.1)
	Frequency of book-sharing
	3–7 days/week	89 (61.4)
	0–2 days/week	56 (38.6)

Psychosocial characteristics

Maternal psychosocial characteristics

By group definition (using a median split), similar proportions of mothers reported low (49%) and high (51%) levels of depressive symptoms. Subclinical level of parenting stress was reported by 84 percent of mothers and clinically significant levels of parenting stress were reported by 15 percent of mothers. High level of social support was identified by 37 percent of mothers, moderate level of social support was reported by 57 percent of mothers, and low level of social support was reported by 6 percent of mothers.

Home literacy environment

For the sample as a whole, 61 percent of mothers reported book-sharing with their toddler at least 3 days per week (i.e. high-frequency book-sharing). Less than half of families (41%) had 10 or more children’s books in the home.

Low- and high-frequency mother–toddler book-sharing

Demographics

The low-frequency book-sharing group (low-frequency) and the high-frequency book-sharing group (high-frequency) were similar on measures of maternal age, marital status, total adults and children in the home, and education (Table 3). The groups had statistically significant differences with regard to maternal birth place and welfare status. Compared to the low-frequency group, a larger proportion of mothers in the high-frequency group were born in Mexico, 75 percent versus 89 percent (χ²(1, N = 145) = 4.71, p = .03). Furthermore, compared to the low-frequency group, a smaller proportion of mothers in the high-frequency group were receiving welfare benefits, 30 percent versus 13 percent (χ²(1, N = 145) = 6.12, p = .01).

Table 3.

Bivariate analyses of frequency of mother–toddler book-sharing.

		Mother–toddler book-sharing
		Low frequency (<3 days/week), N = 56	High frequency (⩾3 days/week), N = 89	p
		n (%)	n (%)	p
Demographic characteristics	Child age group			.49
	18–26 months	25 (44.6)	45 (50.6)
	9–17 months	31 (55.4)	44 (49.4)
	Child gender			.18
	Female	22 (39.3)	45 (50.6)
	Male	34 (60.7)	44 (49.4)
	Mother immigrant status			.03
	Birth place, United States	14 (25.0)	10 (11.2)
	Birth place, Mexico	42 (75.0)	79 (88.8)
	Mother age group			.76
	⩾21 years	44 (78.6)	68 (76.4)
	16–20 years	12 (21.4)	21 (23.6)
	Mother marital status			.98
	Married or living with father	40 (71.4)	63 (71.6)
	Single	16 (28.6)	25 (28.4)
	Mother education			.88
	High school degree or higher	32 (57.1)	52 (58.4)
	Less than high school degree	24 (42.9)	37 (41.6)
	Mother preferred language			.24
	English	7 (12.5)	6 (6.7)
	Spanish	49 (87.5)	83 (93.3)
	Mother work			.38
	Not working outside the home	33 (60.0)	59 (71.1)
	Part-time	10 (18.2)	12 (14.5)
	Full-time	12 (21.8)	12 (14.4)
	Monthly household income			.28
	⩾US$1750	25 (44.6)	48 (46.1)
	<US$1750	31 (55.4)	41 (53.9)
	Welfare			.01
	No	39 (69.6)	77 (86.5)
	Yes	17 (30.4)	12 (13.5)
	Total number of adults in household			.30
	2	5 (8.9)	3 (3.4)
	1	27 (48.2)	41 (46.1)
	⩾3	24 (42.9)	45 (50.6)
	Total number of children in household			.88
	1	12 (21.4)	20 (22.5)
	>1	44 (78.6)	69 (77.5)
Maternal psychosocial characteristics	Depressive symptoms			.06
	Low depressive symptoms	22 (39.3)	49 (55.1)
	High depressive symptoms	34 (60.7)	40 (44.9)
	Social support from others			.36
	High level of social support	24 (42.9)	30 (33.7)
	Moderate level of social support	28 (50.0)	55 (61.8)
	Low level of social support	4 (7.1)	4 (4.5)
	Parenting stress			.06
	Nonclinical level of parenting stress	43 (21.8)	79 (10.2)
	Clinical level of parenting stress	12 (78.2)	9 (89.8)
Home literacy environment	Number of children’s books in home			.01
Home literacy environment	⩾10	16 (28.6)	44 (51.2)
	<10	40 (71.4)	42 (48.8)

Maternal psychosocial characteristics

The low-frequency and high-frequency groups were similar with regard to proportions of mothers reporting high, moderate, and low levels of social support. There was a statistical trend noted for the measure of parenting stress: compared to the low-frequency group, fewer mothers in the high-frequency group reported clinically significant levels of parenting stress, 22 percent versus 10 percent (χ²(1, N = 145) = 3.63, p = .057). Similarly, there was a statistical trend noted for the measure of maternal depression: compared to the low-frequency group, fewer mothers in the high-frequency group reported elevated depressive symptoms, 61 percent versus 45 percent (χ²(1, N = 145) = 3.42, p = .06).

