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SKILLS AND STRENGTHS GAINED FROM BEING A FIRST-BORN

DAUGHTER IN A LATINO HOUSEHOLD
Astrid Luque
California State University - San Bernardino

Leesly Angeles Rosas

California State University - San Bernardino

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DAUGHTER IN A LATINO HOUSEHOLD" (2025). Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations. 2032.
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SKILLS AND STRENGTHS GAINED FROM BEING A FIRST-BORN

DAUGHTER IN A LATINO HOUSEHOLD

A Project

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University,

San Bernardino

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Social Work

by

Astrid Luque

Leesly Angeles Rosas

May 2025
SKILLS AND STRENGTHS GAINED FROM BEING A FIRST-BORN

DAUGHTER IN A LATINO HOUSEHOLD

A Project

Presented to the

Faculty of

California State University,

San Bernardino

by

Astrid Luque

Leesly Angeles Rosas

May 2025

Approved by:

Dr. Carolyn McAllister, Faculty Supervisor, Social Work

Dr. Armando Barragan, M.S.W. Research Coordinator

© 2025 Astrid Luque and Leesly Angeles Rosas
 ABSTRACT

This research proposal aims to analyze the perspective first-born

daughters in Latino households experience throughout their lives and looks to fill

a gap in the literature about what this population faces due to being in the eldest

daughter position in the household. The existing literature revealed that first-born

daughters in Latino households experience a significantly higher amount of

stress due to the role they take on in their households. Some of the

responsibilities placed on them included financial burden, caregiving

responsibilities, and a general higher expectation compared to their younger

siblings. To obtain more knowledge on this topic, an exploratory, qualitative study

is proposed in order to interview participants. The interview will consist of

demographic questions to ensure information is gathered from the correct

population of interest. Then a series of questions will follow which seek to

understand what first-born daughters experienced coming from that birth position

in their household and how that has impacted their current living situation. Our

expected findings for this proposal aim to answer if first-born daughters in Latino

households gained strengths and skills from being in that birth position in their

family. The findings from this proposed study would help to fill the gap in the

literature regarding first-born daughters in Latino households and provide a

strengths-based perspective to their responsibilities. For the purpose of this

paper the terms “first-born” and “eldest” are used interchangeably.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge my little sisters, Maggie and Tori, for making

me the eldest daughter, a role that inspired this paper’s research question. Being

their older sister has been the best gift my parents have given me. I also would

like to acknowledge my research partner and friend Leesly for being the best

research partner I could’ve asked for. I also want to acknowledge Leesly and my

friend Alleena for both making my time in the master’s program a fun experience

filled with laughter.

- Astrid Luque

I would like to acknowledge my parents, Nancy and Ysidro, for supporting

me in various ways to ensure I could make it through school, my younger sisters,

Andrea and Jasmine, who always keep me company and use their sense of

humor to make each day amusing, and my two dogs and three cats who are the

best emotional support animals.

I would like to acknowledge my friend and research partner Astrid, as well

as my friend Alleena, who made the master’s program enjoyable due to their

humorous and fun personalities.

- Leesly Angeles Rosas

Lastly, we would both like to thank Dr. McAllister for her guidance

throughout our research project.

iv
 DEDICATION

We would like to dedicate this paper to all the first-born daughters in every

cultural household. We would like to put a spotlight on all of your sacrifices.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................iv

CHAPTER ONE: PROBLEM FORMULATION ..................................................... 1

Description of the Problem......................................................................... 1

Micro Issues .................................................................................... 2

Mezzo and Macro Issues ................................................................ 3

Policy .............................................................................................. 4

Theoretical Perspectives ................................................................. 4

Finding Contributions and Research Question ................................ 5

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................ 7

Introduction ................................................................................................ 7

Birth Order ...................................................................................... 7

Studies and Impacts on First-borns............................................... 10

Latino Culture ................................................................................ 12

First-born Women ......................................................................... 13

First-born Women Across other Cultures ...................................... 14

Summary ................................................................................................. 15

CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ......................................................................... 17

Introduction .............................................................................................. 17

Study Design ........................................................................................... 17

Sampling .................................................................................................. 18

Data Collection and Instrument ................................................................ 19

v
 Procedures .............................................................................................. 20

Protection of Human Subjects ................................................................. 21

Data Analysis ........................................................................................... 22

Summary ................................................................................................. 23

APPENDIX A: INFORMED CONSENT .............................................................. 24

APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW GUIDE .................................................................... 26

REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 28

ASSIGNED RESPONSIBILITIES ....................................................................... 34

vi
 CHAPTER ONE:

PROBLEM FORMULATION

Description of the Problem

Eldest daughters in Latino households carry an extra burden compared to

their younger siblings. They often tack on extra responsibilities and become a

parental figure for their siblings. This is a role that they are put into by their

parents through socialization (McDermott & Mendez-Luck, 2018). Socialization is

what teaches them the values and expectations placed on them to play a

caregiver role by their cultural community (McDermott & Mendez-Luck, 2018).

Latino eldest daughters play a variety of roles including, primary caregivers,

translators, medication managers, and informants (Longoria et al., 2020). These

roles actively demonstrate some of the extra responsibilities performed by eldest

daughters in Latino families.

Despite a lack of research studies on the topic, the extra burden put on

the eldest daughters is a problem well-known across social media outlets like X,

formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok with the hashtag

#eldestdaughtersyndrome trending. Posts with the hashtag involve eldest

daughters across North America sharing their stress or poking fun at their

situations as the eldest daughter. This topic is also popular among blogs and

college student papers where Latinas share their own experiences as first-born

daughters or attempt to research the effects of being the first-born daughter. For

example, an article on the blog page Medium shared a story from a first-born

1
Latina. In her article, she talked about how her mother’s high expectations in

school at a young age helped her excel academically all throughout her

schooling (Magana, 2023). She also shared how she held many more household

responsibilities compared to her younger sisters; however, she credits her

responsibilities for teaching her valuable lessons and skills that will help her

when she is on her own (Magana, 2023).

Although being the eldest daughter in a Latino family adds extra

responsibilities and expectations, there are also a lot of strengths gained and

positive outcomes that arise from it. One positive that comes from being the

eldest daughter is having high educational expectations so that they can set a

good example for their younger siblings and help their family out financially in the

future. A study shows that educational expectations are key predictors of

socioeconomic attainment, especially among minorities (Feliciano & Rumbaut,

2007). Further, the same study found that their educational expectations also

help them attain high-status occupations (Feliciano & Rumbaut, 2007). These

findings showcase how high expectations placed on first-born Latino daughters

help them excel in the future.

Micro Issues

Although being the eldest daughter in a Latino household can come with

great skills, it can also come with negative consequences. In a study that was

conducted to see how COVID-19 impacted eldest daughters in the home, every

participant in the first-born group reported having responsibilities in relation to

2
their siblings, simply because they were the oldest (Valenzuela, n.d.).

Participants also reported experiencing additional stressors of watching over their

siblings and ensuring their siblings were keeping up with schoolwork while

simultaneously getting their own schoolwork completed (Valenzuela, n.d.). In

their article, Booth and Kee (2009) state that in some cases, the eldest daughters

may be encouraged by their families to leave school early to assist in providing

for the rest of the family. By taking on these responsibilities in the family, eldest

Latino daughters take a large impact on their mental health as well as their future

careers.

Mezzo and Macro Issues

Carrying the weight of being the eldest daughter does not only impact

them as individuals, but also their families and the Latino community. This is a

social issue that primarily impacts Latino households because of their strong

belief that family comes first. Familismo in Latino culture signifies that family

relationships should be prioritized above all else (Ruiz, 2005). Because of this

strong belief, the eldest daughters in Latino households are influenced to make

choices for the benefit of their families. As previously mentioned, eldest

daughters are sometimes encouraged to leave school to tend to their families.

