Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Latinos comprise the largest minority population in the United States. Research underscores the many positive effects that mentors can have on Latino adolescents who lack a male role model living in the home. Mentors can provide support and teach helpful skills that can be applied to multiple life domains needed throughout a person’s lifespan. There are many different types of mentoring services and styles available to adolescents. Yet, there are specific gaps and room for growth within the scholarly literature regarding Latino adolescents that need to be addressed. Shining light and allowing their narratives to be heard and understood in greater depth can promote more effective mentoring programs for Latino adolescents. A qualitative study was conducted using Narrative Analysis involving face-to-face interviews with Latino male adolescents who have lived with a single mother and were participating in a mentoring program. The aim of this study was to obtain valuable first-hand insight and recommendations with regard to adolescents’ experiences regarding the absence of a male role model at home, their participation in mentoring services, as well as their recommendations for improving mentoring programs for Latino adolescents. Key findings included the many benefits that stem from the mentees being involved in their mentoring program, the importance of the mentees’ mothers and other positive supports in their lives, as well as the mentees’ helpful recommendations for their mentoring program.

Depression seems to affect a large portion of Americans living the U.S. Specifically, it has been found to affect the Latino population more so than other ethnicities. When considering Latino immigrants, it is important to take into consideration the additional challenges (e.g. adaptation, acculturation) that may lead to the development of depression. In the current study, the aim is to find a relationship between depression and other psychological constructs (e.g. dominant group and intragroup marginalization, acculturative stress) in order to determine high risk factors for depressive symptoms among Latino immigrants in the Florida community. 128 Latino immigrants (44 males, 81 females, 3 indicated no specific gender) residing in the Central Florida Community completed scales assessing Marginalization by non-Latinos, Marginalization by Latinos, Symptoms of Depression, and Social Support. Marginalization by Whites and by Latinos/as was not associated significantly with symptoms of depression (rs = .16 and -.02, ps > .05, respectively). In contrast, acculturative stress correlated significantly with symptoms of depression (r = .33, p < .01). It was also predicted that social support would mitigate the association between acculturative stress and symptoms of depression. To test this, I first established that social support correlated significantly with symptoms of depression (r = -.39, p < .001). Next, a partial correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relation between acculturative stress and symptoms of depression while partialing social support. The resulting correlation (r = .30, p < .01) suggested that social support did not account for the observed association between acculturative stress and symptoms of depression. From a clinical perspective, this research is beneficial in knowing what may contribute to depressive symptoms among a growing population, which could then create additional components to consider in treatments.

Conflict resolution style was examined with 191 married Latino couples residing in Houston and Dallas, Texas, representing 21 different nationalities. The purpose of this research study was to examine conflict resolution styles most predominant among the Latino couples in the sample and to examine if various demographic data correlated with the couples conflict resolution style. The dependent variables were conflict resolution style (avoidance, volatile, and validator) using Gottman's MSI (Marital Conflict Scale, 1994). Using the same items on the MSI, and direct statements about Latino's communication from the Marriage and Family Therapy literature, other dependent variables were identified (unity, harmony, autonomy, conservatism and passion) with factor analysis and content analysis. The statistically significant independent variables were religion, language, education, and country of birth. The majority of this sample identified them selves as having a validating style of conflict resolution. Clinical implications for family therapists are discussed. / Ph. D.

This study explored the relationship of each partner's immigration stress and exposure to traumatic life experiences, with both his or her own problem drinking and the partner's problem drinking. The study was guided by Bodenmann's systemic-transactional stress model and used secondary data collected in 2009 from 104 Latino immigrant couples living in the Washington DC area. Results from the path model analysis indicated that even though men's overall immigration stress was not significantly related to their own problem drinking, emotional dimensions of immigration stress were in a positive direction. Men's overall immigration stress was negatively related to their partners' problem drinking. The women's overall immigration stress was significantly and positively related to their own problem drinking, particularly for acculturation related aspects and stress from missing family, but it was not significantly related to their partner's problem drinking. Additionally, men's exposure to traumatic life experiences was significantly, positively associated with problem drinking but it was not significantly associated with their own overall immigration stress. For women, results were different as exposure to traumatic life experiences was not associated with their own problem drinking but it was significantly and positively related to their overall immigration stress in the hypothesized direction. Limitations, research, and clinical implications of the findings are discussed. / Master of Science

The following report describes the pre-production, production, and post-production of the short film, The Borderlanders, set and shot in South Texas. Its story centers on an immigrant youth who tries to escape the tensions that arise in one family coming together after many years of forced separation because of current immigration policies. It is a meditation on family dynamics and the intimate politics of the border. The report discusses the thought process behind creating images of Latinos in film, the writing of the film, and analyzes the creative choices that gave shape to the film. The original screenplay is included as well as the credits. / text

