What Girls Should Do so That Boys Won't…: Mexican Adolescents' Perceptions of Dating Relationships and Abuse

Background:Teen dating violence (TDV) is a global public health problem, although under-researched among culturally diverse samples. Studies seeking to understand Mexican cultural norms and their influence on TDV have relied heavily on Mexican American youth samples, fewer assessing dating values among Mexican youth. Research on risk and protective factors of TDV among Mexican American youth have highlighted how negative forms of masculinity (machismo) and femininity (marianismo) present risk for TDV victimization and perpetration; positive forms of these may serve as protective factors. Research with Mexican youth is needed to inform culturally-specific practices. Here, we aim to understand the voiced perceptions of rural Mexican youth concerning healthy and unhealthy relationship dynamics.

Methods: Following IRB approval, two U.S. researchers worked collaboratively with a high school in a rural area of Michoacán to collect focus group data with Mexican youth (3 female groups, 5 male). A total of 98 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 (M= 13.94) participated. Participants were first, second, and third year students (M= 2.06). Collaborating research personnel were trained via skype on research methods; following parental consent and student assent, female groups were led by a female psychologist and male groups by a male social worker. Youth were asked about their perceptions of healthy and unhealthy relationship qualities and dynamics. Dialogue was transcribed by the collaborators, translated by a bilingual researcher on this study, and coded thematically. The trustworthy of the study was prioritized in various ways, including member checking, reflexivity, auditability, and thick description of context (i.e., transferability). 

Results:Youth conceptualized healthy and unhealthy relationship dynamics in distinctly gendered manners, as communicated via the following themes. First, youth desired a number of positive characteristics from their partners (e.g., loving, honest, respectful), preferably instead of, but at times in order to counterbalance other unhealthy dynamics. Subthemes included that females should not manipulate, boast, lecture, or order their male partners, that boys should not sexually grope and should use contraception, and that the relationship be free of violence. In unhealthy relationships, boys should not be physically violent, boys nor girls should be jealous or cheat on a partner, girls should not have to prove their love through sexual behaviors, and neither gender should make relationship rules (e.g., girls not wanting boys to drink; boys not wanting girls go out dancing). Both male and females reiterated similar themes, although males often laughed often during discussion relating to violence.

Conclusions: The findings from this study mirror relationship and TDV research in some ways (e.g., rule-setting, concern over cheating/jealousy), while calling distinct attention to the importance of traditional and gendered cultural norms that influence Mexican adolescents’ relationship experiences. Themes of control and dominance were evident throughout, reflecting wording on commonly utilized machismo scales but also in reference to females in some domains. Female sexual virtue and self-silencing were also evident, with males as noted perpetrators of sexual aggression. Implications for TDV preventative intervention include attention to both positive and negative aspects of traditional gender norms.