Thesis (M.A.)--University of California, San Diego, 2010. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed April 15, 2010). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-100).

The purpose of the study was to examine Mexican-Americans values and attitudes toward education and further explore some of the reasons Mexican-Americans drop out of school at such high rates.

This study analyzed the effects of acculturation, locus of control, and incidence of inhalant use on Mexican Americans. Information was collected from 275 subjects at three middle schools and one treatment center. The instrument consisted of Levenson's Locus of Control Scale, the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans, and an incidence of use and family relationship questionnaire developed for this study. Statistical analysis indicated a relationship between acculturation and inhalant use. Further examination revealed relationships between a family members' use and subjects' inhalant use; subjects' alcohol use and inhalant use; and subjects' marijuana use and inhalant use. Information implied that prevention and intervention programs should focus on children of substance users and further research is needed surrounding the role of acculturation.

No description available.

Understanding the potential promotive effects of cultural values is particularly relevant for studies on Mexican-origin fathers who are at risk for exposure to multiple sociocultural contextual stressors. Studies, however, have yet to account for specific sociocultural contextual stressors that are particularly pertinent to Mexican-origin groups, such as immigrant- and ethnic-based discrimination and acculturative stress. According to the Family Stress Model, stressors undermine parenting through psychological dysfunction. Using a community sample of Mexican-origin biological fathers (N = 85) of 3 to 6 year-old children, this study aimed to: first, test the linkages between sociocultural contextual stressors and psychological distress; second, test the linkages between psychological distress and parenting practices; and lastly, consider whether cultural values, namely, familismo, respeto, and caballerismo, moderate these associations. Findings from hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that immigrant-based discrimination stress was positively related to psychological distress only when fathers strongly endorsed familismo and respeto. In addition, a positive relationship between economic hardship and psychological distress existed only when fathers endorsed high levels of familismo. Findings also showed that the inverse relationship between psychological distress and supportive coparenting quality was substantiated when fathers endorsed low levels of familismo. An inverse link between psychological distress and father accessibility was also observed when fathers reported low levels of respeto. Examining how culturally specific risks and strengths inform future responsible fatherhood intervention work among Mexican-origin families is discussed.

This thesis examined how four Male Mexican American post-undergraduate college students constructed their views on what it means “to be a man”. The method of oral histories not only for it’s power but also for its ability to offer a different perspective than that given by theory. Oral histories offer a rich perspective that has the power to challenge dominant narratives. The thesis was set up to reflect the way that the past informs the future. Through beginning with the history of U.S.-Mexico border relations via NAFTA, the Bracero Program, and the Border Patrol, one grasps the contentious relationship between the two countries and is introduced to the idea of pluarlities. Due to the relationship of labor to masculinity, theories on masculinity, machismo, and macho were discussed. The last two chapters centered on the oral histories of each man. “Origins,” the third chapter examined the “history” behind each orator. Finally chapter four, examined what masculinity, machismo, macho, and “being a man” is to each man. It is through this foregrounding in theory that one is able to better understand lived experiences. Through the combining of both theory and lived experiences, one is able to see the both the disconnect and overlap between the two. Although the responses ranged on what it “means to be a man” if you could essentialize it, there were are few themes that reappeared. “To be a Man” is about taking responsibility for your actions, being there for one’s family, and having honor. The range of responses only goes to highlight the complexities of even one term and each term could certainly warrant its own dissertation. Based on my brief research, there is still much work to be done on each area of focus.

The present study sheds light on how 16 Mexican-Americans residing in Texas perceive and follow politeness norms (e.g., Brown & Levinson, 1987; Fraser, 1990; Terkourafi, 2005) related to greetings and leave-takings in different cultural and linguistic contexts. Data from online questionnaires identify a significant difference in perceived level of social expectation (i.e. politeness) for employing the speech acts with Spanish- versus non-Spanish speakers. The data support previous research in identifying a sense of solidarity among Mexican-American extended families, but go further in suggesting that this bond extends to other Spanish-speaking acquaintances. Better understanding of these norms should facilitate inter-cultural exchanges between linguistic in- and out-group members. / text