Thesis advisor: Eva Garroutte / Thesis advisor: David Karp / In an age in which diversity and healthcare inequalities are prominent issues, culturally competent care has emerged as a popular response. However, there seems to be a gap between this academic interest and the attempts to implement cultural competency in the American healthcare system. The aim of this qualitative research was to explore the link between culture and health and to uncover what cultural competency might mean on a practical level through a case study of the pediatric in-patient units of an urban hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Through participant observation over the span of two months, as well as 20 semi-structured interviews with 14 healthcare providers and 6 bilingual Latino parents of pediatric patients, I investigated the challenges that these groups face in providing and seeking care, respectively. The results of this project attempt to give voice to the families and their providers, as well as suggest how the hospital can better accommodate the needs of the Latino population. Overall, this project has revealed the complexity of the links between culture and health, and indicated that there is no single model of cultural competence that can adequately capture this complexity. Ultimately, relationships and good communication are at the core of the cross-cultural medical encounter, and may serve to create a more culturally welcoming atmosphere for patients of all backgrounds. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

This study examined what effects, if any, cultural factors have on conceptual knowledge of evolutionary theory through natural selection. In particular, the study determines if Latino and non-Latino students differ in their misconceptions of natural selection and, if so, whether or not cultural factors could be the reason why such differences exist. A total of 1179 college students attending eight Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Texas participated in the study. The results revealed that the top two challenging natural selection concepts for students to comprehend were causes of phenotypic variation, i.e., mutations are intentional, and selective survival based on heritable traits. In addition, no statistical significant differences were found between the Latino and non-Latino students and the top four natural selection misconceptions between the groups were similar. Not even religion was found to directly contribute to evolutionary misconceptions; even though, it serves as the core of an individual’s beliefs system. However, traditional teaching methods, inadequately trained biology school teachers, lessons poor in content, insufficient teaching time, and lack of age appropriate tasks, as well as, poorly defined evolutionary terms are actually the main causes for evolutionary misconceptions.

This study examined the representational patterns of English language learners receiving special education services in school districts in South Texas. Additionally, this study identified school district characteristics that were related to the probability that an English language learner might be placed in special education programs. Data were collected from the Texas Education Agency'€™s Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System 2004-2005 and Academic Excellence Indicator System for the 2003-2004 school year. Composition indices, risk indices, and relative risk ratios were calculated and reported for each of the school districts in Education Service Centers I (Edinburg), II (Corpus Christi), and XX (San Antonio) in the State of Texas (N=110). Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the direction and strength of the relationship among odds ratios and school district characteristics. These characteristics included total student enrollment, percentage of poor/underserved students, percentage of Latino students, percentage of English language learners, percentage of Latino teachers, and percentage of students in bilingual/English as a second language programs. Results indicated that English language learners in school districts in South Texas were more than twice as likely as their non-English language learner counterparts to receive special education services. Additionally, inverse relationships were documented for odds ratios equal to or greater than 2.00 and the school district characteristics of percentage of poor/underserved students, percentage of Latino students, percentage of English language learners, percentage of Latino teachers, and percentage of students in bilingual/English as a second language programs. It was concluded that there was an overrepresentation of English language learners receiving special education services in 77% (N=85) of the school districts in South Texas.

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the Latino remarriage conundrum: Latinos have first marriage and divorce rates similar to whites but notably lower remarriage rates than whites. What explains this divergence in race, ethnicity and nativity (R-E-N) differences for remarriage? The question is particularly intriguing because the R-E-N patterns for first marriage and divorce are often explained as a consequence of Latinos having a cultural orientation that promotes pronuptial values. Despite having socioeconomic disadvantage compared to whites, this view suggests that Latinos marry and divorce at rates similar to whites because of their strong cultural attachment to marriage. The conundrum is how could pronuptial values fully account for Latino-white patterns in marriage and divorce but not for remarriage? To investigate the Latino remarriage conundrum, I utilized a mixed method approach using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979-2010 (NLSY79), the National Survey of Family Growth 2006-2010 (NSFG) surveys and 23 in-depth interviews with recently divorced white and Latina women. I examined a variety of economic, cultural, and social factors to explore why remarriage patterns differ from marriage and divorce among R-E-N groups. Findings suggest that religious affiliation, parental reactions to post-divorce dating, and socioeconomic preferences for remarriage influence white-Latino remarriage differences. / text

This paper seeks to present a discussion analysis of how acculturation among Hispanics has done more than just produce a shift in the culture and language of the current and rising generation, it has also changed the language choices within advertising. The focus will be on the discussion of how code switching in the form of “Spanglish” has affected the Hispanic consumer group in relation to advertising and marketing. A case example analysis of relevant Coca-Cola Company print ads is presented. / text