Puerto Rican Parenting and Acculturation in Families Experiencing Substance Use and Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This study investigated Puerto Rican families (n = 157) that contained at least one parent with a substance use disorder to describe the impact of acculturation, parenting, and intimate partner violence on child behavioral issues. Findings indicated that parental distress, parent–child dysfunctional interactions, and parental reinforcement had direct influences on child behavior problems for Puerto Ricans. Implications for social work practice are explored, such as an increased focus on the parenting experience, decreasing the stress of the parent, and increasing reinforcement of positive child behavior.

Keywords:

• acculturation
• impact on children
• intimate partner violence
• Latinos
• parenting
• Puerto Rican families
• substance dependence
• trauma