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Diversity in U.S. Families 383

FIGURE 12.8 Family Structure: U.S. Families with Children machismo an emphasis on male
strength and dominance
under Age 18 Headed by Mothers, Fathers, and Both Parents
Asian Americans Whites Latinos
1% 4%
2%
9% 16% 3%
27%
67%
87% 77%
3%
4%

Native Americans African Americans

11%
Both parents
38% Mothers
59% 30% 51%
Fathers
Neither
8%

As with other groups, there is no
4%
such thing as the Latino family. Some
Sources: By the author. For Native Americans, Kreider and Elliott 2009:Table 1. For other groups, Latino families speak little or no
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2013:Table 69. English, while others have assimilated
into U.S. culture to such an extent
that they no longer speak Spanish.

speak Spanish, and so on. Still others emphasize loyalty to
the extended family, with an obligation to support relatives
in times of need (Cauce and Domenech-Rodriguez 2002).
This, too, is hardly unique to Latino families. Descriptions
of Latino families used to include machismo—an empha-
sis on male strength, sexual vigor, and dominance, like
that recounted in the chapter’s opening vignette—but
machismo decreases with each generation in the United
States and is certainly not limited to Latinos (Hurtado
et al. 1992; Wood 2001; Torres et al. 2002). Some point
out that compared to their husbands, Latina wives/mothers
tend to be more family centered and display more warmth
and affection for their children. Maybe. But hardly unique
to Latinos.
With such diversity among Latino families, you can see
why researchers are unable to generalize about all or even
most Latino families. However, there is a central sociological
point that runs through the studies of Latino families: Social
class is more important in determining family life than is either
being Latino or a family’s country of origin.

Asian American Families

As you can see from Figure 12.8, Asian American children are more
likely than children in the other racial–ethnic groups to grow up
with both parents. This significant difference is a foundation