Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Latino Adolescent Adjustment: An Examination Of Cultural Values, Maria I. Iturbide

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the U.S., 22% of children under the age of 18 are Latino and 52% of Latino children have at least one parent who is foreign-born (Fry & Passel, 2009). Latinos are likely to experience acculturative strains associated with a range of negative outcomes such as academic underachievement. A mixed method sequential explanatory design was used to examine the protective effects of cultural factors that may ameliorate the negative effects of acculturative strains on psychological and academic adjustment.

The quantitative phase of the study examined whether biculturalism and ethnic identity would reduce the negative influence of acculturation strains on adjustment …

Association Between Acculturation And Breastfeeding Among Hispanic Women: Data From The Pregnancy Risk Assessment And Monitoring System, Indu B. Ahluwalia, Denise D’Angelo, Brian Morrow, Jill A. Mcdonald

Public Health Resources

Background: Breastfeeding rates are typically higher among Hispanic women; however, they vary by acculturation status in that those more acculturated are less likely to breastfeed than those who are less acculturated. This study examined the association between acculturation and breastfeeding behaviors using population-based data.

Methods: Data (N = 8942) from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) were used for analysis. Acculturation status was determined using self-reported Hispanic ethnicity and the language in which the women responded to the PRAMS survey, either English or Spanish. Hispanic women who responded to the survey in Spanish were categorized as less acculturated than …

Correlation Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids Intakes With Acculturation And Socioeconomic Status In Midwestern Latinas, Karina R. Lora, Nancy M. Lewis, Kent M. Eskridge, Kaye Stanek-Krogstrand, Daryl A. Travnicek

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Low socioeconomic status (SES) and acculturation of Latino immigrants in the U.S. are linked to a decrease in diet quality. Methods: Interviews were conducted with 162 first-generation Latinas to examine the association of SES and acculturation with intake of omega-3 (n − 3) fatty acids. Each participant provided dietary intake by use of a validated n − 3 food frequency questionnaire administered twice, 4 weeks apart, three 24-h recalls, sociodemographic information and completed the 5-item Short Acculturation Scale. Results: Mean intakes of Total n − 3, α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (g/d) were …

Acculturation, Gender, And Alcohol Use Among Mexican American College Students, Marcela Raffaelli, Rosalie A. Torres Stone, Maria I. Iturbide, Meredith Mcginley, Gustavo Carlo, Lisa J. Crockett

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Prior research with non-college samples of Mexican Americans has demonstrated that gender moderates the association between acculturation and alcohol use. We replicated this finding in a college student sample and attempted to account for the differential impact of acculturation on Mexican American men and women by examining the mediating effects of social context, family conflict and psychological functioning. Participants were 148 Mexican Americans (67% female; M age 23 years) from three state universities in California and Texas who completed self-report surveys. In multivariate analyses controlling for age, maternal education, living situation, and site, linguistic acculturation was associated with increased alcohol …

Acculturation Status And Heavy Alcohol Use Among Mexican American College Students: Investigating The Moderating Role Of Gender, Byron L. Zamboanga, Marcela Raffaelli, Nicholas J. Horton

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

We examined whether gender moderates the association between acculturation and heavy alcohol use. The sample consisted of 126 Mexican American college students (Mean age = 24.7 years; 57% female) who completed self-report measures of heavy alcohol use, acculturation status (global acculturation and ethnic identity), and relevant control variables (age, peer alcohol use). Multivariable regression revealed that higher levels of ethnic identity were associated with greater frequency of heavy alcohol among men. Conversely, neither measure of acculturation was associated with heavy alcohol use among women. These findings suggest that interventions for Latino/a students should consider the role of culturally relevant variables …

Acculturation Status And Sexuality Among Female Cuban American College Students, Marcela Raffaelli, Byron L. Zamboanga, Gustavo Carlo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The authors examined relations among different measures of acculturation, and between acculturation and sexual behavior, in a sample of female Cuban American college students (n = 61, M age = 18.4 years) who completed self-report surveys. In the first set of analyses, weak to moderate associations emerged among 4 measures of acculturation (birthplace, childhood language use, current language use, and ethnic identity), suggesting that inconsistent findings from prior research may have resulted from measurement limitations. In multivariate analyses, the authors examined predictors of sexual behavior and found that 1 aspect of acculturation (higher levels of ethnic identity) and background characteristics …