Literature Review of Latinos and Latino Politics
Tehama Lopez
The majority of scholarship concerning Latinos and political trends within this
community is theoretical, historical, or ethnographic in nature. There are few surveys
concentrating on Latino politics, and even fewer that focus on the politics of young
Latinos. The following literature review does not necessarily speak to the population
that our project will focus on but should provide a basic understanding of what
contributions have been in the study of Latino politics thus far.
Young Latinos and Traditional Political Measures
Party identification of Latinos ages 18 to 25 years old show 36 percent identifying
with the Democrats, 29 percent with the Republicans, and 25 percent identifying as
Independent. Breaking down race/ethnicity and gender, Latinas are most likely to be
Republican. Male Latinos are second-to-least likely to be Republican, only after Black
females. Male Latinos are also second-to-most likely to be Democrat, again only after
Black females.1
Voter turnout for Latinos ages 18-30 significantly trails that of voter turnout for
African American and non-Latino Anglos of the same age group. In 2000, Cubans had
the greatest voter turnout for this age group at 50.1 percent, followed by Central
Americans (39.2 percent), Mexicans (32.7 percent), and lastly Puerto Ricans at 31.7
percent. When one looks at those Latinos 30 years of age and older, the order of turnout
remains the same with the exception of Puerto Ricans and Mexicans swapping for lowest
1
Lopez, Mark Hugo. Electoral Engagement Among Latino Youth. University of Maryland: Center for
Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, March 2003, 14. 41 percent of blacks identify
as Democrat, 27 percent with the Republicans, and 21 percent as Independents. Thirty percent of white
identify as Democrat, 32 percent as Republican, and 28 percent as Independent.
1
turnout.2 Less than a third of all Latinos vote in presidential elections, and less than a
quarter of Latinos vote in Congressional elections. Louis DeSipio, Rodney Hero and
Anne G. Campbell suggest that we should attribute this low turnout to Latinos’ low
socio-economic status as a group, as well as their high rate of noncitizenship (40
percent).3 The Latino population is also relatively young with a median age of 25.8 years
old, as compared to their white counterparts whose median age is 38.6 years old.4
Another factor contributing to the low turnout of Latinos at the polls is how little the two
major political parties have courted them in the past with respect to get-out-the vote
mobilization efforts.5
In an experimental door-to-door nonpartisan get-out-the vote drive, researchers
found that Latinos are more receptive to door-to-door mobilization than are non-Latinos,
and that Latino canvassers are more effective in mobilizing Latinos than are non-Latinos.
This may be due to the fact that all of the non-Latino canvassers were new hires and had
not had experience with canvassing. Latino canvassers might also have been more
enthusiastic for the study. Although experienced Latino canvassers were more effective
with Latino voters than were inexperienced non-Latino canvassers, newly hired Latino
canvassers had the highest results for turning Latinos out to the polls, which suggests that
2
Ibid, 1-2.
DeSipio, Louis. Counting the Latino Vote: Latinos as a New Electorate. Charlottesville, VA: University
of Virginia Press, 1996; Hero, Rodney E., and Anne G. Campbell. “Understanding Latino Political
Participation: Exploring the Evidence from the Latino National Political Survey.” Hispanic Journal of
Behavioral Sciences, 18 (2) 1996, 129-41.
4
Michelson, Melissa. Mobilizing the Latino Youth Vote: CIRCLE Working Paper 10. University of
Maryland: Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, Updated January 2004,
2; There are 4.2 million Latinos citizens from ages 18-30, 10.4 million Latinos between ages 0 and 17,
30.5 million Non-Latino whites between ages 18 and 30, and 6.4 million African Americans of that same
age group. Lopez, Mark Hugo. Electoral Engagement Among Latino Youth. University of Maryland:
Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, March 2003.
5
Verba, Sidney, Kay Lehman Schlozman and Henry Brady. Voice and Equality: Civil Voluntarism in
American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995; Hero, Rodney, F. Chris Garcia, John
Garcia and Harry Pachon. “Latino Participation, Partisanship, and Office Holding.” PS: Political Science
and Politics, 33, 3 (September) 2000: 529-534.
3
2
that shared ethnicity is an important condition for maximizing Latino voter turnout.6 It is
interesting to note that when Latino voters received a message of ethnic solidarity during
their encounter with the canvasser, they were more likely to vote than if they had not
received this message. For non-Latino voters, a message of group solidarity is more
effective when given by non-Latinos, but civic duty is more effective when it is delivered
by Latino canvassers.7
The CIRCLE/Council for Excellence in Government National Youth Survey of
January 2002 probed young Latinos, African Americans, and whites about their attitudes
on traditional forms of political participation.8 In comparison to 51 percent of whites and
56 percent of African Americans, only 46 percent of Latinos ages 15 to 25 year old view
voting as important as opposed to not important. When asked how they perceive the act
of voting, 35 percent of Latinos between the ages of 18-25 year old see voting as ‘a
choice,’ 25 percent see it as ‘a right,’ 21 percent conceive it as ‘a responsibility,’ and
lastly, 13 percent understand voting foremost as ‘a duty.’ This finding about conceptions
of voting coincides well with the other CIRCLE study by Melissa R. Michelson which
shows that civic duty is not an effective prompt for mobilizing Latinos to go to the polls.9
Latinos are similar to African Americans in feeling that they make little difference
in solving problems of their communities. Both African Americans and Latinos ages 15
to 25 years old have a 58 percent likelihood of saying they have ‘a little /almost no/no’
ability to make a difference as a opposed to making ‘some’ or a ‘great deal’ of difference
6
Michelson, Melissa. Mobilizing the Latino Youth Vote: CIRCLE Working Paper 10. University of
Maryland: Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, Updated January 2004,
5.
7
Ibid, 8.
8
The questions asked for this study are not included in the report.
9
Lopez, Mark Hugo. Electoral Engagement Among Latino Youth. University of Maryland: Center for
Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, March 2003, 4.
3
in their community. Latinos are least likely among whites and African Americans to
discuss politics with parents: African Americans are most likely.10 Twenty-three percent
of Latinos said it is difficult to vote, while 12 percent of whites and 14 percent of Blacks
agree.11 Unsurprisingly, Latinos are also most likely to think it is difficult to register.
Twenty-six percent of Latinos ages 18 to 25 years old claimed that it was difficult, while
17 percent of blacks, and 13 percent of whites agreed. Although Latinos perceive greater
barriers to participating in the electoral process, as many as 84 percent agree with the
statement ‘my vote counts,’ the second highest affirmative response after whites (88
percent) and ahead of African Americans (81 percent).12 There is relatively little
distinction between race and ethnicity on voter turnout with already registered voters.13
When young people are asked about their trust in the government, Latinos are
least likely to trust the government in comparison to blacks, who are second least
trusting, and whites. Females across race and ethnicity are more trusting in the
government than are males.14 On issues of trust with people, Latinos ages 18 to 25 years
old are most likely (57 percent) to say that ‘you can’t be too careful’ than ‘most people
can be trusted’ when it comes to trusting others. Fifty-five percent of blacks, and 50
percent of whites responded similarly. Latinas are least trusting of others across
race/ethnicity and gender. Sixty percent of Latinas said ‘you can’t be too careful,’ while
54 percent of their Latino male counterpart agreed. In other racial/ethnic categories,
males are least trusting of others, if even slightly.15
10
Ibid, 5.
Ibid, 6.
12
Ibid, 9.
13
Ibid, 10.
14
Ibid, 12.
15
Ibid, 13.
