Building confianza, sharing Consejos: A grounded theory study of Latine mothers' socialization of coping

Adolescence is a critical developmental period characterized by common stressors such as academic pressures and changing family and peer dynamics that may be exacerbated by additional stressors, such as acculturative stress, language barriers, and discrimination, for Latine youth. Cultural values of familismo (familism; loyalty to family) and respeto (respect; obedience, deference to authority) may play an important role in Latine parents' socialization of coping (SOC) messages about how to manage stressful situations, with implications for Latine youths' coping and well‐being. Yet, culturally specific approaches to parents' SOC in the literature are scarce. Toward theory building via grounded theory methods, this study focused on how Latine parents socialize youth to cope with interpersonal and academic stressors with a sample of 23 majority Mexican‐origin participants: 12 mothers ( M age = 40.08 years) and 11 adolescents ( M age = 14.36 years; 18% boys, 82% girls). Mothers and adolescents each participated in a one‐time, 1.5‐h semi‐structured interview (Spanish or English). Mothers shared their experiences in providing advice regarding coping with interpersonal and academic stress. The resulting analysis presents a theoretical model of how Latine mothers guide youth to cope with stress and the role of cultural values (familismo, respeto) in this process. Results highlight the central role of fomentando confianza (building trust) as a foundational relational context enabling Latine mothers to guide their adolescents in managing stressors and mothers' advice of prioritizing relational harmony, refocusing expectations, encouraging effort, and redefining agency, all of which are embedded within cultural values. This grounded theory model refines existing theories of parenting and coping socialization and advances understanding of relational contexts and cultural processes that may support Latine adolescent well‐being.