Amado M. Padilla

Acculturation and Personality as Predictors of Stress in Japanese and Japanese-Americans

Abstract The experience of stress and personality variables among 114 Japanese and Japanese-American students undergoing differing degrees of acculturation was studied. Self-esteem, introversion-extraversion, and locus of control were measured with standard instruments. A stress scale designed for immigrant students was used as well as new scales for acculturation and values. Students were grouped into first, second, and third/later generations. Results from several analyses indicated that different generational groups reported different levels of stress, values, and acculturation. In addition, generational groups differed in self-esteem and locus of control: First-generation students experienced the most stress, were low in self-esteem, and were more externally oriented than third/later generation students. Also, self-esteem and acculturation level were good predictors of stress in all generations.

Empirical and Construct Validation of a Measure of Acculturation for Mexican Americans

Summary An acculturation inventory consisting of sociocultural and semantic differential items was administered to adult men and women: 26 Anglo Americans, 16 first generation Mexican Americans, and 26 third generation Mexican Americans in three Southern California communities. The results indicated that acculturation scores derived from the inventory correlated highly with ethnic group membership (.83 ≤ r ≤ .85; p < .01). Furthermore, hypotheses pertaining to directional differences in acculturation scores among group means were confirmed: Anglo Americans scored significantly higher (p < .01) than third generation Mexican Americans, who, in turn, scored significantly higher (p < .05) than first generation Mexican Americans. Advantages and limitations of the inventory are discussed, as well as theoretical implications concerning the construct of acculturation and its relationship to sociocultural characteristics.

LANGUAGE MIXING IN BILINGUAL CHILDREN

Language samples of five Spanish/English bilingual children between the ages of 2; 10 and 6; 2 were examined for language mixes. Only 2% of the total utterances examined contained mixes. The most common type of mix involved the insertion of single lexical entries – mostly English nouns into Spanish utterances. Very few phrasal mixes were observed. It was concluded that language mixes do not constitute a major interference in the acquisition of bilingualism since children appear to be able to differentiate their two linguistic systems from an early age.

Inhalant, marijuana, and alcohol abuse among barrio children and adolescents.

Prevalence of inhalant, marijuana, and alcohol abuse was studied in a sample of 457 male and female Mexican-American children and adolescents between the ages of 9 and 17 years. Subjects interviewed resided in four housing projects located in East Los Angeles. All interviews were conducted by adolescents who resided in the same housing projects. Results indicated that compared to a national sample, Mexican-American adolescents were at least 14 times more likely to be currently abusing inhalants. The prevalence rate of marijuana was double the national rate, but the prevalence of alcohol was equal to that found nationally. Reasons for elevated substance abuse rates are explored.

Utilization of Traditional and Non-Traditional Sources of Health Care among Hispanics

A random sample of 100 low-income Hispanics was interviewed regarding patterns of health care utilization and perceptions of underutilization of health services by members of their community. Responses showed substantially low rates of utilization of preventive services although most respondents knew when care should be sought. Utilization rates of folk providers (Curanderos, yerberos, etc.) were minimal among this sample. Financial difficulties was the most significant reason given for respondents having never visited a private physician or dentist. When asked to rate why people in general do not receive appropriate care, economic difficulties and insurance were again mentioned as the most important reasons followed by such system barriers as lack of child care, time conflicts, long waits and language barriers.

Correlates and changes over time in drug and alcohol use within a barrio population

Extent and determinants of use of alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, and PCP were explored in a group of 339 Mexican American youths from the East Los Angeles Housing projects. Results from this study were compared to those from a similar survey carried out in the same area 2 years ago. Use of inhalants has declined markedly compared with prevalence reported in the previous report. However, use of alcohol and marijuana have increased across all age and sex cohorts. Prevalence of PCP use, explored for the first time in this report, was shown to be extremely high. Use of all drugs was generally predicted by age, sex, and number of peers reporting use. Self-concept factors, especially ones self-evaluation with respect to others, were also significant predictors to use of marijuana, inhalants, and PCP. However, alcohol use was not related to any self-concept factors. Language (Spanish-English) used both in the home and with peers was related to use of all substances studied. Limitations in the generalization of this study as a result of sampling problems are discussed.

Ethnic Identity and Cultural Awareness Among The Offspring of Mexican Interethnic Marriages

Characteristics of 63 offspring of marriages involving one Mexican origin and one non-Hispanic parent are reported. Respondents ranged in age from 12 to 18 years and were interviewed by telephone concerning knowledge of and preference for their Mexican background. Results indicated that although their knowledge of Mexican culture was limited, subjects self-reported ethnic identification and pride in their identity. This finding runs counter to previously held views that offspring of minority exogamous individuals would not express a definite ethnic identity.

CHILD BILINGUALISM: REPORT ON LANGUAGE MIXING SWITCHING AND TRANSLATIONS

The study of infant/child bilingualism has received both a multidimensional and a multidisciplinary approach. Longitudinal studies by linguists who have investigated their own childrens acquisition of two languages have shown that bilingual children can learn two languages with relative ease, and on par with monolingual childrens acquisition of one language (Ronjat, 1913; Leopold, 1939,1949a, b; Burling, 1959; Fantini, 1975; Bergman, 1976). Psychologists using both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have demonstrated the ability of bilingual children to acquire two languages at a rate comparable to that of monolingual children learning one language (Padilla and Liebman, 1975; Padilla and lindholm, 1976a, b). Additionally, confirmatory evidence suggesting that young children can easily acquire two languages directly and without confusion, has come from physiologists in their studies of the cerebral cortex (Penfield and Roberts, 1959). On the other hand, it has been noted that bilingual children do not have enough time to learn two languages as well as monolingual children learn one language (Macnamara, 1966). Some researchers have even suggested that the speech of bilingual children is delayed because of their acquisition of two language systems (McCarthy, 1946,1954; Smith, 1939), despite the inconsistent reports that the bilingual childs language is more advanced than would be expected considering their age, sex, and paternal occupation (McCarthy, 1954). The questionable impact of bilingualism on childrens differentiation of two language systems has begun to generate some interest among researchers. In a recent review of the literature on bilingual language acquisition, Ramirez (1974) comments that most investigators regard code switching as the failure of bilingual children to keep their two languages separate. Contrary to this view of childrens nondifferentiation of two languages is the belief held by researchers who have studied the dual language acquisition of their own children; they have reported that, although their children occasionally mixed the two languages within an utterance, the children were able to differentiate the two language systems from an early age (e.g., Fantini, 1974; Bergman, 1976). Further documentation of childrens ability to make a distinction between

A peer interviewer model in conducting surveys among mexican-american youth

Recent studies indicate an increase in substance abuse among Mexican-American youth. Due to the sensitivity of investigating substance abuse among young people and the difficulty in gaining access to minority communities, an alternative method of obtaining survey data, a peer interview approach, is proposed. Procedures involved when the research design employs the peer interviewer model are elaborated.

Ethnicity and life event cognitive appraisals and experiences

This study compared the cognitive appraisals and incident ratings of urban American Indians (N = 50), Anglo-Americans (N = 50), and Hispanics (N = 47) on a revised version of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). Results indicated no overall significant differences among the three ethnic groups. However, on comparison of individual life events items, the groups differed significantly on the cognitive appraisal of 8 items and on the incidence of 10 items. Of these items, only 2 overlapped between cognitive appraisals and actual incidence. Results are discussed in terms of potential use of the revised SRRS with these ethnic groups in future research on the relationship between life events and physical and psychological disorders.