Thesis advisor: Natalia Sarkisian / A multiplicity of scholarly publications has found salutary associations between various aspects of religion and mental health, particularly depression. However, Hispanic older adults are seldom the focus of empirical studies analyzing these relationships. I fill that gap. Theories on the effects of church attendance, private prayer, religious coping, and religiosity on depression are developed and investigated. These analyses are based on a sample of older Mexican-origin individuals (N = 1,495). Data were obtained from the Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiological Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE), a longitudinal survey. Results reveal an inverse association between moderate church attendance and depression that persists despite controls for social support, financial strain, and physical and mental impairment. An inverse association between higher levels of religiosity and depression and a direct association between higher levels of religious coping and depression also persisted beyond all controls. Findings suggest that the effects of religion on depression vary and are not always salutary. Methodological and theoretical implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

The purpose of this correlational study is to investigate the impact of the child’s functional status, family context, parent acculturation, and social support on parenting stress and, ultimately, on parents physical and mental health. A convenience sample of 50 Hispanic parents was recruited through a Facebook page and from agencies in South Florida providing services to children with disabilities and their families. The parents ages range from 21 to 62 years and the majority were mothers (n= 45). The majority of parents in this study live in low income households, have no college education, showed little participation in the workforce, and low acculturation. There were 30 boys and 20 girls between the ages of three to 21 years. Parents provided the data during an interview and through questionnaires. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and correlation analyses. Correlation analyses were conducted with the child’s characteristics, family context, socioeconomic status, parent acculturation, social support, parenting stress, and parent’s physical and mental health. The most frequent health problem reported by parents was neck and back pain. Parenting stress had a positive correlation with low acculturation and depression. The parents’ physical and mental health had a positive correlation with parents’ perception of social support. Parenting stress had a negative correlation with perceived social support, parents’ mental health, educational achievement and years lived in the U.S. There was a negative correlation between parent depression, perceived social support, and parents’ physical health. These parents reported low perceived social support and high levels of parenting stress. The results of this study indicate that parents with low acculturation reported higher level of parenting stress. Future research ought to continue exploring which interventions will better serve these parents and how cultural constructs influence their attitudes, expectations, decision making, and priorities.

Explanations for Latinas high fertility levels have been centered in terms of current or actual fertility, as measured by children ever born (CEB). However, studies of this nature have failed to utilize methods appropriate for evaluating a count variable, such as CEB. Even fewer analyses have incorporated "ideal" fertility as an explanatory factor of actual fertility, particularly in the case of Latinas. In this thesis, multiple Poisson and zero-inflated Poisson regression models are used to assess the impact of independent factors on ideal and actual fertility among Latinas, as compared to white women. In the comparative analyses of ideal and actual fertility (CEB), the independent variables in demographic composition (marital status), socialization factors (mother's CEB and church attendance), socioeconomic and employment status (education and employment) and fertility history and intentions (abortions) are found to be consistently, significantly related to both ideal and actual fertility. More importantly, women have higher intended than actual fertility. The fact that Mexican women have been able to realize their fertility intentions provides a better understanding of the fertility behavior of Latinas. This means that Latinas actually want the larger numbers of children that they are having.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to identify the successful experiences and strategies implemented by Hispanic administrators who have a successful career in higher education and (2) to take a futuristic look at the careers of Hispanic administrators in higher education by identifying recommendations and strategies proposed by a panel of successful Hispanic administrators to help Hispanics in the future. To focus on the career development of Hispanic administrators, a Delphi panel of 11 administrators who serve in the role of Vice-Presidents, Presidents and Chancellors from across the country was utilized. This research used a computer-based Delphi technique. A portion of the three-round study was sponsored by the Center for Distance Learning Research (CDLR) at Texas A&M University. The first round was open-ended. Panelists were asked to answer four research questions. Those items were then put into common themes and sent out for rankings on a 4 point Likert scale for Round 2. Panelists were also given another opportunity to add items to the list during Round 2. Round 3 asked panelists to review their rankings, group rankings and standard deviations. Then they were given an opportunity to change their rankings or keep them the same. Panelists also ranked items that were added during Round 2. A consensus was established on items that were rated either a 3 (agree) or a 4 (strongly agree) by all panelists. Through this study, a total of 48 items met consensus on the four research questions. Many of the items that met consensus addressed the need of inter- and intrapersonal skills as well as leadership abilities. Among the highest ranking items were obtaining a doctoral degree, personal motivation, ability to work with others, communication skills and people skills. Among the recommendations, based on the consensus items, are the creation of a University Minority Graduate Identification Program and the development of an Executive Leadership Program for Minorities.