This can impact the Latino community, since Latinos will be underrepresented in

higher or leadership positions in the workforce. Montas-Hunter (2012) states that

although the opportunities are present, it is rare to find Latina women in high

positions.

3
Policy

A current policy in place that aims to protect minors from the

responsibilities of adulthood are school attendance policies. The California

Education Code states that there are penalties for parents or guardians who fail

to take their children to school, the penalties getting more severe with each

instance of truancy (California Department of Education, 2023). Keeping children

in school longer keeps them out of the responsibilities their parents plan to place

on them in the home. An intervention in place for truant students is the School

Attendance Review Board (SARB). These interventions are in place to provide

resources for families and find the root of the problem to prevent the student from

missing school on a regular basis (California Department of Education, 2023).

Apart from this, there are no other policies in place that focus specifically on the

struggles eldest Latina daughters face in their household.

Theoretical Perspectives

One theory that can explain why these family dynamics occur is Birth

Order Theory, also known as Adlerian Theory. This theory states that it is not just

about the child’s number in the order of successive births, but the situation a

child is born into that influences their life choices (Greene & Clark, 1970). First-

borns are normally entrusted with power and responsibility and have the

opportunity to tutor their younger siblings (Morales, 1994). Table 1 in Groessl’s

(2022) article shows traits associated with being the first-born, some being:

natural leader, high achiever, and self-motivated while some traits associated

4
with being the last born are: gullible, manipulative, and attention-seeking. Having

assumed such responsibilities in their families can be a great benefit but can also

impact the success of the first-borns.

Another theory that examines family dynamics is Family Systems Theory.

The purpose of this theory is to explain that families are an emotional unit and

are interdependent of each other (Family Systems Approach, 2022). Family

Systems Theory states that members in a family each have their own roles and

unspoken relationship agreements which provide a balance in the household

(Family Systems Approach, 2022). One of the 8 principles of Family Systems

Theory includes sibling position, meaning that each child in the family assumes

different roles based on their parental expectations (Family Systems Approach,

2022). Since caregiving is engrained in Latina women’s roles, the responsibility

of taking on a problem goes without question (Longoria et al., 2020). As a result

of this theory, if a problem in the family arises, for it to be addressed, everyone in

the family must be a part of the solution.

Finding Contributions and Research Question

Our findings will contribute to social work practice because they will bring

light to an issue occurring in Latino families. This is relevant to social work

practice because as of 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023) reports

that 17.3% of social workers are Hispanic or Latino. Another way our findings will

contribute to social work practice is by familiarizing social workers with Latino

family dynamics. A study found that, “mental health professionals agreed that

5
Mexican-American older adults who did seek out services were generally

accompanied by someone in the family, and more often than not, it was a

daughter” (Longoria et al., 2020, para. 8). This finding demonstrates it is

important for social workers in the mental health field to be aware of the role

eldest Latinx daughters play in families when it comes to behavioral health care.

Our research hopes not to dramatically shift the family dynamic of Latino

households, but to advocate for a balance of responsibilities. This balance of

responsibilities will better help families as a whole because the eldest daughters

will no longer feel overly burdened, and the younger siblings will also gain life

skills they can take with them in the future. A lot of people, even the eldest

daughters themselves, have a glass half-empty look at the eldest daughter’s role.

However, being the eldest daughter and having those extra responsibilities

allows them to gain many skills and better prepares them to run a home in the

future. Therefore, our research question is as follows: What are the skills and

strengths first-born daughters gain coming from a Latino household?

6
 CHAPTER TWO:

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

In this chapter, we examine the relevant literature and prior research that

has been conducted as they relate to our research question. To do this, we broke

down our research question to look at related concepts. Due to the lack of

research on first-born Latinas, we examine research conducted on related topics.

The related topics are birth order, first-borns, and first-born women. Other related

topics, we examined just the literature on due to lack of research were first-born

women’s experiences across cultures and Latino culture.