11
4
Latinos are most likely to disagree (55 percent) that ‘government addresses needs
of young people’ than their Anglo (43 percent) and African American (49 percent)
counterparts, and are most likely to say (55 percent) that political leaders pay ‘a little/not
at all’ attention to the needs of young people, while only 47 percent of whites and 44
percent of Blacks said the same.16 Not surprisingly, Latinos are least likely to say (42
percent) ‘candidates take young people seriously,’ compared with 46 percent of blacks
and 52 percent of whites,17and are most likely to say ‘candidates would rather talk to
wealthier/older voters’ (77 percent Latinos, 67 percent whites, 65 percent blacks), as well
as, ‘candidates never come to my community’ (55 percent Latinos, 49 percent blacks, 47
percent whites).18
Latinos make a distinction, however, between attention from
politicians and the attention that politics and elections pay in general to the needs of
young people; 60 percent of Latinos said that ‘politics and elections address needs of
young people’ while only 53 percent of whites and 52 percent of Blacks agreed.19
Latinos of All Ages
Religiosity. The National Latino Political Study (NLPS) reports that the majority
of Latinos are Roman Catholic. Cubans are most likely to be Catholic at 74.8 percent,
then Mexicans (73.7 percent), and lastly, Puerto Ricans (65.1 percent). Puerto Ricans are
most likely to be Protestant (22.3 percent), then Mexicans (15 percent), and lastly,
Cubans (14. 4 percent). Those Latinos who identify as either having some other religion
or had no preference are as follows: Puerto Ricans (12.5 percent), Mexicans (11.3
16
Ibid, 15.
Ibid, 16.
18
Ibid, 17.
19
Ibid, 16.
17
5
percent), and Cubans (10.9 percent).20 Puerto Ricans lay claim to having a born-again
experience more than all groups, including Anglos. Anglos follow, with Mexicans
behind them. Cubans trail behind in this experience.21 Although this ethnic group is
largely perceived as highly devout in their practice of Christianity, at least 40 percent of
respondents, regardless of nativity or national origin, rarely or never attended church
services.22
Other sources dispute the aforementioned finding about the percentage of Puerto
Ricans who are Catholic. Cuadrado and Lieberman claim that 80.5 percent of Puerto
Ricans are Catholic, while their figures on those Puerto Ricans who identify as “other
than Catholic” (23.5 percent for males, 16.7 percent for females) are closer to NLPS’s
findings about the Protestant population among Puerto Ricans. Puerto Rican men were
twice as likely as women to cite no affiliation with a religion (9.1 percent vs. 5.1
percent). Seventy-seven percent of Puerto Rican women said religion was “very
important,” while 64 percent of Puerto Rican men said the same. While 90.9 percent of
this Latino sub-group said there was some importance to religion in their lives, 45.6
percent attended religious services once a month or more (51.2 percent women, 37.5
percent men), 72.7 percent said they prayed everyday (81.9 percent women, 59.4 percent
men), and 91.8 percent said religious education was as important as formal education
(96.1 percent women, 85.7 percent men).23
20
de la Garza, Rodolfo O., Louis DeSipio, F. Chris Garcia, John Garcia, Angelo Falcon. Latino Voices:
Mexican, Puerto Rican, & Cuban Perspectives on American Politics. Westview Press, Inc., Boulder, CO,
1992, 57.
21
Ibid, 57. Latinos also claim to receive more guidance from religion more often than do Anglos. Ibid, 58.
22
Ibid, 37.
23
Cuadrado, Mary and Louis Lieberman. Traditional Family Values and Substance Abuse: The Hispanic
Contribution to an Alternative Prevention and Treatment Approach. Kluwer Academic/ Plenum
Publishers, New York, NY, 2002, 77-79.
6
Gender, Sex, and Health. The social science literature speaks to traditional
gender roles in the Latino community as being ground into concepts of machismo and
marianismo. Machismo is based upon male domination and female subordination. Males
may seek their domination over women or over one another through violence, verbal
aggression, and the refusal to do anything that may be perceived as feminine.24 Honor,
courage, veneration of one’s mother, and a strong sense of protection over one’s family
are among some of the values that are attributed to this phenomenon. Sexual drive is
considered almost exclusive to male sexuality. Communication between men and women
concerning their sexual relationship is seldom practiced nor encourage in this gender
system. 25 In respect to the frequent interaction Puerto Ricans have with African
Americans, machismo masculinity is perhaps influenced by the culturally resistant and
alienated position that Black males have with “cool posin.’”26
Marianismo is a term used to explain Latina gender roles and sexuality.
Associated with the characteristics of the Virgin Mary as a prototype of ideal female, this
conception of gender give women a spiritual superiority. Women are expected to be
virgins, patient, submissive, faithful, devoted to male partner and eldest son, and without
sexual yearnings. A woman’s fertility is of primary importance, as motherhood is prized
and honored deeply.27 Hembrismo, a variation of marianismo, has cultured some usage in
recent literature, characterizes Latinas as strong, and perservering. This gender construct
24
Although I did not run across any significant amount of literature focusing the Latino GLBT community,
I did learn that homosexual experiences are sometimes defined as an act between pasivos, or the receivers
of anal sex who are usually the ones considers homosexual, and activos, the male who penetrates,who is
not necessarily considered gay: Ascencio, Marysol. Sex and Sexuality: Among New York’s Puerto Rican
Youth. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., Boulder, CO, 2002, 24-25.
25
Ascencio, Marysol. Sex and Sexuality: Among New York’s Puerto Rican Youth. Lynne Rienner
Publishers, Inc., Boulder, CO, 2002 , 16-18.
26
Ibid, 29.
27
Ibid, 18-19.
7
explains a Latina’s navigation in a circumstance of single-motherhood. Marianismo is
not used as frequently as machismo in the social sciences, and has been virtually
abandoned as a term in non-academic settings.28
Of course, some argue that these gender constructs are not exclusive to Latino
groups, and should be, therefore, carefully reconsidered. Two studies show evidence that
there is less rigidity in the actual beliefs and behaviors that these gender roles claim to
define as commonplace. In the NLPS, all Latino groups agreed more than Anglos with
the statement that ‘women are better off if they have careers and jobs.’ Mexican men
believed this statement more than Mexican women, while slightly more Puerto Rican and
Cuban men disagreed with this than did Puerto Rican and Cuban women.29 A quarter of
Mexican men, 18 percent of Puerto Rican men, and 12 percent of Cuban men strongly
believed that men should help care for the home and children, even at the expense of
one’s career.30 Cuadrado and Lieberman’s study of traditional family role attitudes show
that the majority of Puerto Ricans agree that ‘raising children should be just as important
to a man as it is to a woman’ and that ‘it is ok if a wife with young children has a job
outside the home, if she wants.’ There is also strong evidence that this sub-group
disagrees that ‘husbands should make all the important decisions in the marriage’ and
that ‘a wife should do whatever her husband wants.’ More than 80 percent of
respondents believed that both males and females are expected to do housework, 84
percent said they agreed that ‘it is ok for a wife to earn more money than her husband,’
28
Ibid , 19-20.
de la Garza, Rodolfo O., Louis DeSipio, F. Chris Garcia, John Garcia, Angelo Falcon. Latino Voices:
Mexican, Puerto Rican, & Cuban Perspectives on American Politics. Westview Press, Inc., Boulder, CO,
1992, 106-7.
30
de la Garza, Rodolfo O., Louis DeSipio, F. Chris Garcia, John Garcia, Angelo Falcon. Latino Voices:
Mexican, Puerto Rican, & Cuban Perspectives on American Politics. Westview Press, Inc., Boulder, CO,
1992 , 109.
29
8
and 98 percent of respondents said that ‘married women have a right to continue their
education.’31 Marysol Ascencio reports that there is also significant and growing support
for females having ‘intellectual sexual knowledge,’ rather than ‘experiential sexual
knowledge,’ and there is contextualized support for sex education for women when it
emphasizes the negative (pregnancy, STD, disgrace).32
Latinos have a higher rate of sexually-transmitted diseases than do whites.
Latino.33
One startling figure is that sexual transmission of HIV among Hispanic men
who have sex with men is twice as high as with non-Hispanic white men who have sex
with men.34 Congenital syphilis was also more prevalent in the Latino population with
34.6 cases per 100,000 births, compared to 3.3 per 100,000 births in the non-Hispanic
white population.35 When comparing Chicanos to Cubans, Puerto Ricans and ‘other
Spanish’ youth, Chicano males starting having intercourse a full year after other groups.
There are no significant differences of when Latinas begin having intercourse.36 Average
31
Cuadrado, Mary and Louis Lieberman. Traditional Family Values and Substance Abuse: The Hispanic
Contribution to an Alternative Prevention and Treatment Approach. Kluwer Academic/ Plenum
Publishers, New York, NY, 2002, 68.
32
Ascencio, Marysol. Sex and Sexuality: Among New York’s Puerto Rican Youth. Lynne Rienner
Publishers, Inc., Boulder, CO, 2002, 47.