Home literacy environment

Compared to the low-frequency group, more mothers in the high-frequency group reported having 10 or more children’s book in the home, 29 percent versus 51 percent (χ²(1, N = 145) = 7.09, p = .008).

Predictors of high-frequency book-sharing

When compared to Mexican-American mothers who were US-born, Mexican-American mothers who were Mexico-born had more than twice the odds of engaging in frequent book-sharing with their toddlers (crude OR = 2.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08, 6.44) (Table 4). After accounting for certain demographic variables—preferred language, welfare status, and child gender—the odds were decreased (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.95, 95% CI = 0.76, 5.05; see Model 1). When adjustment was made for demographics plus maternal psychosocial status (Model 2), Mexico-born mothers were 2.4 times (OR = 2.36, 95% CI = 0.85, 6.60) more likely to report frequent book-sharing than were their US-born counterparts. When adjustment was made for demographics plus home literacy environment (Model 3), Mexico-born mothers were 3.4 times (OR = 3.44, 95% CI = 1.18, 10.07) more likely to report frequent book-sharing than were their US-born counterparts.

Table 4.

Multivariate logistic regression: AOR predictors of high-frequency book-sharing.

	Immigrant status		Model 1: demographics		Model 2: added effects of maternal psychosocial status		Model 3: added effects of home literacy environment		Model 4: full model
	Crude OR	95% CI	AOR	95% CI	AOR	95% CI	AOR	95% CI	AOR	95% CI
Immigrant status; birth place, Mexico (reference: United States)	2.63*	1.08, 6.44	1.95	0.76, 5.05	2.36	0.85, 6.60	3.44*	1.18, 10.07	3.87*	1.22, 12.24
Preferred language Spanish (reference: English)			1.05	0.28, 3.90	1.13	0.29, 4.41	1.30	0.33, 5.03	1.35	0.34, 5.42
Welfare, Yes (reference: no)			0.42^#	0.17, 1.08	0.38^#	0.14, 1.01	0.45	0.17, 1.19	0.40^#	0.14, 1.11
Child gender male (reference: female)			0.66	0.33, 1.34	0.71	0.34, 1.48	0.88	0.42, 1.86	0.90	0.41, 1.95
Depressive symptoms, high (reference: low)					0.78	0.36, 1.66			0.75	0.34, 1.67
Parenting stress, clinical (reference: nonclinical)					0.31*	0.11, 0.84			0.30*	0.10, 0.89
Children’s books in home, <10 (reference: ⩾10 books)							0.25**	0.11, 0.59	0.28**	0.12, 0.67

OR: odds ratio; AOR: adjusted odds ratio; CI: confidence interval.

p < .01, *p < .05; ^#p < .10.

In the fully adjusted model (Model 4), Mexico-born mothers were almost four times (OR = 3.87, 95% CI = 1.22, 12.24) more likely to report frequent book-sharing than were their US-born counterparts. In Model 4, the association between immigrant status and frequent book-sharing varied with parenting stress and with number of children’s books in the home. Specifically, compared to mothers with low levels of parenting stress, mothers with clinically significant parenting stress have lower odds of reporting high-frequency book-sharing (OR = .30, 95% CI = 0.10, 0.89). Furthermore, compared to families with 10 or more children’s books in the home, those with fewer books had lower odds of reporting high-frequency book-sharing (OR = .28, 95% CI = 0.12, 0.67).

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of high-frequency book-sharing and its association with maternal immigrant status, as well as other demographic and psychosocial factors, in low-income Mexican-American families. Contrary to expectations, Mexican-American mothers born in Mexico were found to be much more likely to report high-frequency book-sharing than were Mexican-American mothers born in the United States. In addition, compared to low-frequency book-sharing mothers, larger proportions of high-frequency book-sharing mothers were not on welfare and reported having 10 or more books in their homes. Furthermore, in contrast to expectations, social support was not associated with high-frequency book-sharing; both groups reported this equally. Consistent with expectations, lower maternal depressive symptoms and lower parenting stress were associated with high-frequency book-sharing. Variables associated with high-frequency book-sharing included being born in Mexico, not receiving welfare, low levels of parenting stress, and having 10 or more books in the home; these factors remained statistically significant in multivariate logistic regression models.