Birth Order

According to an article written by Eckstein and Kaufman (2012), birth

order studies have been around since 1874 and are of interest because

everybody has a birth order, and it is something that can be easily observed and

talked about. In other words, everyone with siblings can relate to birth order, and

the topic isn’t too complex to research. The authors also stated that older siblings

tend to have qualities like power, nurturance, and similarity to the observer that

younger siblings want to imitate since older siblings are in a role model position

(Eckstein & Kaufman, 2012). Similarly, another quality used to describe first-

borns is socialization agents. This description is due to children spending most of

their time with their siblings, especially among first-born siblings who often play

caregiver roles (Eckstein & Kaufman, 2012).

7
 First-borns’ power quality can be observed in a study that was done to test

birth order’s effect on teaching styles. This study examined the difference in

teaching styles in sibling dyads (first-born vs second-born) by having half of their

first-born and half of their second-born siblings play the teacher role while the

other half of the participants were in the learner role (Recchia et al., 2009). The

researchers from this study concluded with their results that first-born siblings

had less of a learner-centered approach to teaching (Recchia et al., 2009). In

other words, they didn’t involve their younger sibling in the learning process and

merely demonstrated how to build the tractor from a construction toy instead of

walking them through the steps and involving them. They believe this is due to

the first-borns viewing their younger sibling as less competent (Recchia et al.,

2009). On the contrary, when the younger, second-born siblings were in the

teacher role, they took a more collaborative teaching style (Recchia et al., 2009).

The researchers believe these results mean sibling roles may have still been in

play, thus they still viewed their older sibling as having more authority, hence the

collaboration (Recchia et al., 2009). Similarly, they also believe another

explanation is that older siblings insert themselves more in the learning process

due to the existing sibling hierarchy (Recchia et al., 2009).

Knowing that many studies have been done on birth order, Eckstein et al.

(2010) did an article that reviewed two hundred birth order studies and

highlighted the lifestyle characteristics each sibling in the birth order position was

commonly said to have. Thus, they provided a list of the most mentioned

8
personality characteristics for first-born, middle, youngest, and only children.

Each birth order position had a table with a list of “statistically significant

personality factors”, with each characteristic that was listed having been

mentioned in at least two articles (Eckstein et al. 2010, p. 414). The top three

characteristics of first-born children were highest academic/intellectual success,

high achievers, highly motivated, and most likely a leader/dominant tying for third

(Eckstein et al. 2010). For only children, achievements/intelligence, most needs

for achievement, and lowest need for affiliation were some of the top

characteristics found (Eckstein et al. 2010). Middle children were commonly

characterized as having feelings of not belonging, being sociable, and having the

fewest “acting out” problems (Eckstein et al. 2010). Lastly, the top three

characteristics of the youngest children were the highest social

interest/agreeableness, the most rebellious, and the most empathic (Eckstein et

al. 2010). All in all, this article showcases how there are many “norms” and

expectations of how a person should act associated with each birth order

position.

A recent study on birth order was done to see if it had any relation to a

child’s mental health (Fukuya et al., 2021). This study tested children from the

ages of nine to ten in Japan and used the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties

Questionnaire (SDQ) and had the children self-rate their resilience, happiness,

and self-esteem as a means to assess their mental health (Fukuya et al., 2021).

Their results found that last-borns were in the birth order position with the least

9
risk of mental health issues due to their resilience and prosocial behaviors

(Fukuya et al., 2021). Middle-borns resulted in having the lowest levels of

happiness (Fukuya et al., 2021). Finally, the study concluded that first-borns had

the highest score for conduct problems, a category they used to measure mental

health problems within the SDQ (Fukuya et al., 2021). In sum, firstborns seem to

be more at risk for mental health issues than their later-born siblings.

Studies and Impacts on First-borns

A study was conducted in Spain to test how family context and

sociodemographic factors impact a child’s cognitive development (Barreto et al.,

2017). The researchers tested children’s cognitive development by comparing

their results from an assessment when the children were 2 years old and a

neuropsychological assessment two years later when they were 4 years old

(Barreto et al., 2017). The results concluded that first-born children had better

cognitive development in the span of two years when compared to children who

were not first-born (Barreto et al., 2017). This study also found that child

exposure to a bilingual environment had a positive impact on the child’s cognitive

development (Barreto et al., 2017). Thus, this study reveals that there seems to

be a cognitive advantage to being the first-born, especially if brought up in a

home with two languages.

