Browsing by Subject "acculturation"
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Item Acculturation and disability in Mexican American older adults(2008-11-19) Mary Ellen E. Kuhlmann; Kenneth Ottenbacher, Ph.D.; Ronald Angel, Ph.D.; M. Kristen Peek, Ph.D.; Laura Ray, M.P.A.; Judith Drew, Ph.D., R.N.; Gayle Weaver, Ph.D.; Elbert Whorton, M.S., Ph.D.Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine acculturation and disability in Mexican American older adults living independently in the southwestern United States. Design: A prospective cohort study (1993-2005). Setting: Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California. Participants: Participants in the Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE), a population-based sample of 3050 non-institutionalized Mexican-American men and women aged 65 and over. Measures: Variables included three measures of acculturation (English proficiency, English usage, and Mainstream contact), risk factors (age, gender, education, marital status, and BMI), disablement process factors (chronic pathology, cognitive status, and physical performance), and activities of daily living disability (ADLs), and instrumental activities of daily living disability (IADLs). Chi-Square, Chi-Square test for trends, ordinary least squares regression and discrete hazard analyses were used to identify associations of measures of acculturation with incidence of ADL and IADL disability. Results: There was a significant association between one measure of acculturation (English proficiency) and incidence of IADL disability, which remained after adding risk factors and Disablement process variables to the model. Conclusion: The findings support the importance of acculturation when examining ADL and IADL disability. Interventions that consider acculturation may be useful in reducing ADL and IADL disability in Mexican American older adults.Item Acculturation and ethnic identity as they relate to the psychological well-being of adult and elderly Mexican Americans(2009-05-15) Rivera, SaoriIn attempting to help the Mexican American adult and elderly population, the relationship between psychological well-being and cultural factors was investigated in this dissertation study. Primarily, the dynamics of acculturation and ethnic identity were considered as measures of cultural adjustment; while, physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions were used to measure well-being and mental health in adult and elderly cohorts. In regard to these relationships, the following research questions were addressed: 1) How does psychological well-being in older Mexican Americans relate to acculturation and ethnic identity? 2) Do these three variables interact differently among adult and elderly cohorts? 3) What is the relationship between the variables for this particular sample of Mexican Americans when considering moderating variables of spirituality and religiosity? In addressing the first two questions, multiple regression analyses were used to understand the distribution of the variance in the dependent variable, psychological wellbeing. Although both variables were contributing to the regression weight, neither of the two, acculturation or ethnic identity, were significant predictors of psychological well-being in this sample. In the last question, confirmatory and exploratory structural equation model (SEM) analyses were employed to determine how each of the variables were loading and relating to one another. Only a few of the items selected for these analyses, (i.e., none of the mediating variables, select acculturation items, and select scales on the measure for psychological well-being) were used and found to be significant in the complete model and diagram. Using newly clustered item parcels, the mediating variables of spirituality and religiosity were again analyzed in the (SEM) analysis. While the variable religiosity was dropped from the model diagram, the newly generated spirituality variable was found to be empirically and conceptually significant in the model diagram.Item Acculturation and Transformation among Female Immigrant Military Spouses in an ESL Learning Program at a Community College(2012-07-16) Darnell, PatriciaThis study was designed to explore the acculturation experiences of military-related immigrant wives enrolled in an ESL program in a selected community college. More specifically, the purpose of the study was to understand the personal and structural forces that facilitated or hindered their acculturation process into their community of residence and whether their participation and retention in ESL classes contributed to their acculturation. Using a qualitative design with the basic interpretive paradigm, data collection consisted of face-to-face interviews with 14 immigrant military wives from 10 differing countries who were either enrolled or had been enrolled in a community college ESL program. The site chosen served a multicultural population of military spouses who enrolled in educational programs that offered English language development. The nearest ESL program, located at a community college near the military base, became an information-rich site for the study. The findings from the study highlighted the role of English language as an essential element to adjustment into the society of the United States for military immigrant