Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

The current literature review highlights the need for a two-dimensional rating system for Mexican American acculturation. It demonstrates increased attention to acculturation issues over time despite ongoing lack of the two-dimensional acculturation analysis. Although creators of the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans–II (ARSMA-II) originally stated that the measure’s Mexican Orientation and Anglo Orientation subscales were orthogonal, they combined the two into a unidimensional acculturation score. A review of usage of the ARSMA-II from 1995 to 2013 revealed that 56% of studies collapsed the two subscales into a single acculturation score. Additional analysis revealed an increase in studies using the ARSMA-II across time, while showing that there was neither a difference in the usage of unidimensional and bidimensional scoring methods nor a shift in choosing scoring methods across time. We recommend that future studies use both the Mexican Orientation and the Anglo Orientation subscales to increase the accuracy of their acculturation research.

This study explored acculturation differences between Mexican immigrant parents and children and effects on parent-child relationships, using modified analytic inductive analysis of semi-structured interviews with one immigrant parent and one adolescent child from 30 Mexican families from Phoenix, Arizona. Three categories of parent-child acculturation were identified: no differences (n = 4), minor differences (n = 21), and major differences (n = 5). Children affiliated with American culture more than their parents did, but parents and children affiliated similarly with Mexican culture. Cultural differences were typically viewed as inevitable and normal rather than as unfortunate and abnormal. Parents and children described their relationships as close and reported efforts to decrease differences by developing a shared family culture. Parent-child conflict, where it existed, was viewed as generational or developmental rather than cultural. The findings support the new concept of “cultural overlap” to more accurately depict parent-child acculturation in immigrant families.

The present study compared the dimensionality and viability of Cuéllar, Arnold, and Maldonado’s 18-item Marginality Scale to the recently proposed 17-item revision of this scale by Gutierrez, Franco, Powell, Peterson, and Reid. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a 15-item 3-factor solution based on Cuéllar et al. and a 17-item 2-factor solution based on Gutierrez et al. both produced adequate fits to the data. However, MANOVA results using Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans–II (ARSMA-II) Scale-1 acculturation typologies (separation, assimilation, integration, and marginalization) to form separate groups showed more sensitive differentiation with the Cuéllar et al. three-subscale structure (Anglo Marginalization, Mexican Marginalization, and Mexican American Marginalization) than the Gutierrez et al. two-subscale structure (Dominant Culture Marginality and Native Culture Marginality). Implications for future research were discussed.

We investigated the contributions of positive psychology and familial factors as predictors of hope and academic performance among 166 Latina/o college students enrolled at a Hispanic Serving Institution of Higher Education. The results indicated that presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, daily spiritual experiences, and mother’s educational level were significant predictors of goal-specific hope. None of the positive psychology or familial factors predicted Latina/o students’ college performance.

We present a model of the drinking practices of Latina immigrants who work in bars or cantinas and are compensated for drinking 8 oz beer or ponies with customers, hence working the pony. A total of 358 women recruited from 61 randomly selected cantinas were interviewed as part of a community study conducted in a metropolitan area in the U.S. Southwest. Participants reported drinking an average of 21 beers on nights they worked for ponies. Multiple regression results indicate that drinking practices are related to sociodemographic, work history, drug use, and sexual risk characteristics. The drinking of cantineras is more than 4 times higher than the heavy episodic drinking of high risk Latino male drinkers and young male restaurant workers. The findings suggest that they may be at risk of multiple health problems and could benefit from alcohol risk-reduction interventions.

This article compares Hispanic and non-Hispanic homeless populations in El Paso, Texas. Surveys were collected in “traditional homeless spaces” as well as in non-traditional spaces where Hispanics may be more heavily represented. Snowball techniques were also used to find and survey marginally housed individuals. Despite these improvements to typical homeless counts, this study finds Hispanics to be underrepresented when compared with the general population of El Paso, which is 80.7% Hispanic. Of the 678 individuals who answered the survey, 670 reported their race or ethnicity, of which 445 (66%) were Hispanic and 225 (34%) were non-Hispanic. Comparisons were made between the two populations’ experiences and characteristics, and many disparities were found. Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners should keep these differences in mind when designing policies to address homelessness.

The influence of perceived family conflict, family support, and peer substance use on adolescent substance use was examined in a community sample of 669 (331 female, 338 male) Latino youth, who were assessed twice over the span of 2½ years. We found greater substance use among U.S.-born Latino youth in comparison to foreign-born Latino youth at both time points. Levels of family conflict were higher, and levels of family support were lower, in families with U.S.-born versus foreign-born adolescents. Results suggest that higher family conflict, but not lower family support, may partially explain higher substance use rates among U.S.-born versus foreign-born Latino adolescents.