Another study performed similar research by examining first-born vs later-

born children’s cognitive skills at age two and school readiness at age four (Luo

et al., 2022). The study found no difference in cognitive skills between first-borns

10
and later-borns at age two (Luo et al., 2022). However, at age 4, first-borns

demonstrated an advantage in cognitive skills, literacy skills, and math skills over

last-borns (Luo et al., 2022). An important note in the results of this study is that

first-born advantage applied more when the children came from English-speaking

families. On the contrary, first-borns were at a disadvantage compared to last-

borns if they lived in a house that spoke a minority language (Luo et al., 2022).

Further, first-borns' cognitive and educational advantages are determined by the

risk level of their family.

Research was conducted that demonstrated first-borns have an

advantage when it comes to educational outcomes. In her study, Bu (2015) found

that first-borns had notably higher educational aspirations than their younger

siblings. Her findings also showcased that first-borns are more likely to complete

the qualifications needed to receive a higher education when compared to later-

borns (Bu, 2015). Something important to note in her findings upon breaking their

results down by sex was that girls were more likely to attain the qualifications

needed for higher education (Bu, 2015). Thus, first-borns' educational aspirations

are a key influence on their advantage of educational outcomes from their later-

born siblings, especially if they are female first-borns.

A recent study set out to answer the question: are CEOs most likely to be

first-borns? The researchers sampled 150 CEOs exclusively in a survey

(Custódio & Siegel, 2020). Their results found that CEOs were more often first-

borns, and they found no gender difference (Custódio & Siegel, 2020). The

11
participants themselves even believed in the results with 56% of them believing

them being first-borns was a contributing factor to them becoming CEOs

(Custódio & Siegel, 2020). All in all, Custódio and Siegel (2020) believe that their

findings align with the existing literature that first-borns possess the personal

qualities to become chief executives.

Latino Culture

Among Latino culture, there are three core values that will often times be

seen in traditional Latino households setting them apart from other cultures.

Familismo has been identified as one of those values and signifies that family

relationships should be prioritized above all else (Ruiz, 2005). Latinos build

stronger family relationships, spend more time with family, and rely on each other

for support (Calzada et al., 2013). Familismo can influence an individual in two

different ways. One way can be seen as a protective factor, in which having a

strong family dynamic can help an individual be better prepared to handle

obstacles in their life such as poverty and discrimination (Calzada et al., 2013).

On the other hand, familismo can be seen as a risk factor due to the strong hold

that family has on an individual leading to negative impacts on academic success

and other additional stressors (Calzada et al., 2013).

Another value that is highly recognized in Latino culture is Machismo.

Machismo allows men to express their masculinity, their dominance over women,

and power over the household (Ingoldsby, 1985). Because traditions are valued

in a Latino household, gender roles are assumed meaning that men will assert

12
dominance over the women in the home (Chaidez, 2022). By assuming gender

roles, women are expected to keep the household together, show obedience to

their family, and keep confrontation to a minimum (Chaidez, 2022). Due to these

standards held in a traditional Latino household, Latinas are once again

challenged when it comes to making decisions in balancing their family and their

personal lives.

Lastly, religion plays a major role in Latino culture and heavily influences

the decision-making choices of a family. Gaston (2008) states that since the

1980s, about 70% of Latinos have identified as Catholic. Chaidez (2022) states

that Latino parents support religious activities because they believe it enhances

moral development in their children. More specifically, Latinas are expected to

maintain their virginity until marriage further enhancing machismo beliefs; and in

addition, become the spiritual leader for their family (Chaidez, 2022). Religion is

another core value to Latino culture and once again influences the decisions of

the women in the household.