wives, leading to acculturation and subsequently personal transformation. The data revealed both external and internal forces that influenced the acculturation process. External (structural) forces included community, workforce, the military, and an educational institution. The secondary forces included racial discrimination, cultural differences, and social networks within the community. Internal forces included love and care and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was manifested through their persistence, patience, and resilience.Item Cultural Value Discrepancy and Adolescents' Adjustment Outcomes in Chinese Immigrant Families: The Role of Parental Psychological Control(2014-07-09) Chang, Yu-PeiChinese immigrants are the second largest immigrant group (after Mexican immigrants) according to 2010 United States Census. Their successful adjustment bears important implications for policy making, the economy, public health, and directions for research at both the societal and individual levels. This study examined academic achievement and depressive symptoms among a group of Chinese American adolescents and their immigrant parents. Moreover, this study examined whether the parental practice of psychological control mediates the link between parent-adolescent cultural value differences and adolescent schooling and mental health outcomes (i.e., academic achievement and depressive symptoms). Demographic factors such as family?s socioeconomic status and adolescents? and parents? gender were considered in analyses. Results indicate that multiple domains of parental psychological control serve as mediating mechanisms by which parent-child value differences influence adolescent depressive symptoms. Implications for clinical service and future research are discussed.Item Curanderismo and Mental Health: Mexican and Mexican-American Beliefs, Attitudes, and AcculturationRamirez, Kelsie Lozano; Curtis, Drew A; Contreras, Jose A; Lee, Jungeun; Self, Raelye TThis study explored the effects of generation on Mexican and Mexican-American beliefs about mental illness, their willingness to seek out psychological help, and their beliefs and attitudes about curanderismo, a Mexican folk-healing practice. This study utilized a convenience sample from four locations. Participants were split into two groups: Group 1 consisted of Mexicans or 1st and 2nd generation Mexican-Americans and Group 2 included participants who reported being 3rd, 4th, or 5th generation Mexican-Americans. The findings of the study indicated no significant differences between the two generation groups on beliefs and attitudes toward curanderismo, attitudes toward psychotherapy and psychotherapists, and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. There was a statistically significant difference in the scores between the two generation groups on beliefs toward mental illness. Implications of research and practice are discussed.Item Curanderismo and Mental Health: Mexican and Mexican-American Beliefs, Attitudes, and AcculturationRamirez, Kelsie Lozano; Curtis, Drew A; Contreras, Jose A; Lee, Jungeun; Self, Raelye TThis study explored the effects of generation on Mexican and Mexican-American beliefs about mental illness, their willingness to seek out psychological help, and their beliefs and attitudes about curanderismo, a Mexican folk-healing practice. This study utilized a convenience sample from four locations. Participants were split into two groups: Group 1 consisted of Mexicans or 1st and 2nd generation Mexican-Americans and Group 2 included participants who reported being 3rd, 4th, or 5th generation Mexican-Americans. The findings of the study indicated no significant differences between the two generation groups on beliefs and attitudes toward curanderismo, attitudes toward psychotherapy and psychotherapists, and attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. There was a statistically significant difference in the scores between the two generation groups on beliefs toward mental illness. Implications of research and practice are discussed.Item Does culture moderate the relationship between awareness and internalization of Western ideals and the development of body dissatisfaction in women?(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Warren, Cortney SoderlindThe sociocultural model of eating disorders suggests that awareness of a thin physical ideal directly affects internalization of that ideal, which in turn, directly affects body dissatisfaction. The current study evaluated the general accuracy of the sociocultural model and examined the potential for ethnicity to protect against eating disorder symptomatology by moderating the relationships between awareness and internalization and between internalization and body dissatisfaction. Spanish (n = 100), Mexican American (n = 100), and Euro-American (n = 100) female participants completed various questionnaires measuring sociocultural attitudes towards appearance and body dissatisfaction. Analysis of covariance with tests of homogeneity of slope and path analysis using maximum likelihood with robust standard errors tested the two relationships by ethnic group. Results supported the sociocultural model: there was strong evidence for the mediational effect of internalization on the relationship between awareness and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, ethnicity