33
CDC 1998; Diaz et al. 1993; Gianchello 1994; Sabogal et al. 1995 in: Ascencio, Marysol. Sex and
Sexuality: Among New York’s Puerto Rican Youth. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., Boulder, CO, 2002, 9
34
Singer, Merrill, and Luis Marxuach-Rodriguez. “Applying Anthropology to the Prevention of AIDS:
The Latino Gay Men’s Health Project.” Human Organization 55 (2) 1996: 141-148 in: Ascencio,
Marysol. Sex and Sexuality: Among New York’s Puerto Rican Youth. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.,
Boulder, CO, 2002, 9
35
CDC 1998 in: Ascencio, Marysol. Sex and Sexuality: Among New York’s Puerto Rican Youth. Lynne
Rienner Publishers, Inc., Boulder, CO, 2002, 9.
36
Perkins, Daniel F. and Francisco A. Villarruel. “An Ecological, Risk-Factor Examination of Latino
Adolescents’ Engagement in Sexual Activity” in: Montero-Sieburth, Martha and Francisco A. Villarruel.
Making Invisible Latino Adolescents Visible: A Critical Approach to Latino Diversity. New York: Falmer
Press, 2000, 85.
9
age of sexual intercourse for Latinas is 15.3 (+ 1.8) years.37 In 1994, the Latina
adolescent pregnancy rate was 13 percent, whereas whites was 8 percent. 38
Some common conflicts that social scientists found between home and school life
encompass differences in ‘Latino’culture versus American mainstream culture, and
constructions of family and gender. These tensions are exemplified contrasting the
(Latino) beliefs that girls do not need to be as educated as boys, the admonishment of
immodesty in girls, the promotion of ignorance on sexual matters, the segregation of sex
groups, nurturance of dependency, and nurturance of cooperation versus the American
beliefs and practices of educating boys and girls equally, changing in front of others
(physical education class), advocating sex education, promoting nonsegregated sex
groups, and valuing independence and competition39
Family and Living Conditions. In 1988, 23.4 percent of all Hispanic families
were headed by women.40 In 1993, 27 percent of Mexican children and 43 percent of
Puerto Rican children do not live with both parents.41 When we specifically examine the
Puerto Rican population, we find that the poverty rate of Puerto Ricans is around 37.0
percent, and back in 1987 Puerto Ricans lived at a poverty rate nearing four times that of
the poverty rate of non-Hispanics, and the highest poverty rate of any Latino group.42
37
Ibid, 65.
Villarruel, Antonia. “Sexual Behaviors of Latina Adolescents” in Montero-Sieburth, Martha and
Francisco A. Villarruel. Making Invisible Latino Adolescents Visible: A Critical Approach to Latino
Diversity. New York: Falmer Press, 2000, p64.
39
Montero-Sieburth, Martha and Francisco A. Villarruel. Making Invisible Latino Adolescents Visible: A
Critical Approach to Latino Diversity. New York: Falmer Press, 2000, 252.
40
Carrasquillo, Angela L. Hispanic Children and Youth in the United States: A Resource Guide. Garland
Publishing, Inc.: New York, 1991 , 71.
41
Montero-Sieburth, Martha and Francisco A. Villarruel. Making Invisible Latino Adolescents Visible: A
Critical Approach to Latino Diversity. New York: Falmer Press, 2000, 204.
42
Carrasquillo, Angela L. Hispanic Children and Youth in the United States: A Resource Guide. Garland
Publishing, Inc.: New York, 1991, 37.
38
10
Mainstream politics: The National Latino Political Survey. The National Latino
Political Survey contributed a necessary and broad set of findings about political beliefs
that both native and foreign-born Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans hold. Even
though the majority of Latinos do not believe they have a great deal in common with one
another either culturally nor politically, de la Garza et al. find that these three groups hold
similar views about increased government spending on health care, as well as, crime and
drug control. They are also similarly positioned on issues concerning education, the
environment, child services, and bilingual education.43
The NLPS asks about race and ethnicity separately. One question asks:
“Here is a list of names that are used to describe persons of Spanish heritage. Please tell
me all of these, if any, you call yourself: Mexican, Mexicano(a), Mexican American,
Chicano(a), Cuban, Puerto Rican, Niuyorican/Neorican, Hispanic, Latino(a), Spanish,
Spanish American, Raza, American, Hispano, Other.” The majority of Latino United
States citizens identify by national-origin base. All three groups identify secondarily by a
pan-ethnic term (Hispanic, Latino, Spanish, Spanish American, Hispano, etc.). The least
amount of people from each group identified as “American,” although Cubans identified
with “American” almost as often as they identified with a pan-ethnic term.44
Additionally, in response to the questions about what ‘Latino’ and ‘Hispanic’ meant, the
majority of all three groups held the consensus that they meant ‘pan-ethnic.’ The second
greatest amount of responses said they had ‘no opinion’ on the matter, the third biggest
43
de la Garza, Rodolfo O., Louis DeSipio, F. Chris Garcia, John Garcia, Angelo Falcon. Latino Voices:
Mexican, Puerto Rican, & Cuban Perspectives on American Politics. Westview Press, Inc., Boulder, CO,
1992, 14.
44
Ibid, 62-3
11
group responded in national-origin specific terms, and the least amount of responses that
it meant something ‘other, or that it had no meaning.’45
Racially speaking, when asked, “Do you consider yourself: White, Black, or
Other (specify)?”American mainland-born Puerto Rican are almost as likely to say they
are ‘Latino’ or some Latino referent as they are to say they are white (46.5 percent say a
Latino referent, 48.8 percent say ‘white’, 4.7 percent say ‘black’). Fifty-five percent of
American-born Mexicans racially identify as ‘white,’ and 44.3 percent claim a Latino
referent. Eighty-two percent of native-born Cubans claim to be ‘white,’ 10.2 percent
identify as ‘black,’ and 7.4 percent make a Latino reference when asked to identify
racially. Foreign-born Mexicans identify the least with ‘black’ at 0.2 percent. Foreignborn Puerto Ricans and Cubans claim to be ‘white’ more often than their native-born
counterparts, but Mexicans do the opposite; native-born Mexicans tend to see themselves
as ‘white,’ whereas Mexican immigrants use a Latino term to classify themselves.
Foreign-born Cubans are most likely of all Latino groups to identify as ‘white’ (93.5
percent), and foreign-born Mexicans are least likely to identify as white’ (46.9 percent).46
By asking Latinos in one question to identify ethnically, and then another to
identify racially, you are not able to know how they construct race and ethnicity for
themselves. As I will suggest later, we should ask an open-ended question about how
they identify. From the NLPS, we can already see that there is a significant amount of
overlap with the usage of Latino and other pan-ethnic and national-origin base labels as
both an ethnic and racial classification. Hopefully, open ended questions, and differently
45
46
Ibid, 64.
Ibid, 23.
12
framed closed questions can tease out how and why Latinos identify themselves as they
do, and what kind of political implications these categories possess.
When researchers asked foreign-born Latinos if they intended to stay in the
United States permanently, 86.4 percent of Cubans, 76.2 percent of Mexicans, and 56.2
percent of Puerto Ricans (who can come and go with ease because they are citizens) said
they ‘yes.’47 When asked about their citizenship status, 15.3 percent of foreign-born
Mexicans said they were citizens, as did 38.1 percent of Cubans born outside of the
United States’ borders, and 99.4 percent of Puerto Ricans (who automatically have
United States citizenship if they are born on the island of Puerto Rico). When asked
whether they wanted American citizenship, 65.1 percent of all foreign-born Mexicans
responded ‘yes,’ and 43.7 percent of Cubans and 0.4 percent of Puerto Ricans agreed.
Only 15 percent of Cubans and 14.7 percent of Mexicans said they did not plan to apply
for citizenship (zero percent of Puerto Ricans said they would not apply for citizenship,
but of course, they already entitled to it). Only 4.9 percent of foreign-born Mexicans, 3.2
percent of foreign-born Cubans, and 0.2 percent of Puerto Ricans said they were
undecided about their citizenship status.48
A slight majority of each Latino group disagreed that English should be the
official language of the United States. About 90 percent said that citizens should learn
English, and 80 percent said that they supported bilingual education. Seventy percent of
Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, and 54 percent of Cubans said they would be willing to pay
more taxes to provide for bilingual education. Seventy-two percent of Puerto Ricans
47
Ibid, 44.