First-born Women

For decades now, first-born women in general have been given a role to

fulfill since the moment they are born. In her article, Korman (1983) states that

first-born women are more likely to follow their traditional roles assigned by their

family. In addition, first-born daughters assume the caregiving role for their

siblings and evidently receive respect from their younger siblings due to having

filled that role for them (Rosenblatt and Skoogberg, 1974). In a study that was

13
completed that analyzed birth order and anxiety levels, it was found that the first-

born child, male or female, displayed higher levels of anxiety (Khan et al., 2023).

MacDonald (1971) also reports that most first-borns are categorized to be

introverted, as well as having a higher need for approval from others. This could

be due to the number of responsibilities first-born women take on and the need to

fulfill that role to keep up with their family’s standards.

More specifically, first-born Latinas are held to higher standards than their

siblings. In her blog post, Salais (2023) shares her experience about being an

eldest daughter and how it affected her mental health; stating that she was

expected to be a good role model for her siblings. Additionally, people pleasing

was something that became the norm because it would keep balance within the

family (Salais, 2023). In her article, Valenzuela (n.d.) states that even if the oldest

child in the home is a male, the eldest daughter is still given more

responsibilities. Those responsibilities being: caring for siblings, chores around

the house, and placing other’s needs before their own (Valenzuela, n.d.).

First-born Women Across other Cultures

Similar to first-born Latina women, first-born African American daughters

report having similar experiences about the responsibilities they assumed in their

household. In her blog post, White (2021) makes an emphasis that it is difficult to

change family traditions when it is so deeply embedded in the culture. She also

states that despite having so much responsibility, African culture can make eldest

daughters feel powerless. In African culture, first-born daughters are taught

14
responsibility to make sure they can maintain the home as well as the needs of

their family (Messie, n.d.). White (2021) also states that most don’t even realize

until they reach adulthood that most of their childhood was spent being a

caregiver.

The weight of being the first-born daughter is also felt throughout Asian

culture. In her blog post, Magtalas (2022) expresses that being the first-born in

an Asian family means being a second parent to younger siblings and taking the

fault in any arguments that arise. Most eldest daughters are between seven to

eleven years old when they are taught adult-like duties such as cooking,

cleaning, and caring for others (Shahid, 2023). It is common for first-born

daughters to come home from school and be expected to cook for the family and

clean before completing any schoolwork (Shahid, 2023). However, upon

graduation first-borns feel the need to secure a stable, high-paying job to relieve

their family of any financial burdens (Magtalas, 2022). Lastly, Shahid (2023)

states that first-borns are responsible for the family’s emotional burdens and are

expected by their parents to offer advice or solutions to their problems.

Summary

To summarize, eldest Latino daughters and eldest daughters across other

cultures, experience the effects and imbalance of responsibilities in their family

due to the role they were born into. According to the literature, first-born children

tend to inherit great qualities such as leadership skills, becoming a role model,

and cognitive advantages but consequently, are also at higher risk of

15
experiencing mental health problems due to the stress of the role they were born

into and because of the core beliefs embedded into Latino culture further

influencing their life choices. Because there is a gap in the research on the topic

of eldest Latina daughters, some of the research was limited to studies

completed across several countries, blog posts, or magazine articles where the

eldest share their experiences of what it’s like in their culture. Again, the focus is

not to shift the family dynamic completely, but to create a balance of

responsibilities amongst all members in the household.

16
 CHAPTER THREE:

METHODS

Introduction

The proposed study aims to discover the effects of being a first-born

daughter in a Latino household, more specifically, the skills and strengths gained

from being born into this role. This chapter will discuss the proposed study to

answer the research question. The focus of this paper includes study design,

sampling, data collection and instruments, procedures, protection of human

subjects, and data analysis.

Study Design

The purpose of this proposed study is to gain an understanding of the

experiences first-born daughters in a Latino household have faced due to the role

they were born into. By taking on a strengths-based approach, the study aims to

discover the benefits of being born into this role. The study design is an

exploratory study that researches the effects of being a first-born daughter in a

Latino household, a topic in which there is limited research. Through an interview

session with the chosen participants, a qualitative study design is going to be

used to examine the roles they have fulfilled.

