Risk or Protective Factor? Marianismo as a Determinant of Mexican Women's Mental and Reproductive Health
Keywords:
Marianismo, Mexico, Mental HealthAbstract
Women's mental health in Mexico is profoundly influenced by marianismo, a traditional ideal exalting the "perfect mother" as selfless and sacrificial. This article analyzes marianismo's paradoxical impact as a risk or protective factor on Mexican women's mental and reproductive health. As a risk factor, its demand for self-denial is linked to high mental health vulnerability, reflected in a prenatal depression prevalence of 20.3% in Mexico City. Furthermore, this ideal contributes to the high prevalence of obstetric violence, affecting up to one in three women. New evidence suggests that the persistence of this violence signals the inefficacy of current legal mechanisms for protecting women's autonomy. Conversely, marianismo acts as a protective factor in some contexts, fostering social legitimacy, belonging, and a crucial sense of life purpose, dimensions which are recognized as significant factors of resilience against mental distress. This duality highlights that the pillars of family and spirituality correlate with fulfillment, while chastity, silence, and subordination relate to higher rates of depression and anxiety. The analysis advocates for moving beyond the biomedical model toward culturally sensitive, decolonial healthcare strategies that mitigate the harmful extremes of marianismo while leveraging its community and resilience-enhancing dimensions.
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