Ibid, 45. It may be interesting to note that 50.1 percent of ‘Anglos’ who said they were foreign-born are
also American citizens. 23.8 percent of ‘Anglo’ foreign-born residents want American citizenship. 24.2
percent of this group does not plan to apply for citizenship.
48
13
believed that children should learn equal amounts of Puerto Rican and United States
history, while a slight majority of Mexicans and majority of Puerto Ricans thought that
children should be taught either exclusively about United States history, or that United
States history should be taught more than Mexican or Cuban history, respectively. 49
Immigration and Latin American-centered Topics. A majority of Latinos
disagreed that preference in immigration patterns should favor Latin America. Sixty-five
percent of Latinos think that there are too many immigrants in the United States. A
majority of Puerto Ricans and Mexicans believed that U.S. citizens should be hired over
noncitizens, but 58 percent of Cubans disagreed.50 Most Latinos were more concerned
with United States politics than politics of their country of ethnic origin.51 Anglos are
most supportive of Puerto Rican independence (25.7 percent) compared to the Latino
groups, and Mexicans are second most supportive (20.7 percent). Support for the
continuation of Puerto Rico’s commonwealth status is 69 percent with Puerto Ricans, 61
percent with Cubans, 55 percent in the Mexican community, and 47.9 percent with
Anglos. The majority of Latinos (82 percent or more of each sub-group) said Mexico’s
problems were due to Mexican corruption, rather than American policy or a combination
of the two.52 A majority of Mexicans said the U.S. should be less involved in Central
America, while the majority of Cubans and Puerto Ricans said the U.S. government
should be more involved.53 The majority of Mexicans (69 percent) and Puerto Ricans
(55.8 percent) attribute Central America’s unrest to poverty and lack of human rights,
while Cubans are divided on this issue: 41.8 percent see poverty and lack of human rights
49
Ibid, 96-100.
Ibid, 100.
51
Ibid, 102.
52
Ibid, 104.
53
Ibid, 103.
50
14
as the major cause of unrest, and 37.8 percent believe it is due to Cuban and Soviet
interference.54
Controversial Domestic Issues. The majority of Cubans believe that job and
college admission should be based on merit as opposed to government quotas. Mexicans
and Puerto Ricans are more divided, with a slight majority leaning toward merit for
Mexicans, and the reverse for Puerto Ricans.55 Support for capital punishment is
strongest for Mexicans (65.4 percent) and Cubans (69.7 percent). While more Puerto
Ricans said they either opposed capital punishment or said that it depended on the case
than did Mexicans and Cubans, still more Puerto Ricans supported the death penalty over
all.56 Mexican men were most supportive of abortion under any condition than any other
gender group (38.1 percent). Male Puerto Ricans were least supportive of abortion in any
case than any other gender group (24.8 percent). Puerto Ricans are most resistant to any
possibilities of abortion, while Cubans are least resistant. Latino men are barely more
resistant to any possibilities of abortion than are Latinas.57
Puerto Ricans and Mexicans feel closer to African-Americans than Cubans do,
and Cubans barely feel warmer toward Anglos than do Puerto Ricans and Mexican.
Latinos overall feel warmest toward Anglos, followed by blacks, then Jews and Asians.58
Cubans and Anglos are more likely to talk politics with friends and family than are
Mexicans and Puerto Ricans.59 For Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Anglos, the Klu Klux
Klan is the most disliked group. For Cubans, the Communists are the most disliked
54
Ibid, 105.
Ibid, 109.
56
Ibid, 110.
57
Ibid, 111.
58
Ibid, 69.
59
Ibid, 73-74.
55
15
group. Neither Latino group tolerated the idea of having their most disliked group hold
office, teach, or hold a rally.60 The majority of Latinos identified “social problems” as
the most important issues facing the country, followed by economics.61 Cubans say they
experience the least amount discrimination, and Mexicans say they experience the most.62
The majority of respondents felt that minority groups (Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans,
African Americans, Asians, Jewish people, and women) did not experience ‘a lot’ of
discrimination, but instead ‘some’ or ‘a little.’ All three Latino groups ranked African
Americans as receiving the greatest amount of discrimination. Of all three Latino groups
and Anglos, Cubans conceded least often that any minority group experienced ‘a lot’ of
discrimination, and consistently perceived more than any responding group that these
minority groups experienced no discrimination at all.63
All three Latino groups said that national-origin based organizations had their best
interests at heart. For Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, they said Latino and Hispanic
organizations were second most support of their interests. Cubans, however, said that
religious or charitable organizations were second best at serving their interests.64
Mexicans are most likely to contribute to and belong to organizations.65 For Cubans and
Mexicans, gender did not have an effect on one’s ability to attend meetings, but Puerto
Rican women had a more difficult time attending meetings than did Puerto Rican men.66
60
Ibid, 82.
Ibid, 88.
62
Ibid, 92.
63
Ibid, 91-96.
64
Ibid., 113.
65
Ibid, 114.
66
Ibid, 114.
61
16
However, Mexicans participated at higher rates in four of the seven types of
organizations than did Puerto Ricans and Cubans.67
About three-fourths of Latinos had no contact with the government in the year
prior to this interview. Concerns related to government services and clarification of
policies topped the reasons for contacting the government. Cubans had the most contact
with the government concerning immigration.68 Four-fifths of the respondents had not
used collective action to address problems, but when they did it was around the issues of
drugs and crime. Collective action was still employed more often than any individual
undertaking. Although most Latinos do not think that collective action address problems
that concern them, those Latinos who do participate in collective action are more satisfied
than unsatisfied about the results of collective action.69 Latinos are not totally convinced
that co-ethnics will help them more if they are in office.70 While Cubans have high levels
of participation in electoral politics (rivaling that of Anglos), Mexicans are often the most
politically active in terms of non-electoral political activities of all four groups (Latinos
and Anglos). All three Latino groups are highly involved in school-related activities.71
Most Latinos identify themselves somewhere between moderate and conservative,
although about 90 percent of Latinos believed the government needed to be involved to
solve national problems, as well as, local problems.72 Most Mexican and Cuban noncitizens place the onus of creating jobs on the government, but not on individuals.
67
Types include: National-origin, pan-ethnic, work or business, religious or charitable, social issues or
advocacy, youth, sports or community, and government-related.
68
Ibid, 117.
69
Ibid, 116-119.
70
Ibid, 133.
71
Ibid, 116-117.
72
Ibid, 83-84.
17
However, providing a minimum income is placed more on individuals than the
government.73 About half on non-citizens believe that hard work leads to success.74
Non-citizens perceive far less discrimination against minority groups, but have more
similar perception of discrimination against Mexicans and Cubans as do their citizenstatus counterparts.75
PUERTO RICANS and Puerto Ricans as a proxy for Hispanic
Entremundos. There is a fair amount of literature that mentions the entremundo
phenomena. Entremundos describes Puerto Ricans who experience living between two
worlds, the island and the mainland, two languages, traditional American citizenship and
commonwealth status.76 Particularly prevalent in the literature about Puerto Rican
immigrants is the level of stress due to adapting, discrimination, and prejudice, confusion,
recurrent poverty, and cultural conflicts that is further exacerbated by the revolving door
migration process of constantly going between the island and the mainland. Those Puerto
Ricans who go back and forth from the island face pressure to conform to the norms and
expectations of their environment. Having battered Spanish on the island, or speaking
little English on the mainland can leave Puerto Ricans open to criticism.77
Language, Acculturation, Education. Spanish is spoken in about 80 percent of all
Latino homes.78 The shift from bilingualism to English takes an average of three
73
Ibid, 162.
Ibid, 156.
75
Ibid, 172-175.
76
Zalvala-Martinez, Iris, “Entremundos: The Psychological Dialectics of Puerto Rican Migration and Its
Implications for Health” in Puerto Rican Women and Children: Issues in Health, Growth, and
Development.. Edited by Gontran Lamberty and Cynthia Garcia Coll. Plenum Press, New York, 1994, 30.
77
De Genova, Nicholas, and Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas. Latino Crossings: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and the
Politics of Race and Citizenship. Routledge: New York, 2003.
