Parental Acculturation and Influences on Education of Elementary Latino Students: A Parent Perspective. Laura Castro California State University, Long Beach May 2012

Introduction Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic population in the United States, particularly in the state of California. Cruz-Santiago and Garcia (2011) found that Latinos parenting and cultural values have influenced and played major roles in shaping parenting practices. Acculturating individuals may feel pulled between traditional values and norms, and the customs for those in the new society (Hovey, 2000). The purpose was to study and examine the relationship between parental levels of acculturation and influences on education of elementary Latino students. The participants completed questionnaires relating to their levels of acculturation, parental influence, and demographic information. The study answered the following research questions: What are the levels of acculturation amongst Latino parents? What are the parental influences for Latino parents? What is the relationship between levels of acculturation and parental influences amongst Latinos?

Social Work Relevance This study provides social workers with research relating to parental acculturation and influences on education of elementary Latino students. The results from this study will be useful and may assist social workers in understanding and better servicing this demographic. Social workers will have a better grasp of the levels of acculturation amongst Latinos as they relate to parental influences.

Methods Sample/Sampling Method This study used a non-probability purposive sampling method to gather data. The participants were solicited from the Downtown Community Development - YMCA in the City of Long Beach. The sample used was limited: to be selected for the study, participants had to (a) identify themselves as Latinos or Hispanic, and (b) have one child attending elementary school. A total of 50 parents participated in this study; mostly females completed the questionnaires. All participants provided consent to participate and complete the entire questionnaire. Data Collection Procedures The researcher obtained verbal and written permission from the agency Downtown Community Development, YMCA in the city of Long Beach to attend and administer the surveys in the parenting groups at the local elementary school sites. The researcher read a script in Spanish in the classes which stated the purpose of the study, procedures, potential risks and discomforts, benefits to the subject/society, confidentiality, participation, and withdrawal. Those who participated in the research study completed the informed consent form and the questionnaire. The participants completed the consent form and questionnaires in their primary language. The completion of the questionnaire took approximately minutes.

Methods Variable and Instruments A self-administered survey questionnaire, written in English and translated to Spanish, was distributed to collect data. The instruments administered were divided in three sections. The Inventory of Parental Influence (IPI) designed for use with parents and to measure parental influences, The Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (SASH) was used to measure levels of acculturation and demographics. The variables examined include age, gender, race, ethnicity, birth country and the parent and child(ren) birth country, years living in the United States, marital status, education, employment status, and religion. Data Analysis The IPI scaled developed by Reed Campbell, (2007) accurately measured parental influence and the SASH scale developed by Marin et. al (1987) accurately measured acculturation. The Statistical Package for the Social Services (SPSS) was utilized to analyze the data gathered from the self-administered questionnaires. Total scores for levels of acculturation and parental influences were calculated. Descriptive statistics were run on all variables and are presented in the form of percentage, frequencies, standard deviations, and means. Reliability between The Inventory of Parental Influence (IPI) and Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (SASH) was processed using Cronbach’s Alpha. A Pearson’s r correlation was conducted to examine relationships with levels of acculturation and parental influences.

Results Most of the participants were female (n = 49, 98%), Latinos (n = 49, 100%), born in Mexico (n = 47, 94%) between 24 to 55 years of age, with a mean of (SD = 8.0) years. More than half of the participants reported being married (n = 34, 68%), homemakers (n = 31, 62%), with less than middle school education (n = 21, 42%) and high school education (n = 16, 32%). The majority responded both parents were living in the same household (n = 44, 88%) and have two (n = 16, 32%) to three (n = 18, 36%) children. Participants reported almost all fathers were born in Mexico (n = 46, 93.9%), and were working full time (n = 33, 66%). Like the mothers, it was reported fathers had a lower level of education, less than middle school (n = 20, 40%) and less than high school (n = 16, 32%). The SASH scale was developed by Marin et al (1987) and it is used to accurately measure levels of acculturation. The participants can be assigned into one of five levels based on their responses. The levels were scored by acculturation categories from I-V with level I being the least acculturated and level V being the most acculturated. The majority of the participants (n = 50, 100%), responses reported being at a level I in their language use and ethnic loyalty category. Participants’ media levels were reported as a level II and ethnic social relations were reported in the high level I and low level II.

Cont. Results The IPI scale developed by Reed Campbell, (2007) to accurately measure parental influence in five sections: 1) parental pressure, 2) psychological support, 3) parental help, 4) pressure for intellectual development and 5) monitoring/time management. Unfortunately, due to the homogeneity of the participants in this study with the majority of the participants indentified as first generation Mexicans, it was not possible to determine a relationship between levels of acculturation and parental influences.

Cont. Results In summary, all three categories represent a low level of acculturation for the participants. Even though the findings of this study had no significance, support from previous studies confirms that first generation Latinos retain their culture and are less acculturated compared to other generations (Dennis et al., 2010); specifically for Latina mothers, level of acculturation has been found to relate to parenting behaviors (Planos, Zayas, & Busch-Rossnagel, 1995). The IPI scale developed by Reed Campbell, (2007) to accurately measure parental influence in five sections: 1) parental pressure, 2) psychological support, 3) parental help, 4) pressure for intellectual development and 5) monitoring/time management. Unfortunately, due to the homogeneity of the participants in this study with the majority of the participants indentified as first generation Mexicans, it was not possible to determine a relationship between levels of acculturation and parental influences.

Discussion/Implications for Social Work This study provides social workers with supported research relating to acculturation and parental influences amongst Latino parents of elementary children. As researchers, social workers can take the study’s findings, explore further, or conduct similar studies on the subject. This study was also intended to gain and expand on how acculturation and parental influences affect the Latino population. This study also provided information that can assist social workers in making improvements when working with this population especially when providing educational and/or parenting services.

References Cruz-Santiago, M., & Ramirez Garcia, J. I. (2011). 'Hay Que Ponerse en Los Zapatos del Joven': Adaptive Parenting of Adolescent Children Among Mexican-American Parents Residing in a Dangerous Neighborhood. Family Process, 50(1), Dennis, J., Basañez, T., & Farahmand, A. (2010). Intergenerational Conflicts Among Latinos in Early Adulthood: Separating Values Conflicts With Parents From Acculturation Conflicts. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32(1), Hovey, J. D. (2000). Psychosocial Predictors of Acculturative Stress In Mexican Immigrants. Journal of Psychology, 134(5), 490. Planos, R., Zayas, L.H., & Busch-Rossnagel, N.A. (1995). Acculturation and Teaching Behaviors of Dominican and Puerto Rican Mothers. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 17, Reed Campbell, J. (2007). Inventory of Parental Influence. Jamaica, NY: Campbell.