moderated the relationships such that both relationships were significantly stronger for Euro-American women than for Mexican American or Spanish women. Within the Mexican American group level of acculturation also moderated these relationships. Taken together, the results of this study highlight how ethnicity can protect against the development of eating disorder symptoms. Denouncing the thin ideal, minimizing appearance as an indicator of female value, and emphasizing personal traits other than appearance as determinants of worth are important in protecting against the development of body dissatisfaction and more severe eating pathology.Item Examining International Students? Psychosocial Adjustment to Life in the United States(2011-08-08) Zhang, JingThis dissertation, containing two journal-formatted manuscripts, examines factors associated with international students' psychosocial adjustment to life in the United States. In the first manuscript, I systematically reviewed 64 studies reporting predictors of international student adjustment, which were published in English language peer-reviewed journals from 1990 to 2008. I summarized predictors by adjustment outcomes and assessed the methodological quality of individual studies. In the second manuscript, I investigated mechanisms through which acculturation influenced psychosocial adjustment of Chinese international students, by electronically surveying a sample of 508 Chinese international students from four universities in Texas. Specifically, the mechanisms investigated in this report refer to the mediating and moderating effects of social interaction and social connectedness with host nationals upon the acculturation-adjustment linkages. Results portrayed in the first manuscript showed stress, social support, English language proficiency, region/country of origin, length of residence in the United States, acculturation, social interaction with Americans, self-efficacy, gender, and personality were among the most frequently reported predictors of international students' psychosocial adjustment. The mean methodological score of the reviewed studies was 6.25 (SD=1.8; maximum possible score=11). The reviewed studies overcame selected methodological limitations pointed out by Church in his review, but show room for continued improvement. Results portrayed in the second manuscript showed social connectedness with Americans mediated the links between adherence to the host culture (acculturation dimension) and psychosocial adjustment. Social interaction with Americans moderated the association between adherence to the home culture (acculturation dimension) and depression. Findings from this dissertation have implications for health promotion research and practice. First, this dissertation calls for a revision in the sojourner adjustment framework to address the shared elements underlying both adjustment domains (psychological and sociocultural). Second, more studies are needed to a) examine macro-level factors and currently under-investigated micro-level factors, b) test theories that integrate micro- and macro-level factors, c) examine mediation and moderation effects, and d) systematically employ longitudinal designs and comparison groups. Third, health promotion professionals would do well to address predictors and mechanisms found in this dissertation when developing evidence-based interventions for international students.Item Parent and teacher ratings of Mexican American children?s behavior on the BAS : influence of acculturation on a Texas sample(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) Hernandez, Melissa EscobedoThe purpose of this study was to explore the effects of acculturation on the parent and teacher ratings of non-clinical Mexican American children's behavior, using the BASC Parent Rating Scale-C (PRS-C ) and the Teacher Rating Scale-C (TRS-C ). One hundred twenty-three children of Mexican descent (ages 6-11) attending Texas public schools were rated by their parents and teachers. Parent acculturation level was measured using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II. Parents were assigned to High, Medium or Low acculturation groups based on a combination of linear acculturation levels (Part 1) and obtained typologies (Part 2). Parent acculturation level was then assigned to TRS-C data creating matched-rater pairs (PRS-C and TRS-C of same child) for use in this study. Internal consistency reliabilities for the Total Mexican American sample's Teacher Rating Scale-C (TRS-C) were more similar to the published BASC general norms than the Total Mexican American sample's Parent Rating Scale-C (PRS-C ) on six of the nine clinical scales investigated and on all three of the shared adaptive scales. The most striking internal consistency result emerged when the sample was subdivided by acculturation, the High acculturation TRS-C Conduct Problems scale showed no cohesion of items for this sample (.00). Comparison of the Total, High, Medium, and Low groups' obtained distributions on each of the 16 selected scales of the PRS-C and TRS-C to the published BASC general norms revealed: 1) six significant differences of potential clinical relevance on the PRS-C scales, and 2) thirteen significant differences of potential clinical relevance on the TRS-C scales. Both parents and teachers rated the children as demonstrating less maladaptive symptoms on the Aggression, Depression, Hyperactivity, and Behavioral Symptom Index. Only parents reported lower Adaptability and Adaptive Skills scores. And only teachers of the High acculturation group reported higher Adaptability scores. No systematic influence of acculturation was present among any of the 16 selected scales. However, the parents and teachers of the High acculturation subgroup did have more moderate correlations than the Medium and Low groups combined.Item A phenomenological study of the lived experiences of foreign educated nurses working in the United States of America.