Eighteen women were interviewed using focused ethnography to discover what it meant to be infertile women of Mexican descent. Some women reported that the infertility experience and the physical diagnostic procedures and treatments for infertility resulted in physical and psychological suffering (sufrimiento). Other women believed that infertility was a punishment from God and this created spiritual suffering for them. Profound suffering came from the realization that perhaps a dream--giving birth to their biological child and experiencing parenting--would never occur. The infertility experience had eroded their identities as women; in a sense, it was destroying them. Infertility had given these women a sense of abnormality, of being personal failures as women. Infertility implied not only the personal loss of hopes and dreams for the future of a sole individual, the woman, but it also implied the loss of hopes and dreams for the future of her family group, her partner's family group, not excluding the society which the couple was part of as well. Some women withdrew from their families, their friends and other people to avoid the painful and often embarrassing interrogative remarks from others. However, it was this social isolation which also created great suffering for these women since the isolation led to a loss of interaction with friends, family, and other people at a time when these women needed most the support. Fifty-five percent of the women feared that their inability to have a baby would eventually result in future abandonment by their partners. Some women saw their husbands as unsupportive because some men were unwilling to participate in diagnostic infertility evaluations and because some men also refused infertility treatments. The women maintained an attitude of fighting (luchando) which contradicted the stereotypical view of women of Mexican descent as being submissive, passive, and undecisive about handling crucial problems in their lives. Fifty percent of the women had used a combination of medical infertility treatments and folk medicine. Their persistent faith in God, in the Virgen de Guadalupe, and other religious saints had made it possible for these women to tolerate their enormous suffering.

A theoretical framework is developed for incorporating class conflict dynamics into accumulation theories of labor market segmentation by analyzing the transaction costs of conflict under varying conditions of economic structure and power resources. The theory has the "bottom up" perspective developed in the "new social history." Skill is treated as a status for which workers struggle and internal labor market hierarchies are considered products of the conflicting strategies between capital and labor. Split-labor market theory is also discussed as a method for explaining why workers discriminate. This theory is amended to distinguish between market and class interests of workers, and to take into account the self-perpetuating economic effects of racist discourse. My historical analysis of the metal-mining industry emphasizes the formation of ethnically stratified segments of the labor market in which Chinese and Mexican workers were denied access to the craft-internal labor market for skilled workers. Competition over mining claims under the threat of takeover by mining companies created ethnic antagonism between Chinese and white independent petty-commodity miners. Discrimination by the white independent miners crowded the Chinese into the labor market, which reduced Chinese wages, and induced conflict between white and Chinese wage workers in the company-mines. Ethnic antagonism in combination with intense class struggle produced a segregated labor market between Mexican miners and Anglo supervisors during the initial proletarianization of the mines. Mexican miners were later displaced by Cornish miners who developed a segregated craft-internal labor market. Analysis of the labor process shows that mechanization initially facilitated the struggle by Cornish miners for a skilled status, contrary to homogenization expectations. Mexican miners were relegated to unskilled manual positions.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the successful aspects of alternative schools aimed at retaining potential high school dropouts could be conducted in the traditional school setting with similar results. The study explored the effect of career education, individual counseling and weekly progress monitoring on how long potential high school dropouts will remain in school. The experimental hypotheses were focused around the following research problems. The first question was "Does the combination of career education, individual counseling and weekly progress monitoring have a more significant effect than weekly counseling and weekly progress monitoring or just weekly monitoring." The second research question asked, "Do the previous methods of intervention significantly effect how many classes students complete." The third question was "Does career education have a more significant effect on females." The fourth question was "Does career education have a more significant effect on Mexican-American males." The research design included three groups of potential high school dropouts who were randomly assigned to three treatment levels. There were two experimental groups and one control group. The first group participated in a career education class, weekly counseling and weekly progress monitoring. The second group participated in weekly counseling and weekly progress monitoring and the control group participated in weekly progress monitoring. The dependent measures were number of days students remained in school, number of classes they were enrolled in at the end of the semester or when they withdrew and the percentage of students in each group that completed the semester. Results of an analysis of variance and Chi Square analysis revealed that career education did significantly effect retention of potential dropouts. Results of t-tests revealed that career education did not significantly increase retention of females or Mexican-American males.