For many first-generation Mexican American college graduates, the idea of success goes beyond personal achievements and includes supporting their parents financially, according to a new study led by UC Merced sociology professor Daisy Verduzco Reyes. The research highlights how lifting the social or financial status of parents often defines upward mobility for Latinx millennials, particularly children of immigrants.
Reyes, who is also affiliated with the Latina Futures 2050 Lab at UCLA, conducted a 14-year study that followed 61 millennials—people born between 1981 and 1995—who identify as Latinx, attended college in California, and mostly reside in the state. The findings reveal that for these individuals, “the definition of success includes paying their parents’ bills or even buying them a home.”
“As researchers, we do not have much documented data and analysis to help us see and understand the lives of this population,” Reyes said. She noted that her interviews support earlier studies indicating that millennials are more likely to have paid for college themselves. Of those surveyed, 85 percent were the first in their family to attend and graduate from college and 96% were of Mexican origin.
The results have been published in the journal Sociology of Race and Ethnicity and will contribute to an upcoming book following Reyes’s previous work “Learning to Be Latino,” which explored how undergraduate institutions shape Latino student life on campus.
The study found that young Latinos define achievement differently than what sociologists call the five-stage Standard North American Adulthood: leaving home, finishing college, entering the workforce, getting married, and having children.
Responsibility toward family plays a central role among immigrant as well as second- and third-generation Latinx people. Giving back is seen as an expression of gratitude. According to Reyes: “The cultural and socio-structural conditions in which Latino millennials live contribute to their need to fulfill financial, emotional, legal and cultural labor roles in their families of origin.” The research refers to this pattern as the “Latinx mobility bargain” or “immigrant bargain.”
Participants included 40 women and 21 men who answered questions such as whether they felt they had achieved mobility compared to their parents or if they provided financial support for anyone else. Their experiences varied widely—from those able to purchase homes for their parents thanks to six-figure salaries to others who felt stuck due to low-paying jobs.
Reyes emphasized: “The one idea that none of the respondents questioned was the cultural imperative of the immigrant bargain, the idea of taking care of your parents. Some might expect this ‘burden’ to feed resentment, but none of my respondents expressed any such feelings.”
She added: “For many Latinx millennials, providing for parents has constrained their mobility trajectories. Yet this constraint is perceived as an accomplishment.”
Economic challenges have also shaped these attitudes. During the Great Recession from 2007 to 2016, middle-income Latinx families experienced a significant loss in wealth—55 percent compared with a 31 percent decline among white middle-income families.
“Millennials are worse off economically than previous generations in terms of income, wealth, homeownership and debt,” Reyes said.
Sandra Baltazar Martínez serves as senior communications manager at Latina Futures 2050 Lab.
