From awareness to acknowledgment: The development of concern among Latina mothers of children with disruptive behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the process by which Latina mothers become concerned about their children’s disruptive behaviors and deem professional help to be a necessary measure. A sample fo 62 Latina first-time help seekers were asked to narrate their stories of their children’s behavior, the process by which they became concerned, and their decision to seek professional services. Both qualitative and quantitative measures and procedures were used.

Key findings include the following. Most mothers described onset after age 3.75. Earlier recognition of disruptive behaviors and earlier concern over these were associated with greater perceptions of functional impairment and with a greater degree of maternal distress at the time of the interview. Increases in awareness and in concern were associated with life events such as moving, migration, and changes in family composition. Mothers often assumed these life events to be causally linked to children’s difficulties. Earlier concern did not speed the awareness process. A “saturation point” was a better descriptor of the culmination of maternal concern than “problem recognition” or “problem labeling” School report of negative behavior was the strongest catalyst to problem acknowledgement. Mothers who recognized onset after their children entered school progressed through the concern process significantly faster than mothers who became concerned at younger child ages.