The current study examined the effects of acculturative processes on the self-report of behavioral problems in Hispanic children ages 11-14. Acculturation was measured by the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) (ã Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, www.sagepub.com) (Cuellar, Arnold, and Maldonado, 1995) and the self-report of behavioral symptoms was assessed using the Youth Self-Report (ã T.M. Achenbach, Burlington, VT, www.aseba.com) (Achenbach, 1991). It was hypothesized that while both the linear and orthogonal categories of acculturation would account for a significant proportion of the variance in behavior problems in this age group, the orthogonal model would account for a larger proportion of variance due to its multidimensional nature. As well, it was hypothesized that the experimental Marginalization scales of the ARSMA-II would be predictive of behavioral problems. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test these hypotheses and results were non-significant for the linear, orthogonal, and marginalization categories. The effects of the ethnic/cultural homogeneity of the region from which the sample was drawn, the buffering of social support, and the developmental aspects of ethnic identity are discussed as factors which may have influenced the potential impact of acculturative stress on psychological and behavioral functioning.

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Why are so many girls becoming pregnant in Brownsville, Texas? I encountered this question as a result of my field work. Teachers, school administrators, community officials, parents, and even students pose this question as part of a local concern over the high birth rate among Brownsville youth. As a response to this concern, I engage with this overarching research question by exploring the sex lives and romantic experiences of young mothering teens in Brownsville, through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. However, as part of a larger mission of problematizing common misconceptions and misunderstanding regarding Mexican-origin youth and their sex lives, this thesis offers a Chicana feminist/borderlands analysis of what the young women shared concerning their sexual experiences. Through their stories, I situate teen pregnancy as a symptom of a complex web of discourses, practices, social institutions, and ideologies regarding sex, thereby elucidating the socio-cultural factors that make young Mexicanas vulnerable to unprotected sex, and consequently unintended pregnancy in Brownsville, Texas. Throughout this thesis I focus on three social and personal venues that stood out as the most influential sources from which my informants learned and talked about sex: peers, mothers, and boyfriends. Contrary to the culture of silence presumed by the literature, the mothers and peers of the young respondents are quite vocal about sex; in fact, there is strong peer pressure for young women to have sex. However, they are expected to so within the context of a committed, heterosexual relationship in which young women give into male desire. This set of social expectations compels young women to have unprotected sex, but also to engage in unwanted sex. In the final chapter, I suggest how sex education can be improved and tailored to the particular needs of Brownsville youth—that is both women and men. / text

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2007. / "December 2007." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: B, page: 7226. Adviser: Anna V. Wilkinson. Includes bibliographical references.

The effects of cultural mistrust level and race of counselor on the willingness of Mexican-American adolescents to seek psychological help were examined in this experiment. A total of 79 Mexican-American adolescents consisting of 50 females and 29 males completed a Background Information Inventory, a modified version of the Cultural Mistrust Inventory, and the Help Seeking Attitude Scale. Five regression analyses were performed resulting in a significant interaction between cultural mistrust level and willingness to seek help. Mexican-American adolescents with high levels of mistrust were less willing to seek psychological treatment than those with a low level of mistrust. Results also indicated that females as well as individuals with higher levels of education were more willing to seek help than males and those with lower levels of education. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among different levels of acculturation on the childbearing beliefs and practices of pregnant Mexican American adolescents living in Southwest border regions. A descriptive correlational design was used in this study. Three instruments were used to collect data. A total of 73 pregnant Mexican American adolescents participated in the study. The Laredo sample and the Tucson sample were identified as true bicultural samples. The El Paso group was identified as a Mexican-oriented bicultural sample. All geographical areas had an equal acceptance of traditional Mexican medicine and biomedical beliefs. Laredo and Tucson adolesents' beliefs in the traditional Mexican childbearing culture was directly related to their acculturation level. For the El Paso group, there was a low negative correlation which indicated that being more or less acculturated did not necessarily affect the adolescents' beliefs in the traditional Mexican childbearing culture.

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.

A survey of four classes of ELD (English language deficient) students of Mexican descent was performed at Rancho Verde High School, Moreno Valley, CA in March, 2001 in an attempt to determine whether adolescents of Mexican descent who develop an identity close to their Mexican roots have higher levels of self-esteem than those who develop an identity close to their American experience.