78
Carrasquillo, Angela L. Hispanic Children and Youth in the United States: A Resource Guide. Garland
Publishing, Inc.: New York, 1991, 60.
74
18
generations unlike other immigrant groups in the past which experienced the transition in
one or two generations.79
A study conducted by the Fordham Hispanic Research Center aimed to learn
about drinking patterns, drinking attitudes, and gender norms of Puerto Ricans, along
with information on alcohol-related problems and how they were coped with by drinkers,
family and friends, and they designed this study with the intention of comparing it to data
collected by the Berkeley Alcohol Research Center (and others) Mexican Americans,
Anglos, and Blacks. This study was particularly interested in considering gender roles in
respect to drinking and drug use, keeping in mind that the conventional understanding is
that drinking is supported when men participate, but is more restrictive when it comes to
women.80 Many of the questions from the survey are not listed in the book.
The sample of this study was Puerto Ricans in the New York City metropolitan
area. A Puerto Rican is defined as “any person who was born in Puerto Rico, or any
person for whom at least one parent or grandparent was born in Puerto Rico and who
identified herself or himself as Puerto Rican.”81 The sampling design was a multistage
disproportionate stratified area probability sample. There were 1084 interviews, 446
males and 638 females. The interviews were conducted between March 1988 and March
1989. Respondents’ ages ranged from 18 to 87 years old. Respondents received $10 for
participating.82
When asked the question, “Why did your family move to the United States?”
79
Carrasquillo, Angela L. Hispanic Children and Youth in the United States: A Resource Guide. Garland
Publishing, Inc.: New York, 1991 , 63. Arias 1986.
80
Cuadrado, Mary and Louis Lieberman. Traditional Family Values and Substance Abuse: The Hispanic
Contribution to an Alternative Prevention and Treatment Approach. Kluwer Academic/ Plenum
Publishers, New York, NY, 2002, 23-24.
81
Ibid, 24.
82
Ibid, 25.
19
68.3 % of respondents replied “Better life” (73 percent males, 64.9 percent female).
Cuadrado and Lierberman interpret this motivation as stemming from the belief that men
have a greater responsibility of financially supporting the family. Seventy-seven percent
of Puerto Ricans (equal proportions of male and female) said that their family’s main
objectives were completely or mostly fulfilled. This satisfied group has been on the
mainland for an average of 24.1 years, which means the success that they feel they have
achieved is been manifest through their offspring. Twenty-seven percent of respondents
(22.7 percent male, 29.9 percent female) said they had come to the United States because
friends and/or family were here. A little less than five percent said they migrated for
another reason.83 Ninety-four percent of respondents have family on the Island. Eightyfour percent have traveled to the Island, and 49.1 percent said they would like to live on
the Island. Finally, 45.1 percent said that most of their family was in Puerto Rico.84
The investigation of acculturation is often pursued by an index or scale. There are
similar questions for how to ask about proficiency, and language choice, emphasizing the
home versus school, friends versus parents, older siblings versus younger siblings.
In a study conducted by Cuadrado and Lieberman, men scored higher in acculturation
than did women. This means that men were more likely to use English when reading,
writing, and communicating with others. They also prefer American media and music to
Hispanic media and music.
Cuadrado and Lieberman used social proximity to Anglos to measure
acculturation into American society and norms, rather than interactions with any other
groups, and found that Hispanic men feel more socially comfortable with Anglos than
83
84
Ibid, 32.
Ibid, 33.
20
Hispanic women, and thus have a higher proportion of Anglo friends. The authors
attribute this to private environments that women are in, and even though it is easier for
women to find employment, this does not necessarily mean that their job is outside of the
Hispanic community.85
Pinning American music or media against a Hispanic variety is problematic
because it is a false dichotomy of sorts. The facts that challenge this dichotomy are the
many Spanish-language forms of music and media that are produced in the United States,
by American citizens, for American audiences. It is equally problematic to measure
acculturation of Latinos by their proximity to whites when Latinos are often urban
residents, and have greater proximity to other people of color, particularly African
Americans.
Nearly 40 percent of drinkers reported having at least one problem caused by
alcohol in their lifetime, and men reported four times as many problems as women (this is
not to say, however, that reporting more problems makes you a heavier drinker).86
About 10 percent of respondents report using at least one of the following in the past year
(Uppers—speed, amphetamines, or cocaine, Downers—tranquilizers, barbiturates,
Quaaldues, Librium, or Valium, Codeine or methadone, Marijuana (hash, THC, or grass),
Hallucinogens (LSD, PCP, mescaline, psilocybin), heroin or opium); men are twice as
likely to report that they have used drugs than are women.87
Like previous studies (Perez et al (1980), Amaro et al (1990), and Vega et al
(1998)) that found a link between language preference (which they interpret as a proxy
85
Cuadrado, Mary and Louis Lieberman. Traditional Family Values and Substance Abuse: The Hispanic
Contribution to an Alternative Prevention and Treatment Approach. Kluwer Academic/ Plenum
Publishers, New York, NY, 2002, 49.
86
Ibid, 107.
87
Ibid, 109.
21
for acculturation) and drug use.88 Being born on the mainland increases the likelihood
that someone will become a drinker and drug user. For males, place of birth also
increased likelihood to drink in a variety of settings, and being born in the United States
correlated negatively with the number of drinking problems. A weaker Puerto Rican
ethnic identification was positively correlated with increase of the extent of drinking in
different settings, and being a drug user for men, while for women it increased their
likelihood of being a drinker and a drug user. For men and women, higher levels of
education were also correlated with being a drinker, drinking in different settings, being a
drug user, but for men, education reduced likelihood of reporting problems related with
drinking.89
As one’s acculturation increased so did likelihood of being a drinker for men and
women, the extent of drinking in a variety of settings for males, and the likelihood of
drinking problems decreased for men (but not women). The authors believe that
acculturation increases these activities it also provides conditions for drinking more
responsibly. As Puerto Rican traditionalism increased, the likelihood of being a drinker
and extent of drinking decreased for women, as did the number of problems for men, as
well as the likelihood that men and women would use drugs.90 When the respondents
level of religiosity increased, their likelihood of using drugs, drinking, and their extent of
drinking decreased for both men and women.91
In a different study of Puerto Rican children, Kenji Hakuta concluded that there is
a subtractive relationship between English and Spanish. Greater English proficiency and
88
Ibid, 95.
Ibid, 111-112.
90
Ibid, 160.
91
Ibid, 161.
89
22
lesser Spanish proficiency is associated with increasing years of residence on the
mainland, and at about 10 years+ of the family’s residency one will find a flattening out
of English proficiency in children (grades K, 1, 4, and 5).92 Adults who have resided in
the United States for less than 15 years tend to use Spanish, though English usage
increases after that threshold mark. Language use among siblings after 10 years of the
family’s residency is between “mostly Spanish” to “both equally.” Communication
between adults and children is best described as somewhere between the patterns found
between adult-to-adult language practice and the language practice between siblings.93
In another study of Mexican American high school students, Hakuta finds tht
Spanish proficiency is usually maintained through the 2nd generation (those born in the
United States), but drops off by the third generation, and is strongly associated with the
language choice of adults in the home. Proficiency is associated with language choice of
adults in home.94 Language choice across generational lines is “incremental and
synchronous to the acquisition of English proficiency in both languages and by language
attitude,” but proficiency in either language cannot be predicted by language attitude.
Hakuta also found that “language choice is a socially mediated variable having to do with
ethnic identification, but it is constrained by the limits of proficiency in the two
languages.” While an adults’ language practice can predict Spanish proficiency, it does
not affect English proficiency. There is a linear patter with English and exposure with
regards to language choice with siblings.95 Language shift is a combination of language,
Hakuta, Kenji, “Distinguishing among Proficiency, Choice, and Attitude in Questions about Language
For Billinguals” in Puerto Rican Women and Children: Issues in Health, Growth, and Development..
Edited by Gontran Lamberty and Cynthia Garcia Coll. Plenum Press, New York, 1994, 195-198.
93
Ibid, 198.
94
Ibid, 202.
95
Ibid, 203.
92
23
proficiency, and attitudes. Self-report on proficiency probably carries some attitudinal
element, so Hakuta recommends working toward a more objective measure.