These findings are different from those reported by a number of other researchers. Reese and Gallimore (2000) found that the “bedtime story” and related literacy activities are not a routine part of household life for kindergarten children and their Spanish-speaking immigrant Latino parents who conceive of reading as something that is learned after a child begins school or formal instruction. They also found that parents who lived longer in the United States were more likely to read to children at an earlier age; this was presumed to reflect the adaptation of parents to school expectations in the United States. Yarosz and Barnett found that parents who spoke predominantly Spanish at home with less than a high school education reported not reading to their toddlers (Yarosz and Barnett, 2001). Saenz and Felix suggested that Latino parents with more urban backgrounds in their native countries, higher education levels, more exposure to schooling in the United States, and English fluency are more likely to take responsibility for helping their children learn to read by engaging in shared book reading (Saenz and Felix, 2007). Sanders et al. (2000) also found that parents from Mexico seemed to exhibit significantly lower baseline rates of parent–child book-sharing when compared with other Hispanic immigrant parents. Taken together, these studies suggest that families from Mexico seemed to be more at risk for fewer frequent book-sharing activities at home. In this study, however, book-sharing by Mexican-American mothers born in Mexico was a literacy tool in use, even with their young children under the age of 3 years. It is possible that Mexican-American book-sharing practices vary depending on the families’ geographic region of residence and its population characteristics. Thus, the Mexican-American mothers engaging in high-frequency book-sharing in this study live in Santa Clara County, where one in four residents is Latino and about 15 percent of Latino families live below the poverty level. This county has varied approaches to public health education, including health fairs, health screenings, workshops to raise awareness of specific health problems, and health-focused home visits to underserved immigrant.

The finding that Mexican-American mothers born in Mexico engage in high-frequency book-sharing appears to be an example of the “immigrant paradox” or the “healthy immigrant phenomenon” which describes that although Hispanic immigrants have higher poverty rates, lower education levels, and less access to health care than US-born Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites, they have similar or better health outcomes for several health parameters (Mendoza, 2009). Mendoza (2009) proposes that children of immigrant families have a greater likelihood of being part of an intact two-parent family, living with an extended family, and being acculturated to an ethnic culture; these characteristics help define their self-identity and buffer against the detrimental effects of poverty (Mendoza, 2009). Fuller and Garcia Coll point to the presence of a heritage language in the home, Spanish, as a protective factor for children of immigrants (Fuller and Garcia Coll, 2010). They explain that first-generation immigrants come to the United States with energy and capabilities that surmount lack of parental education, family poverty, and language differences. Studies of the immigrant paradox have focused on youth and their physical health (Fuentes-Afflick and Lurie, 1997) or mental health (Fuller et al., 2010). To date, no other study has demonstrated a positive pattern in book-sharing in first-generation immigrants.

In this study, high-frequency book-sharing was associated with not being on welfare. There have not been any prior studies detecting associations of welfare status to book-sharing practices. When mothers are born outside of the United States, they likely do not have citizenship status needed to receive welfare services. It has been described that among first-generation Mexican-American families, being on welfare is associated with a low social position and feeling of powerlessness. First-generation Mexican-American families may emphasize certain cultural traits to defend their self-esteem against negative stereotypes levied against Mexicans (Marcelli and Cornelius, 2001). Therefore, immigrant Mexican-American families may experience protective factors such as two-parent or extended family households, which may provide supplemental financial resources and empower parents to promote their children’s early learning experiences.

An important part of early family literacy activities is the availability of children’s books at home. Unlike the Sanders et al. study, in which the number of children’s books in the household did not predict parent–child book-sharing (Sanders et al., 2000), this study showed that high-frequency book-sharing was associated with having 10 or more books in the home. Hammer et al. (2007) found that low-income Latino mothers in the northeastern United States reported having fewer than 10 books in the home. In this study, Mexican-American mothers were receiving home-based services utilizing a home visitation model, with regular home visits by nurses or social workers to deliver information about child health and counseling regarding community programs for housing, education, and family outreach programs. These programs reinforce Mexican-American ideas that cognitive development is important to begin as early as possible. These mothers may have enrolled in school with self-engagement of literacy practices, and were perhaps encouraged to have literacy-related materials at home not only for themselves, but also for their young children.