With a qualitative, exploratory study design we can explore the gap in the

literature to gain insight on this specific topic. A qualitative study will also allow

for first-born Latino daughters to express themselves freely and feel heard.

17
Through the literature review, it was determined that eldest daughters face a

particularly challenging role with the number of responsibilities they are given by

their parents or caregivers regardless of their age. Although being the eldest

daughter comes with great advantages, it can also cause for them to feel

negative emotions due to the number of responsibilities they inherited without a

choice. In this study, the participants identity would remain anonymous, allowing

for the participants to express their true feelings without feeling guilt or judgement

for wanting to put their needs first rather than the needs of their family.

A limitation of this study is that since non-random purposive sampling and

snowball sampling are going to be utilized, there is a risk of systematic bias as

the participants are specifically chosen due to the desired characteristics to

complete this study and as a result, the results cannot be generalized towards

the general population. In addition, we are unable to determine that birth order

position in the family is the sole reason an individual in this position gains skills

and strengths. There are a number of other factors that could have contributed to

first-borns gaining these characteristics.

Sampling

This study will utilize non-random purposive sampling with a combination

of snowball sampling of Latina women who were the first-born daughter in their

household. The focus of our study is specific to this population, therefore, only

people who are over the age of 18 and meet the criteria of being the first-born

daughter in a Latino household will be allowed to participate. By allowing

18
participants of all ages over 18, we hope to obtain different perspectives on how

being the eldest daughter affected them at different stages throughout their lives.

Data Collection and Instrument

For this research study, qualitative data will be collected through one-on-

one interviews between the researchers and the participant. Interviews will be

conducted virtually utilizing Zoom for convenient participation for the participants.

The interview will first consist of informed consent, demographic questions such

as their age, gender, birth order position in their family, and race/ethnicity. Once

it is determined that the participant is an appropriate candidate for the study, the

interview will advance to a few open-ended questions aiming to understand the

experience of being the eldest daughter in a Latino household, such as what

skills and strengths they feel they have gained from being born into this role.

For data collection, the interview process through Zoom will be audio and

video recorded with permission from the participants. Although the interviews will

be recorded, the researchers will have paper and pencils available should they

wish to make additional comments while the interview is occurring. Once the

interviews are completed, we will be utilizing Transcribe, a Microsoft 365 tool, for

future analysis of the data. After transcription, all Zoom recordings will be

deleted, and the transcriptions stored in a firewall-protected and password-

protected computer. Only the researchers and the research supervisor will have

access to the stored information upon analysis.

19
 Procedures

Emails will be sent out to university students asking for participants willing

to be interviewed for our study. The email will be sent from a faculty’s email

account in hopes of having more students open the email. The email will contain

a brief description of our study, a description (Latina eldest daughters) of the

participants we are looking to interview, and our contact information so that

anyone interested can contact us to schedule an interview. Our target sample will

also be sought via popular social media outlets like Instagram and X, previously

known as Twitter. We also hope that the participants we get will be able to refer

other Latina eldest daughters they know who may be interested in participating.

Once a participant is found, we will schedule a time to have the interview.

The interviews will be conducted through zoom and will begin with an

informed consent form. The informed consent form will go over confidentiality,

participants' rights, what our interview will consist of, the risk of the participant

experiencing negative emotions as a result of the questions, and the option for

the participant to agree or deny being recorded during their interview. If a

participant wishes to participate in our study but does not want to be recorded,

we will jot down notes during their interview. After the consent form is signed, the

interview will commence with demographic questions, then the interview

questions will follow. The interviews will be held over Zoom and recorded along

with the audio. To protect our participants' information, they will be asked to

change their Zoom display name to their assigned alias before we begin

20
recording the interview. We will ask simple demographic questions at the start of

the interview for the sole purpose of ensuring the participants meet the

population we are researching. We will then ask a series of open-ended

questions about their experience as the eldest daughter in a Latino household

that we hope would allow us to gain insight and answer our research question.

