Moderating Effects of Sociocultural Variables on Acculturation Attitudes of Hispanics and Asian Americans.

Literature on acculturation is reviewed, and the effects of acculturation on the mental health of Hispanics and Asian Americans are discussed. In this study we attempted to understand acculturation processes at the group level (Hispanics versus Asian Americans) and at the individual level (within-group heterogeneity). The Majority-Minority Relations Survey measured acculturation attitudes of two American ethnic minority groups, Hispanics and Asian Americans, in a Midwestern university. Data were obtained from 282 participants for a 54% return rate. Instrument analysis included assessment of generalizability (using Pearson correlation coefficient procedures), LISREL confirmatory factor analysis, and tests of internal consistency reliabilities (using coefficient alpha). Significant effects for ethnicity, Asian culture subgroups, and for the sociocultural variables of generational status, voluntary immigration versus political asylum, and religion were indicated by parametric and nonparametric tests. Therefore, although differences between the Hispanics and the Asian Americans were indicated, within-group differences for both minority groups were also influenced by select sociocultural variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]