Building Strong Families 2004

A Study of African American and Latino/Latina Parents in the United States

(Released November 2004)

The vast majority of African American and Latino/Latina parents are working hard to raise strong, healthy, and successful children and adolescents, and most feel they are doing well as parents. Yet they are doing so in the face of multiple challenges in their communities and society. Furthermore, most have little support beyond their immediate family to help them as parents. Those are the major conclusions of this study of 685 African American parents and 639 Latino/Latina parents in the United States by Search Institute and YMCA of the USA.

Key Findings

  • Perceptions of strengths—The vast majority of African American and Latino/Latina parents surveyed feel successful as parents. Furthermore, most feel that they have an excellent relationship with their child.
  • Challenges—African American and Latino/Latina parents feel like they’re facing uphill battles in dealing with economic challenges, negative values in society, and community and neighborhood conditions. These challenges are particularly hard for parents of teenagers, those facing economic stress, those with limited English, and those who are not married or in a committed relationship.
  • Asset-building actions—Most African American and Latino/Latina parents say they do many things as much as they want to support their children’s healthy development (building Developmental Assets). But they don’t have as many opportunities as they would like to do some things. The biggest gaps appear to lie in building bridges for themselves and their children to relationships, opportunities, and resources in the community.
  • Primary sources of support—Most of parents’ supports are within their own families, with their relationship with their partner/spouse being a key resource for many parents.
  • Help that parents value—While many parents would benefit from policy changes (economic stability, work flexibility, etc.), they also realize how valuable it would be to strengthen and expand their web of relationships—and their child’s web of relationships—within the community.
  • Conclusion—This study points to a major, often overlooked, challenge facing America’s parents: They are trying to undertake the critical task of parenting in a complex society with little or no support from their community. That challenge represents a real opportunity for YMCAs, schools, faith communities, social service agencies, and other organizations to more intentionally build relationships with parents in ways that both affirm their current efforts and provide the supports and guidance they need when things get tough.

More Information

Building Strong Families 2004 represents the second study in a collaboration between the YMCA of the USA and Search Institute around strong families and parenting. It is part of the larger Abundant Assets Alliance, which combines the resources of the YMCA of the USA, YMCA Canada, and Search Institute.