Cultural and Cognitive Predictors of Academic Motivation Among Mexican American Adolescents: Caution Against Discounting the Impact of Cultural Processes

This study examined the role of cognitive (i.e., grit, hope, and academic skepticism) and cultural variables (i.e., generational status, familismo, ethnic identity, and bicultural stress) on academic motivation among 181 Mexican American adolescents. Results indicated that hope, grit, and familismo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development 2015-04, Vol.43 (2), p.109-121
Main Authors: Piña-Watson, Brandy, López, Belem, Ojeda, Lizette, Rodriguez, Kimberly M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bicultural stress
Cognition & reasoning
estrés bicultural
familismo
Hispanic culture
Hispanic students
Mexican American
mexicano-americano
Motivation
School counseling
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Summary:This study examined the role of cognitive (i.e., grit, hope, and academic skepticism) and cultural variables (i.e., generational status, familismo, ethnic identity, and bicultural stress) on academic motivation among 181 Mexican American adolescents. Results indicated that hope, grit, and familismo positively predicted academic motivation. Conversely, academic skepticism and bicultural stress negatively predicted academic motivation. This study demonstrates that culture is important to consider above and beyond cognitive variables. Implications for practice and research are discussed. Este estudio examinó la influencia que ejercen las variables cognitivas (determinación, esperanza y escepticismo académico) y culturales (estatus generacional, familismo, identidad étnica y estrés bicultural) sobre la motivación académica en 181 adolescentes mexicano‐americanos. Los resultados indicaron que la esperanza, la determinación y el familismo pronosticaron positivamente la motivación académica. Y a la inversa, el escepticismo académico y el estrés bicultural pronosticaron negativamente la motivación académica. Este estudio demuestra que es importante considerar la cultura además de las variables cognitivas. Se discuten las implicaciones para la práctica y la investigación.
ISSN:0883-8534
2161-1912
DOI:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2015.00068.x