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

Heterogeneity within the Hispanic population in the United States (US) has important implications for health. Despite the empirical work examining heterogeneity in Hispanic health and mortality by nativity, generational status, and country of origin, relatively little research has been devoted to understanding if and how racial identification impacts Hispanic health outcomes. Racial differences in health and mortality are well documented throughout the literature, particularly for non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites. Meanwhile, current socio-demographic and health literature commonly compares US non-Hispanic racial groups with people who claim Hispanic ethnicity, the latter of whom are comprised of multiple racial groups. Thus, this dissertation examines the racial heterogeneity of the Hispanic population and the implications of race for physical health among Hispanics. Using the National Health Interview Survey and the National Centers for Health Statistics Linked Birth/Infant Death Cohort Files, the key findings of this dissertation are (1) racial identity is associated with socioeconomic status among Hispanics, (2) infants born to Hispanic black mothers displayed statistically significant higher odds of being born with low birth weight when compared to infants born to Hispanic white mothers, (3) there is evidence of weathering in the infant health of Hispanics, as measured using birth weight, (4) black-white disparities in the risk of infant mortality exist within the Hispanic population, (5) both Hispanic blacks and those of other races have greater odds of functional limitations than Hispanic whites and for Hispanic blacks; moreover, this disadvantage increases with age, (6) I show no race differences in the odds of hypertension or poorly self-assessed health status. In short, the results of this dissertation suggest that the social experience for Hispanic blacks and whites is different and that this difference affects health outcomes. It is imperative that future research and health policy recognize the racial heterogeneity of this population, in both empirical analyses and policy decisions regarding social influences on physical health. / text

Once considered a minority, Hispanics today are becoming a growing majority of the U.S. population. In fact, Hispanics have become the nation's largest minority group. The growth of the Hispanic market has numerous implications for marketing and communication decisions. Hispanics residing in the U.S. consume products and services on a daily basis. They buy groceries, appliances, event tickets and interact constantly with companies and their messages. Not only is it crucial for U.S. marketers to recognize how valuable this market is to them, but Hispanics are a multifaceted market that must be well understood to ensure a good foundation is built prior to developing communications strategies. More specifically, marketers need to be aware of how Hispanics, often bilingual, process language and how this impacts the effectiveness of communications messages. This report will take you through an analysis of why the U.S. Hispanic market is valuable and how this particular segment should be approached when it comes to the language factor. / text

Explanations for Latinas high fertility levels have been centered in terms of current or actual fertility, as measured by children ever born (CEB). However, studies of this nature have failed to utilize methods appropriate for evaluating a count variable, such as CEB. Even fewer analyses have incorporated "ideal" fertility as an explanatory factor of actual fertility, particularly in the case of Latinas. In this thesis, multiple Poisson and zero-inflated Poisson regression models are used to assess the impact of independent factors on ideal and actual fertility among Latinas, as compared to white women. In the comparative analyses of ideal and actual fertility (CEB), the independent variables in demographic composition (marital status), socialization factors (mother's CEB and church attendance), socioeconomic and employment status (education and employment) and fertility history and intentions (abortions) are found to be consistently, significantly related to both ideal and actual fertility. More importantly, women have higher intended than actual fertility. The fact that Mexican women have been able to realize their fertility intentions provides a better understanding of the fertility behavior of Latinas. This means that Latinas actually want the larger numbers of children that they are having.

No description available.

This thesis describes the role of Spanish as a common language in the construction of social networks among the diverse Spanish-speaking population of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Analysis of the data confirms the low public visibility of the community observed initially, despite the even larger numbers of Spanish speakers living in the city than initially estimated. The communitys relatively low level of coherence and its minimal presence in the public sphere can be explained by two main factors: an exceptional degree of diversity among members (described in terms of national, religious, political, socio-economic and ethnic variations), and a set of ambivalent attitudes regarding the relative value of Hispanic culture. This communitys public anonymity is also discussed as related to the larger realities of Canadas official policy of multiculturalism and popular discourses of Hispanidad in Anglo-Canadian mainstream culture.