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Eileen De La Rosa

Professor Strong

English 1301-08

9 May 2022

The Effects of Parental Pressure on Latina College Attendees:

Under Pressure

Good parents will always want what’s best for their children, and they will do anything

they can to help them achieve it. Although it is all in good intent, that way of thinking makes

them involuntarily ignore the thoughts and feelings their children have towards the subject.

Within a Hispanic household, about 39.3% of mothers and 41.1% of fathers usually have an

education no higher than High School (“Status and Trend in the Education of Racial and Ethnic

Minorities”). Due to their lack of college education, many Hispanic parents wish for their

children to do better in life than them and want their children to achieve a college degree.

Without any consideration of what their child wants, the parents tend to push their children
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Eileen De La Rosa

Professor Strong

English 1301-08

9 May 2022

towards attending college. The factor of attending college itself is stressful, but the college

student must deal with the pressure from their parents. The enforcement of college from parents

usually leads Latinas college students to have an increase in their stress mainly due to family

obligations.

At an early age in life, Hispanics are taught about very stereotypical gender roles within

their culture. Girls are taught that the wife should have kids and take care of them without the

help of the man because he works hard and should not be bothered. Because Hispanic parents

want their daughters to attend college, the expectations for the change slightly. Now they are

expected to financially provide for their family as well as attend to the necessities their family
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Eileen De La Rosa

Professor Strong

English 1301-08

9 May 2022

has. Latinas are given the role of caregiver in the family, and they are expected to become

successful to support their future and current family. While they attend college, Latinas are given

the responsibility of caring for their younger siblings when the parents are working. They almost

become the second guardian for their siblings at a young age. “Just like taking care of your own

children… I’m the oldest, and my mom’s a single mother, I have like the father’s role. So, I am

there for them financially and emotionally and I try to install [sic] all regulations and just

basically just raise them,” (Sy & Romero 2008.) Latinas are forced to grow up to help their

family while typically Latinos are given freedom to do as they wish. “They keep on telling me

I’m the one who’s gonna have to support my brothers, help my brothers out in the future,”

(Ovink, 2014, p.275.) Ovink quotes a college student, Cassie, that is speaking about the

obligations that were forced upon her as she is the first in her family to attend a four-year

college. She talks about the pressure her parents put on her to become successful to support the

family by taking care of her parents and brother in the future. Cassie stated that because her

brother doesn’t seem to be enroute to an independent future, her parents have demanded she

takes care of him. With the expectations set so high and financial difficulty with college.

As responsibilities keep mounting up for Latinas attending college, the possibility of

them developing anxiety or depression rises. College itself makes students develop anxiety and

depression, so the addition of family obligations adds into that stress. In 2021, 31 percent of

students attending college and university in the U.S. have been diagnosed with anxiety and 27
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Eileen De La Rosa

Professor Strong

English 1301-08

9 May 2022

percent with depression within their lifetime (Elflein, J. 2022.) Within all college students,

anxiety and depression are the highest mental disorders to affect them. “At the end of her senior

year, Cassie reported that this pressure had grown and was causing her stress: “It’s kind of a

burden,” (Ovink, 2014, p.275.) Like Cassie described, attending college and still having

obligations to support their family when they themselves are trying to become stable. How are

female Latinas expected to be independent when their own family depends on them and only

weigh them down?

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Eileen De La Rosa

Professor Strong

English 1301-08

9 May 2022

Although the focus for today was mainly about female Latinas, keep in mind that every

college student has a stressful time, and they shouldn’t be overloaded with errands that they

didn’t previously agree to. A message to any parents reading this. The most simply and caring

thing you can do for your child in college is asking about their day. Obviously don’t stress them

out with small things that can be done at a later time. For any college students out there, if you

have symptoms or signs of depression or anxiety, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. If you’re

afraid to find help, talk to people around you that you trust.
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Eileen De La Rosa

Professor Strong

English 1301-08

9 May 2022

References

Elflein, J. (2022, March 3). Percentage of college students with mental disorders U.S. 2021.
Statista. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1126287/percentage-of-college-students-with-mental-
disorders-us/

Ovink, S. M. (2014, April). “They Always Call Me an Investment”: Gendered Familism and
Latino/a College Pathways. Gendered Familism and Latino/a College Pathways. Retrieved
March 25, 2022, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0891243213508308

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities National Center for
Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved May 4, 2022, from
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010015/indicator1

Sy, S. R., & Romero, J. (2008). Family responsibilities among Latina College students from
immigrant families. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 7(3), 212–227.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192708316208