Hispanics have the greatest likelihood of being under-educated (32.2 percent)
than any other group in the country: 29.2 percent of Native Americans, and 20.4 percent
of African Americans are under-educated.96 One of the primary reasons for this
scholastic underachievement is the dominance of English-only education.97 In 1991, 13.8
percent of Latino youth were in detention centers, 13.6 percent were in recreational
detention centers, and 8.5 percent attended training schools.98
Mexicans
Lisa Bedolla’s ethnographic work on Mexicans and Mexican Americans in East
Los Angeles and Montebello, California teases out important relationships between
generation cohort, self-identification, language use, attitudes about language, and politics.
Bedolla finds that “the social stigma attached to Spanish is largely related to the role that
the English language has played in the development and maintenance of U.S. national
identity.”99 English monolingualism pressures Latinos to pledge allegiance the Unites
States, and speaking another language (or dialect) is at times seen as unpatriotic and unAmerican. In the interviews Bedolla conducted, there was a common claim that not
knowing English made people feel that they do not know the law, nor the norms of the
United States. This lack of confidence in one’s knowledge often transferred the
responsibility of interfacing with public institutions on the English-speaking child, thus
96
Carrasquillo, Angela L. Hispanic Children and Youth in the United States: A Resource Guide. Garland
Publishing, Inc.: New York, 1991 , 93.
97
Ibid, 95.
98
Montero-Sieburth, Martha and Francisco A. Villarruel. Making Invisible Latino Adolescents Visible: A
Critical Approach to Latino Diversity. New York: Falmer Press, 2000., 21
99
Bedolla, Lisa. Year unknown. Chapter 3 A Thin Line Between Love and Hate: Language, Social Stigma
and Intragroup Relations, 124.
24
changing family dynamics of power. Negative images and negative stereotypes of the
Mexican community prompted many respondents to partake in “selective dissociation,”
where Latinos work to distance themselves from other Latinos.100 Even though males
report a greater sense of political efficacy in their interviews, there are less likely to
participate in political activities than are women.101 There seems to be a strong
relationship between feelings of vulnerability and one’s citizenship status. In 35
interviews, people expressed the belief that if they became citizens they you could do
something to defend themselves politically (it is important to remember that these
interviews were conducted post-Pete Wilson). Respondents felt that they will ‘count’ if
they are citizens. Finally, Bedolla finds that affective attachment to one’s group may lead
to a stronger sense of efficacy, such as in the case of East LA, where residents had a more
positive outlook on other Mexicans. In Montebello, on the other hand, people were not
so apt to speak about their group identification and therefore felt the stigma of being
Latino without feeling the benefits.102
Carleen Rochelle Basler’s dissertation, Fractured Ethnic Identity: Explaining a
Lack of Political Efficacy Among Mexican Americans in California, describes how ethnic
identity of Mexican Americans is reinvented and negotiated with perceived political,
economic, and group threat. Basler looks at ethnic identification and generation in
respect to one’s position with Propositions 187, 209, 227. Her work derives from indepth interviews with people of Mexican descent in Los Angeles and Orange County
(508 transcripts total) ranging from 25 minutes to 3 hours. She looks at secondgeneration, naturalized and undocumented and documented workers. Interviews were
100
Ibid, 161-162.
Ibid, 194-195.
102
Ibid, 221.
101
25
conducted in either English and Spanish, or a combination of both. The identities which
were most often cited were Mexican, Mexican-American, American, Latino, Hispanic,
Chicano, and White.
Proposition 187 banned undocumented immigrants from receiving most social
services, like public education, non-emergency medical care and prenatal clinics.
Of second-generation Mexican Americans, 45.3 percent were in favor, and 54.7 percent
were against it. Among naturalized citizens, 78.7percent were in favor, and 21.3 percent
were opposed to it. Immigrants (not naturalized) were 22.2 percent in favor, and 77.8
percent opposed. Many respondents emphasized difference between being a citizen, and
being “illegal.” Many of those who supported the proposition said that immigrants,
particularly undocumented immigrants foiled the reputation of those Mexicans who are
citizens. By emphasizing one’s identity and experience as an American citizen,
respondents felt that their citizenship empowered them with something their ethnic
identity cannot. Those respondents who were anti-Proposition 187 distinguished
themselves by citizenship from immigrants, but talked about shared aspirations and
experiences. Majority of anti-187 people chose Mexican (not Mexican-American) first,
and citizen second.
Proposition 209 was created as an anti-affirmative action measure. This initiative
was supported by 63 percent of whites, and opposed by 74 percent of blacks, 76 percent
of Latinos, and 61 percent Asians. Sixty-one percent of men supported it, while only 48
percent women supported it. Only 32.1 percent of second-generation Mexicans
supported Proposition 209, as did 28.3 percent of naturalized citizens, and 7.4 percent of
immigrants. An acute awareness of racism, and white privilege seemed to accompany
26
one’s explanation for their opposition against the anti-affirmative action initiative. This
issue is interesting for analyzing conceptions of self in the Mexican community, because
many citizens spoke about how this measure was discriminatory against citizens, and
how that is not acceptable, however some of those same people who spoke out against
discrimination against citizens felt that it was acceptable to discriminate on the basis of
citizenship. Pro-209ers said that they did not need a ‘hand out,’ and that such legislation
lead to doubt about their skills. Those who voted for Proposition 187 but against
Proposition 209 do so with the understanding that affirmative action is for correcting past
wrongs. Many people said that Proposition 209 was ‘un-American,’ and felt compassion
for immigrants because they had an “American-like work ethic.”
Lastly, Proposition 227 set out to constrict or eliminate bilingual education
financed or designed by California public schools. Seventy-four percent of whites and
Asians voted for it, and so did 66 percent of Blacks. Although the majority of Latinos
voted against it, Basler’s sample says otherwise. In the circumstance of this proposition,
she remarks, “Individuals who employed derogatory ethnic slurs when speaking about
undocumented immigrants were quick to claim Spanish as central to their Mexican
culture, but at the same time voted for Proposition 227 because they felt that their
children needed English language proficiency to succeed in the United States.”
27
Tables and Questions from Literature
Lopez, Mark Hugo. Electoral Engagement Among Latino Youth. University of
Maryland: Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement,
March 2003.
2000, Voter Turnout by Ethnicity (page 2)
Mexicans
Puerto Ricans
Cubans
Central Americans
18-30
30 and older
32.7%
31.7 %(least)
50.1 %(greatest)
39.2%
53.6%
58.0%
72.6%
64.6%
Registration Rates by Ethnicity in 2000 (page 7)
Mexicans
Puerto Ricans
Cubans
Central Americans
18-30
30 and older
50.8%
47.0% (least)
70.6% (greatest)
48.9%
69.1%
70.1%
81.1%
73.2%
Latino Voter Registration, 2000: Average 51.6% (page 8)
HighestIllinois
HighestChicago
Texas
Houston
Florida
Dallas/Ft. Worth
New York
Miami
California
New York City
New Mexico
LowestLos Angeles
LowestArizona
2000 Voter turnout among registered citizens by ethnicity (I assume this means those
who were registered and most likely voted in a previous election) (page 10)
18-30
30 and older
Mexicans
Puerto Ricans
Cubans
Central Americans
Non-Latino Blacks
Non-Latino Whites
66.8%
71.1%
69.6%
80.9%
76.6%
75.8%
79.2%
83.1%
91%
89.3%
88%
89.2%
28
Latino Voter Turnout Among Registered Citizens (those involved in previous election),
2000: Average 70% (page 11)
HighestArizona
HighestNew York City
New York
Los Angeles
California
Chicago
Illinois
Miami
Florida
Houston
New Mexico
LowestDallas/ Ft. Worth
LowestTexas
Latino Voter Turnout in general, 2000: Average 34.9% (page 3)
HighestIllinois
HighestChicago
New York
Miami
Florida
New York City
California
Los Angeles
New Mexico-Texas
Houston
LowestArizona
Dallas/ Ft. Worth
29
Lambert, Wallace E. and Donald M. Taylor. Coping with Cultural and Racial
Diversity in Urban America. New York: Praeger: New York Division of Greenwood
Press, Inc, 1990.
Pages 99-100.
(1) Disagree—Definitely
(4) Neutral
(7) Agree—Definitely
I.
