Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Epidemiological studies of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors among Hispanics were examined. Hispanics as compared with Anglo Americans and blacks appear to have somewhat lower mortality rates of CHD. This suggests that Hispanics may have lifestyle patterns which reduce CHD risk in the areas of stress, diet, exercise, hypertension, and smoking. However, independent studies report that their samples of Mexican American subjects, but not Puerto Rican subjects, had higher blood lipid levels, greater rates of being overweight, and participate in less aerobic exercises as compared with same sex and aged Anglo American cohorts. By contrast, adult Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans tend to smoke less than do Anglo American cohorts, although some evidence suggests that Hispanic adolescents may smoke more than do their Anglo American peers. The CHD risk status of Hispanics is summarized and recommendations for future research and health promotion programs are made.

Verbal communication is essential to psychiatry, and language is its indispensable tool. Neurological, emotional, behavioral, intellectual and cultural factors are intrinsically involved in the use of language competence and preference, native tongue and bilingualism. Language also influences one's own understanding of health and illness. Reframing the "minority" concept so that Hispanics can be perceived as a linguo-cultural minority can, undoubtedly, help considerably in the understanding of the problems faced by the Hispanic populations in the United States. Linguo-cultural discrimination leads to undereducation, underemployment and limited economic success. Further linguo-cultural barriers leads to underutilization of services, diagnostic errors and poor treatment. This paper addresses all these issues, and attempts to present solutions and guidelines for further research in this area.

The interactions of three examiner variables-gender, ethnicity (Anglo or Mexican American), and style of administration (nondirective, directive, or neutral)-on the responses of Mexican American and Anglo, male and female university students' responses to Jourard's Self-Disclosure Questionnaire were investigated. An analysis of variance procedure was used and several interactions were statistically significant. The results of this study indicate that global examiner variables such as gender and ethnicity as well as more subtle variables such as verbal style of administration can greatly effect group test results. These effects are compounded when the respondents are of different gender and ethnicity. Implications of these findings for group personality tests are discussed.