Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Positive psychology is a useful framework to understand Latina/o students’ experiences. In the current study, we examined how presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, hope, and family importance influenced 128 Latina/o college students’ psychological grit. We used the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Subjective Happiness Scale, Hope Scale, Pan-Hispanic Familism Scale, and Short Grit Scale to measure the aforementioned factors. Using multiple regression analysis, findings indicated that hope and search for meaning in life were significant predictors of psychological grit. Higher levels of hope positively predicted psychological grit, while higher levels of search for meaning in life negatively predicted psychological grit. We provide a discussion regarding the importance of these findings as well as recommendations for future research.

Previous studies of Latina/o well-being indicate that supportive family members, religion or spirituality, and cultural values (e.g., familismo) aid in coping with adversities. The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of several factors (spirituality, hope, social support, and cultural values) in predicting resilience and thriving in Latina/o undergraduates (N = 121). Two hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the unique contributions of the predictors to resilience and thriving. Results demonstrated differences between resilience and thriving as evidenced by the fact that they have different predictor variables. For example, hope was a predictor variable for both constructs, but spirituality was a significant predictor only for thriving. Implications for research and practice and future directions are discussed.

This study examined whether longitudinal trajectories of academic support from mothers, fathers, and teachers predicted trajectories of Latino adolescents’ (N = 323) academic motivation. Findings indicated those boys’ perceptions of mothers’ and fathers’ academic support and girls’ perceptions of mothers’ academic support declined throughout high school. Furthermore, girls’ academic motivation increased significantly over time. Although neither boys’ nor girls’ trajectories of support predicted trajectories of academic motivation, initial levels of academic support predicted adolescents’ academic motivation in the ninth grade. Finally, girls who reported lower academic motivation during the ninth grade also tended to report steeper increases in academic motivation over time. Findings underscore the importance of examining the unique impact of academic support from multiple individuals in adolescents’ lives.

Research has found that Mexican American adolescents report higher levels of depressive symptoms than Whites and African Americans. For these youth, bicultural stress from navigating between their culture of origin and the mainstream U.S. culture can have negative mental health effects including higher levels of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. This study looks at the effects of bicultural stress and gender on depression and suicidal ideation of 516 Mexican American adolescents. Hierarchical linear and logistic regressions were performed to determine the affect of gender, bicultural stressors, and their interaction on depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Results indicate gender moderates the effect of several bicultural stressors on mental health outcomes, with boys being more affected by high levels of stress in areas when interaction effects were present. Discussion of results is framed within the intersection of ethnicity and gender role socialization.

We explored whether Latino first-generation college students would experience cross-cultural value conflicts as a result of the mismatch between more collectivistic values learned at home and more individualistic practices of their peers in a multiethnic college setting. Culturally structured conflict resolution styles were also explored. Participants completed a survey and thereafter engaged in a structured group discussion. Group discussions indicated that 57% of students experienced cross-cultural peer-peer value conflicts in which they had a more collectivistic approach to peer relations, while their roommates had a more individualistic approach. More positive peer relationships resulted from confrontational styles of conflict resolution (a facet of individualistic culture) than from implicit forms of communication (a facet of collectivistic culture). Peer-peer interactions are important because, upon transitioning to college, Latino students are exposed to diverse cultures that can impact their social life in higher education and therefore their college adjustment.

This study examines whether ethnic attachments and concerns about Latinos as a group predict the representational priorities of Latinos, and if so, whether they make a preference for narrowly targeted spheres of representation more likely. It relies on nationally representative survey data (n = 434) and employs ordered probit statistical analysis. The results show that thinking of oneself primarily as a member of an ethnic group instead of as an American increases the importance placed on having members of Congress bring federal resources to the district and decreases the importance placed on the pursuit of national issues, and perceiving discrimination against one’s ethnic group increases the importance placed on casework and decreases the importance placed on oversight. Other factors associated with the Latino experience in the United States, including acculturation and having a Latino representative, also affect how Latinos rank spheres of representation. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Trust in government is essential to democratic practice. This article analyzed the factors shaping trust in the federal government using a survey of 260 Mexican immigrants living in rural Illinois and in-depth interviews with 32 participants. To analyze these data, we drew a distinction between support for the regime (system of government that is relatively stable in a political system) and support for authorities (those who temporarily occupy positions of power) to test whether regime or authorities’ considerations shaped respondents’ political trust. The results showed that both considerations influenced trust in the federal government. We also found that a perception of current leaders as being concerned with issues affecting Latinos and an increased optimism about the economic situation were key determinants in explaining trust in the federal government. Further, our in-depth interviews showed that respondents thought about economic issues, immigration, and overall assessments of the Obama administration when determining their level of trust in the federal government.

The goal of this article is to assess the validity of the Sociocentric Egocentric Questionnaire (SEQ) with Latinos (n = 88) and non-Hispanic Whites (n = 85) by comparing it with the Individualism and Collectivism Scale (IndCol). Both scales were designed to measure similar constructs, and it is hypothesized that high correlations between both scales would provide evidence to support the validity of the SEQ for Latinos and non-Hispanic Whites. Three different procedures assessed and found preliminary evidence to support the validity of the SEQ. First, 11 of the 12 correlations between the IndCol and the SEQ were significant in the expected direction; second, Latinos and non-Hispanic Whites’ scoring patterns were similar to those reported in national samples; and third, an exploratory factor analyses found the existence of two factors explaining the intercorrelations of the SEQ. Implications of these findings for research, clinical practice, and the amelioration of Latino health disparities are discussed.