In your opinion, how far should your own group go in maintaining its culture
and traditions?
1. Since our culture and traditions are not American, they should not be
maintained.
2. Keep our own cultural styles of food, dress, songs and dancers.
3. Keep our own cultural values, such as how children should behave with
parents, husbands, wives, dating practices, etc.
4. Attend courses about our own cultural history and traditions not in public
schools but in church run or community run classes.
5. Have courses about our own cultural history and traditions taught in public
schools.
6. Have equal time in schools spent on our own cultural history and
traditions as on American history and traditions.
II.
In your opinion, how far should your own group go in using its own
language?
1. Cultural groups whose language is not Standard English should never use
own language.
2. Use our own language for festival days, cultural songs, traditional stories,
prayers, and religious services.
3. Use our own language for speaking with older family members like
grandparents.
4. Use our own language for most or all speaking with family.
5. Learn to read and write our own language not through school, but through
church-run or community-run classes.
6. Use our language for part of the teaching and learning in public schools.
7. Give equal time in schools to the use of language as to Standard English.
30
III.
Consequences of Bilingualism
To speak both English and Spanish means…
feeling accepted in America
a sense of pride
make your parents happy
feel open and relaxed with others
bring status and respect to their group
stand out as different
be treated like second class citizens
get good marks in school
have a chance for certain jobs others can’t get
be sympathetic to people from different groups
show intelligence
Hakuta, Kenji, “Distinguishing among Proficiency, Choice, and Attitude in
Questions about Language For Billinguals” in Puerto Rican Women and Children:
Issues in Health, Growth, and Development.. Edited by Gontran Lamberty and
Cynthia Garcia Coll. Plenum Press, New York, 1994.
From a study of Puerto Rican children in New Haven, Connecticut, using 226 children
and their parents.
“What language does your child use with you and the other adults in the household?
(Only Spanish, Mostly Spanish, Both English and Spanish, Mostly English, Only
English)”
“What language does your child use with his or her brothers and sisters?”
“What language do the adults in your household use with each other?”
Parents were also asked how long they have lived on the mainland, and the Peabody
Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was used on the children to measure the their bilingual
proficiency (page 195).
In a separate study on Mexican-American high school students in Watsonville,
California, they investigated language proficiency, language choice, and identification
over more than 300 students of different generational backgrounds. To measure the
students’ ability, they asked:
“How well do you speak and understand English/Spanish?”
“How well do you read in English/Spanish?”
“How well do you write in English/Spanish?
(not at all, hardly at all, not so good, so-so, good, well, but not perfect, perfect)”
(page 201)
31
To assess language choice, they asked students to fill in the blanks with “only Spanish,
mostly Spanish, both languages equally, mostly English, only English, not applicable.”
“The adults in my home usually speak with each other in…”
“I speak with my father in…”
“I speak with my mother in…”
“I speak with my older brothers and sisters in…”
“I speak with my younger brothers and sisters in…”
“At school I speak with my friends in…”
“Outside of school I speak with my friends in…”
“My friends usually speak with me in…”
(page 202)
Lastly, to measure attitudes of maintaining bilingualism and Mexican culture, they used
Likert scale measures:
“Knowing how to speak Spanish is important to understand a person’s family history.”
(‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’)
“How important is it for you to know Spanish well?”
(‘not at all’ to ‘very important’)
“A person who knows Spanish, in addition to English, has more chances to express his or
her feelings.”
(‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’)
“How important is it for you to know both English and Spanish?”
(‘not at all’ to ‘very important’)
“Using Spanish allows a person to feel good about him or herself.”
(‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’)
“People who know Spanish should use it daily, especially at home.”
(‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’)
“A person often needs to use Spanish for daily communication.”
(‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’)
“It’s okay if a person grows up speaking Spanish, and later forgets it.”
(‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’)
(page 202)
Language and Acculturation Questions by the HHANES survey (Delgado, Johnson, Roy,
& Trevino)
What language do you speak?
What language do you prefer?
Can you read Spanish? Can you read English? Which do you read better?
Can you write Spanish? Can you write English? Which can you write better?
What ethnic identification do you use?
What ethnic identification does/did your mother use?
What ethnic identification does/did your father use?
Where was the birthplace of yourself, your mother, your mother?
(page 206-7)
32
Cuadrado, Mary and Louis Lieberman. Traditional Family Values and Substance
Abuse: The Hispanic Contribution to an Alternative Prevention and Treatment
Approach. Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers, New York, NY, 2002.
When asked to specify their ethnic identification: (page 33)
“All Puerto Rican”
Male: 44.6%
Female : 51.2%
“Mostly Puerto Rican” Male: 7.6%
Female: 10%
“Puerto Rican and
Male: 40.2%
Female: 33.4%
American”
“Neither Puerto Rican Male: 1.1%
Female: 0.9%
or American”
“Mostly American”
Male: 4%
Female: 3.4%
“All American”
Male: 2.5%
Female: 1.1%
Total: 48.4%
Total: 9%
Total: 36.2%
Total: 1%
Total: 3.7%
Total:1.7%
To measure acculturation: ability to speak English, ability to read and/write English,
use of English with family, friends and at work, media language preference. This survey
was available in English and Spanish. “Spanish only” means those interviewed in
Spanish who did not speak English. “Bilingual” means those who were interviewed in
English but spoke Spanish, and those interviewed in Spanish but spoke English, too.
“English only” who were interviewed in English and did not know Spanish.
The index for ability in their faculty of English went from “very well” to “do not read (or
write) English” on a four-point scale.
“Do you speak mostly Spanish or English with (spouse or partner, children, brother and
sister, parents, other relatives, friends, neighbors, and people at work), or do you use both
about the same?”---(1) “mostly Spanish” (2) “both about the same” (3) “mostly English”
Media language preference:
“When you listen to the radio do you prefer to listen to Hispanic rather than American
stations?”
“When you watch TV do you prefer to watch Hispanic rather than American channels?”
“When you read a book/ magazine/ novella do you prefer to read a Spanish language
version?”
Rated on scale from 1 to 4, picking preference of English (or Spanish) “most of the time”
to “rarely or never” (pages 45- 48)
The following were placed in an index about acculturation:
“When you listen to music do you prefer to listen to Hispanic rather than American
music?”
“Socially, I feel less comfortable with Americans than with Hispanics.”
“Is it better that Hispanics only marry other Hispanics?”
“Thinking of your friends that you usually see these days, what proportion are Hispanic?”
“Thinking of the parties you usually go to these days, what proportion of the people there
are Hispanics?”
1-4 higher to lower acculturation.(page 49)
33
Index of Traditional Family Role Attitudes: Likert-type, “strongly agree” “agree”
“disagree” “strongly disagree,” depending on wording of question, this was recoded to
higher or lower level of traditional attitude.
Disagreement means traditional beliefs:
“Raising children should be just as important to a man as it is to a woman.”
“It is OK if a wife with young children has a job outside the home, if she wants.”
“It is OK for a wife to earn more money than her husband.”
“Married women have a right to continue their education.”
Agreement means traditional beliefs:
“Husbands should make all the important decisions in the marriage.”
“Men should not do housework.”
“A wife should do whatever her husband wants.”
“Only girls and not boys should help with housework.”( page 67)
Index of Traditional Family Role Attitudes (Traditionalism A) by Gender (page 69)
Low traditional
Medium traditional
High traditional
Male: 24.7%
Male: 30.3%
Male: 45%
Female: 39.5%
Female: 29%
Female: 31.5%
Total: 33.4%
Total: 29.5%
Total: 37.1%
Family Decision Making and Marital Role Responsibilities: “usually the wife (or female
partner)” “usually the husband (or male partner)” “both together” “either one or the other
but not together” “neither the husband nor the wife. (page 71)”
“Who usually makes the final decision about…
what house or apartment to take/ how much life insurance and what type/ whether the
wife (female partner) should be employed at all/ whether the husband (male partner)
changes his job or not/ where to spend vacations; where to go on outings/ what
improvements should be made around the house/ which school the children should go
to?”