The duration of the interviews should be within 30 minutes to an hour. A copy of

the interview guide that will be utilized is attached at the end of this document

under Appendix B.

Protection of Human Subjects

To protect our participants, they will not be asked to disclose their

personal information during the interview. Thus, our participants will not be asked

for any identifying information and their interviews will be stored under aliases.

We also plan on using their aliases throughout the rest of our research paper

where there is any mention of a participant. All data will be stored in a password-

protected computer that only the researcher and research supervisor have

access to. The school account that will be used to email and store data will need

two-factor authentication to log in and the password will be changed weekly to

minimize the risk of being hacked. The only people who will be looking at the

data will be us as the researchers and our researcher supervisor. If data ever

needs to be sent it will be done through an encrypted email.

The Zoom interviews will be held in a private Zoom room where

participants must be manually let in by the host of the meeting to join. The

21
location of the Zoom meetings on our end will be held in a private, confidential

space where no one else can hear. For extra safety, we will wear headphones

during the interviews. For our transcription process, the data will be safe using

Transcribe by Microsoft 365 as they note that all uploaded audio and

transcription results are not stored by their service (Microsoft, 2024). All the data

and any information stored about participants will be deleted after the study is

completed.

Data Analysis

Our data analysis was orchestrated using a qualitative approach due to us

collecting qualitative data. We will utilize content analysis when analyzing the

qualitative data. With content analysis, we will look for pre-hypothesized phrases,

notions, and themes in our interview transcripts. This method of data analysis will

allow us to note any recurring words or themes and explore the meaning behind

them (Columbia University Irving Medical Center, n.d.). Further, the type of

content analysis we will use is conceptual analysis. A step of conceptual analysis

is to make categories from the text of our transcripts (Columbia University Irving

Medical Center, n.d.). These categories will allow us to look for those terms when

we are analyzing the data. All in all, the breakdowns that are involved in the

conceptual content analysis of our data will make it easier for us to comb through

the data and manage all the information. Transcribe, a Microsoft 365 tool, will be

utilized to transcribe the recorded audio, making it easier to analyze the data.

22
Other Microsoft 365 tools like Excel and Word will also be used to organize the

data and the written analysis.

Summary

In this chapter, we covered the study design, sampling, data collection,

instrument, procedures, protection of our participants, and data analysis that will

be done for our study. As researchers, we wanted to hear personally from

women who are first-born daughters in Latino households to gain insight into an

understudied topic. We hope that our participants will be able to reflect on their

experience and any adversity that may have come from it can be a strength, skill,

or both. Collecting data via interviews with open-ended questions will allow us to

bring to light the positive that comes with being a first-born Latina daughter.

23
 APPENDIX A:

INFORMED CONSENT

24
.

25
 APPENDIX B:

INTERVIEW GUIDE

26
DEMOGRAPHICS

What is your age? ______________

What race/ethnicity do you identify as? ______________

What gender do you identify as? ______________

Are you a first-born daughter in your household? ______________

What is your household size? ______________

What is your highest education level? ________________

What languages do you speak? ___________________________

INTERVIEW GUIDE

1. Please describe the responsibilities you and your siblings have/had in the
household.

2. Did you ever experience financial burden or stress due to being the eldest
daughter in your household? (ex. Working more to help with financial
responsibilities, unable to work due to having other responsibilities)

3. Were you ever expected to provide caregiving needs to someone else?

(ex. taking care of siblings, taking someone to a doctor appointment,
cooking for others)

4. Have you ever had to put your needs aside to ensure other people’s
needs were met? If so, provide examples.

5. Have you felt you had to be a role-model to your siblings, if yes, in what
way?

6. What skills or strengths have you gained from being the first-born
daughter in your household? (ex. In your personal life, in school, at work,
how you interact with others

27
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 ASSIGNED RESPONSIBILITIES

All the chapters in this paper were equally written and researched on by

both researched partners, Astrid Luque and Leesly Angeles Rosas. The research

partners also collaborated in making the informed consent form and interview

guide.

34