(2008-03-12) Mini M Jose; Dr. Judith C Drew PhD, RN; Dr. Terry Throckmorton PhD, RN; Dr. Jeanne Ruiz PhD, RN , WHNP.; Dr. Elnora(nonie) Mendias PhD, RN, FNP; Dr. Ellarene Duis PhD, RN, CNAA, BCThe overall goal of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of foreign educated nurses (FENs) working in the United States of America (US). Since World War II, the US has recruited FENs to fill recurring workplace vacancies of registered nurses (RNs). Despite this long history, few studies have examined the lived experiences of FENs who face challenges of different languages and communication styles, cultural diversities and lifestyle practices, and professional and workplace expectations. A review of literature about challenges facing other foreign-educated professionals revealed high levels of acculturative stress related to workplace role ambiguity, unclear expectations, and communication barriers and the necessity of investigating their lived experiences to guide future support programs. These findings supported the significance of this exploratory and descriptive study that employed a phenomenology of practice research approach to answer the question: What are the lived experiences of foreign educated nurses working in United States of America? A purposive sample of 20 FENs immigrated to the US from The Philippines, India, and Nigeria within the last five years was recruited for the study. Primary data were the narratives collected during interviews. Data were collected until saturation and redundancy were observed. Assigning code numbers, interviewing participants in private places, and maintaining all study materials in locked files were methods used to protect confidentiality. Interview data were transcribed, coded, and clustered during thematic analysis guided by Giorgi (1985). Findings were six emergent themes that captured the essences of 17 conceptual categories: Dreams of a better life, Difficulties of the journey, A shocking reality, Rising above the challenges, Feeling and doing better, and ready to help others. Truth value and scientific rigor of the study were evaluated using the standards of: (1) descriptive vividness, (2) methodological congruence, (3) analytical preciseness, (4) theoretical correctness, and (5) heuristic relevance (Burns & Grove, 2003) and Lincoln& Guba’s (1985) criteria of trustworthiness. Berry and Kim’s (1988) model of acculturation was found to be a fitting context for the comparison of this study’s findings with extant knowledge about acculturative experiences of immigrants.Item Religio-Cultural Integration among Muslim-Americans(2010-10-12) Olds, Glenn R.Traditionally the empirical study of acculturation has focused on the integration, preservation, or abandonment of one's ethnic heritage in relation to the host culture. This study attempted to broaden the concept of the acculturation process by examining the interaction between an immigrant's religious identity and the host culture. It was hypothesized that for Muslims living in America the integration of one's Islamic and American identities, as compared to level of integration between one?s ethnic heritage and American identities, would provide unique value in predicting the level of acculturation stress, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Identity integration between Islamic and American identities was found to correlate with decreased acculturation stress, decreased depressive symptoms and increased life satisfaction and in some instances provided significant predictive value when compared to only an assessment of bicultural integration. Implications of this and other findings were explored.Item Under-use of counseling services by low acculturated Chinese international students(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Jarrahi, LeilaThis study??s primary focus was to determine why Chinese international students are not readily accessing counseling centers for help. A literature review explored issues of culture shock, acculturation, as well as help-seeking attitudes among this population. Additionally, the review addressed barriers to pursuing counseling and cultural considerations for counselors to make when working with international students. The students were selected using the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SLASIA) and the Asian Values Scale (AVS) for selection criteria. This was an exploratory descriptive study and participants were interviewed regarding their beliefs, values, opinions, and feelings regarding counselors and the counseling process. Participants were also asked to provide suggestions for more effective marketing of counseling services to the international student population. Limitations of the study and future directions were addressed.