This study is unique in that it explores literacy practices and psychosocial factors such as social support, parenting stress and depression in mothers with toddlers. According to Crosnoe and Cooper, the prevalence of positive family dynamics and parenting behaviors supporting learning declined as economic disadvantage increased (Crosnoe and Cooper, 2010). He also noted that parenting stress tapped into family members’ adjustment. Other socialization factors included low-income status and single-parent family structure. In this study, high- and low-frequency book-sharing groups reported equal levels of social support. There were no differences among the family structure of the high-frequency and low-frequency book-sharing groups as they were similar in monthly household income and marital status. Rodriguez et al. (2009) explain that SES shapes children’s language learning environments and the nature of specific language learning activities, such as shared book reading. Mothers of low-SES background discuss less complex concepts, elicit fewer words, and use less elaborate and varied language when compared with mothers of middle-SES background (Rodriguez et al., 2009). In this study, low-SES mothers born in Mexico did engage in shared book reading; however, results suggested that the factors that distinguished low- and high-frequency book-sharing groups were not family relational factors such as family structure or social support, but instead may be internalized psychosocial factors such as parental stress or maternal depression.

The association between low parenting stress and higher frequency book-sharing found in this study is consistent with other studies. Karrass et al. (2003) found that Caucasian mothers with higher family incomes reported less general hassles and parenting stress and therefore were more likely to read to their infants. Caucasian mothers with lower incomes viewed shared reading as a less important goal than did less-stressed mothers with higher family incomes. Study authors concluded that mothers who are not reading with their infants do not have the necessary personal resources to engage in book-sharing (Berkule et al., 2007). Other authors also have noted that stress is a salient determinant of shared reading in lower income Caucasian populations, which are often found to be more stressed than middle-income populations (Noel et al., 2008). They found that economically disadvantaged children who have easier temperaments that promote social interactions, and who have parents who perceive low levels of parenting stress, are likely to have more advanced oral language skills. Bigatti et al. (2001) found that low-income ethnically diverse depressed mothers were less likely to read to their children or have a regular reading time. Their work showed that the effect of maternal depression is just as serious in low-income immigrant mothers whose sample comprised 51 percent Latino mothers. In this study of low-income, Mexican-American families, parenting stress appeared to be an important predictor of parent–child behavior and dyadic interaction. High-frequency book-sharing mothers may be better able to provide more stimulating parent–child joint attention due to sensitive maternal responsiveness typically found in securely attached infant–parent relationships. This type of social engagement between parents and their young children is a buffer against risks posed by the effects of poverty in low-income immigrant families.

Limitations

This appears to be the first published study that explores the prevalence of high-frequency book-sharing and its association with maternal immigrant status, as well as other demographic and psychosocial factors, in low-income Mexican-American families. Despite the unique and interesting results of this study, there are several limitations. The study used a cross-sectional design, which does not allow for causal inferences. In this sample, there were more Mexican-American families with Mexico-born mothers than there were with US-born mothers; this sample size imbalance could result in decreased measurement precision. In addition, all variables were assessed during self-report measures, which could lead to response bias. Parental report was used to measure home reading activities as well as social-emotional status. Recall and social desirability biases may be present. Social desirability works for and against the hypotheses and results in parents over-reporting their positive book-sharing and literacy-related attitudes and practices, but also under-reporting their stress and depressive symptoms. Future research will need to provide forms of more objective and corroborative measures of book-sharing and literacy activities in the home as well as parental stress and depressive symptoms. The study sample also focused on Mexican-Americans in one specific demographic region of California; Mexican-Americans throughout the United States and within California are very diverse.

Implications and recommendations

The findings of this study have the potential to inform not only intervention efforts targeting emergent literacy in family contexts and children’s school readiness in Latino families, but also practitioners and policy makers in the health and social services. Pediatricians and other health and social service practitioners are encouraged to be aware of the demographic and psychosocial factors that can affect mothers’ pursuit of child-focused literacy activities. Although many children of immigrant families and children of US minority families may share the experience of poverty, they can display differences in health and literacy status. First-generation immigrant families may have protective factors such as low parenting stress and a supportive home learning environment. For families without such protective factors, further investigation is needed to test the effectiveness of intervention strategies.

Given that Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States, and Mexican-American families are the largest subgroup of Latinos, continued research efforts need to explore the diversity of factors that impact family literacy both within and across different groups of Latinos in order to best serve this population of children and families.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Content is solely the responsibility of authors.

Funding

This research was supported by the following sources: Maternal Child Health Bureau Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship training program grant (Salinas and Feldman); Garcia Family Foundation and the Stanford University Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (Huffman); Peninsula Community Foundation, Bella Vista Family Foundation, Hellman Family Foundation; and the Stanford University Office of Technology Licensing (Pérez-Granados).

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