THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL NURTURANCE AND WELL-BEING IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

This study examined the relationship of parental nurturance to well-being in college students from different ethnic groups. The initial goal of the research was to compare Hispanics (n=30) and European Americans (n=50), but the sample of participants was diverse enough to include African Americans (n=20). It was hypothesized that Hispanic students would perceive more nurturing by their parents, and this was predicted to be positively correlated with well-being (low anxiety, low depression, and high life satisfaction). The relationship was expected to be especially strong for Hispanics who identified strongly with their own ethnic group. These hypotheses, however, were not supported. Nurturing did not correlate with any of the other measures, and Hispanics had the lowest mean on the nurturing scale. Other relevant findings did emerge, however. Ethnic identity was significantly related to lower anxiety and higher self- esteem in general, but this result was not consistent across ethnic groups. European American participants had a significant positive correlation between ethnic identity and life satisfaction and self-esteem, but a significant negative correlation between ethnic identity and anxiety, results that contradict previous research. There was a significant negative correlation between ethnic identity and life satisfaction for African Americans, and the females from this ethnic group reported the highest mean on ethnic identity. The conflicting relationships between ethnic identity and well-being for the various ethnic groups in this and other studies point to the complexity of the role of ethnic identity. Hispanics reported higher means in life satisfaction and self-esteem, which may be due to the increasing prominence of Hispanics in contemporary society. Further research is needed to more clearly assess the relationship of ethnic identity and parental nurturing to well-being.