Acculturation and Family Cohesiveness in Mexican American Pregnant Women: Social and Health Implications

This article describes a classification system based on acculturation status and family cohesiveness and examines the extent to which these variables may determine the degree of exposure to high acculturative stress, social isolation, and health-related risk behaviors among Mexican American pregnant...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family & community health 1997-10, Vol.20 (3), p.16-31
Main Authors: Balcazar, Hector, Peterson, Gary W., Krull, Jennifer L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acculturation
Arizona
Delivery Systems
Family Structure
Health Behavior
Mexican Americans
Risk
Social Cohesion
Womens Health Care
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article describes a classification system based on acculturation status and family cohesiveness and examines the extent to which these variables may determine the degree of exposure to high acculturative stress, social isolation, and health-related risk behaviors among Mexican American pregnant women. Empirical data from the Arizona Perinatal Acculturation Project was used to test the presence of an acculturation effect, a family cohesiveness effect, and a traditionalism effect, on a series of dependent variables including: socioeconomic status, acculturative stress, coping strategies, social support, and pregnancy risk factors. The results obtained from the postulated contrasts yielded several patterns of interest from the variables studied. A typology derived from the classification system was developed to illustrate common characteristics and demographic patterns within each of the four categories. Characteristics that are associated with these subgroups suggest how the health care system might respond appropriately to meet the health needs of subgroups of Mexican American women.
ISSN:0160-6379
1550-5057
DOI:10.1097/00003727-199710000-00004