“In your house, who usually…
does the grocery shopping/ does the cooking/ washes clothes/ washes and dries dishes/
bathes children/ fixes breakfast/ disciplines children/ fixes breakfast/ cleans the car/ takes
car to be repaired or repairs car/ attends to furniture repair/ purchases expensive items
(i.e. car, TV, furniture, etc.)( page 72)
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Index of Traditional Family Decision-Making by Gender (page 74)
Low traditional
Medium traditional
High traditional
Male: 29.2%
Male: 32%
Male: 38.8%
Female: 38%
Female: 28.9%
Female: 33.1%
Total: 32.4%
Total: 30.9%
Total: 36.7%
Fatalism:
“Do you think it’s better to plan your life a good ways ahead, or would you say life is too
much a matter of luck to plan ahead very far?”
“When you do make plans ahead, do you usually get to carry out things the way you
expected, or do you things usually come up to change your plans?”
“Have you usually felt pretty sure your life would work out the way you want it to, or
have there been times when you haven’t been sure about it?”
“Some people feel they can run their lives pretty much the way they want to; others feel
the problems of life are sometimes too big for them. Which one are you most like?”
“When you have a problem, do you make a plan of action and follow it, or try to take
your mind off your problems for a while?”( pages 79-80)
Index of Fatalism by Gender (page 80)
Low
Medium
High
Male: 29.6%
Male: 40.6%
Male: 29.8%
Female: 20.4%
Female: 40.4%
Female: 39.2%
Total: 23.6%
Total: 39.7%
Total: 36.7%
Fatalism by Religiosity for Males and Females (page 81)
Religiosity
Fatalism
High
Males
Low
Medium
High
Total
Low
Medium
High
25.4%
40.4%
34.3%
28.3%
39.1%
32.6%
37.4%
41%
21.6%
29.7%
40.3%
30%
Females
Low
Medium
High
Total
Low
Medium
49.3%
10.8%
39.9%
42.9%
15.8%
41.3%
32.2%
26.3%
39.5%
39.5%
20.3%
40.2%
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Alcohol and drug use outcome indicators:
Index of levels of alcohol use
Index of extent of drinking in different settings
Index of numbers of drinking problems
Index of drug use.
Index of levels of alcohol use
“When you drink them (the beverage: beer/liquor/wine), how often do you have as many
as five or six drinks?” and asks about “three or four drinks” and “one or two drinks”
“Nearly every time” score of 4
“More than half the time” score of 3
“Less than half the time” score of 2
“Once in a while” score of 1
“Never” score of 0
score 1, 2= low drinker
score 3.4= moderate drinker
score 5-9= heavy drinker
Males are much more likely to be heavy drinkers ( pages 97-99)
Index of extent of drinking in different settings
“never” “less than half the time” “about half the time” “more than half the time” “almost
all the time”
“How often do you have a drink when you…
Go out for an evening meal in a restaurant?
Go out for lunch in a restaurant?
Go to club or organizational meetings?
Go to bars, taverns or cocktail lounges?
Go to a party in someone else’s home?
Spend a quiet evening at home?
Have friends drop over and visit in your house?
Hang around with friends in a public place such as a park, street or parking lot?”
Males were not only more likely to drink in a greater variety of different settings, but
more likely to drink more in those different settings (pages 100-103)
Index of numbers of drinking problems
(pages 105-106) long list
Nearly 40% of drinkers reported having at least one problem caused by alcohol in their
lifetime, and men reported four times as many problems as women (page 107).
Index of drug use
Uppers—speed, amphetamines, or cocaine, Downers—tranquilizers, barbiturates,
Quaaldues, Librium, or Valium, Codeine or methadone, Marijuana (hash, THC, or grass),
Hallucinogens (LSD, PCP, mescaline, psilocybin), heroin or opium. About 10% report
using at least one of these in the past year, men twice as likely to report so ( page 109).
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Questions Which Did Not Make The Cut
From NLPS:
Some (name of group)s say all Hispanics or Latinos in the U.S. have a great deal in
common culturally. Others say that there are many cultural differences among
Hispanics Do you think that (name of group) and other Hispanics are culturally:
Very similar, not very similar, somewhat similar
Some people want Puerto Rico to become a state, others want it to become
independent, and still others want it to remain as it is, a Commonwealth. What do
you think?: Become a state, Become independent, Remain a Commonwealth
Some people say that the US government should begin immediately to reestablish
diplomatic relations with Cuba. Others are opposed to this. What do you think?:
Begin immediately to reestablish relations OR The U.S. should not establish
relations
Questions To Consider for Our Study
All from ethnographic work:
Do you feel accepted or rejected by other Mexican Americans or the Mexican
community? Instead of “Mexican Americans” and “Mexican,” it could read whatever
group name the person identifies as. This is important for a sense of political efficacy.
***(1)New version: Do you feel accepted or rejected by other __________ or the
_________ community? Accepted all the time, Accepted most of the time, Accepted
and Rejected about the same, Rejected most of the time, Rejected all the time.
Do you think Mexicans in California should work as one group to achieve more for
Mexicans politically, economically, and socially? Again, the group name can be
modified.
***(1)New version: Do you think ___(group name OR all minority groups)___
should work as one group to achieve more for ____(group name OR all minority
groups)__ politically, economically, and socially? Yes or No
***(1) Do you think such unification is possible? Yes or No
37
Questions we should KEEP and/or modify:
From empirical work:
While there are variations on this asking about providing government services, speaking
another language in the work place, whether citizens and residents should learn English,
and how strongly someone supports bilingual education, this may cover those bases in
one question to get the general sentiment?
***(1)Laws should be passed making English the official language of this country:
Strongly agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly disagree
***(1)What language do you usually speak at home? Only Spanish, More Spanish
than English, More English than Spanish, Only English, Both languages equally?
And Spanish can be replaced by ‘another language besides English.’ This may have
something to do with predicting political efficacy, trust, opinions about immigration,
bilingual education…
***(1)Considering your abilities in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing
English or Spanish, which of these statements best describes your abilities in
Spanish? Would you say that you: Don’t know Spanish language, Are much better
in English, Are better in English, Are no different in either, Are better in Spanish,
Are much better in Spanish, Don’t know English language? Again, Spanish can be
replaced by ‘another language besides English.’ This may have something to do with
predicting political efficacy, trust, opinions about immigration, bilingual education…
***(1)How do you identify ethnically? (Open-ended):
“All Puerto Rican,” “Mostly Puerto Rican,” “Puerto Rican and American,”
“Neither Puerto Rican or American,” “Mostly American,” or “All American?”
Change ‘Puerto Rican’ for whichever group name given. Latinos do not necessarily
identify by race, and when they identify ethnically, it is usually by national-origin group.
This gives some leverage as to their feeling of belonging, and negotiation of identifying
as something other than white, or mainstream. Something about ancestry? Black
Latino, Latino of Spanish descent, Latino of Indigenous descent, Latino of African
descent, Latino of mixed descent, Boriqua, Chicano, Azteca, etc…..
38
Questions we should add:
(2)Generation of citizenship: the difference in the two questions are the words “most
recent” and “least recent”
We would like to know about how long your family has been in the United States:
Think about the side of your family which came to this country most recently. Was
this person: You, Your parent, Your grandparent, Your great-grandparent, or
further back than your great-grandparent?
We would like to know about how long your family has been in the United States:
Think about the side of your family which came to this country least recently. Was
this person: You, Your parent, Your grandparent, Your great-grandparent, or
further back than your great-grandparent?
(1-4)Inter-racial friendships, romantic relationships, sex, marriage:
Would you say that most of your friends are: Blacks, Latinos, Asians, minorities in
general, white, or an equal mix of Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and whites?
Would you say that most of your romantic relationships have been with people who
are: Blacks, Latinos, Asians, minorities in general, white, or an equal mix of Blacks,
Latinos, Asians, and whites?
Would you say that most of your sexual partners have been with people who are:
Blacks, Latinos, Asians, minorities in general, white, or an equal mix of Blacks,
Latinos, Asians, and whites?
If you are currently married, or have been married in the past, how would you
describe your spouse? If you have been married more than once, please answer
with your current or most recent spouse in mind: Black, Latino, Asian, white,
multiracial?
OR
Other than your family, How much contact do you have with (name of group)? A lot
of contact, some contact, a little contact, no contact.
(1)Emphasis of parenthood in one’s life (then look at if this correlates with questions
about sex, condoms, birth control, abortion)
When you think about all the things that are important for you, how would you
rank the following: being married, having a child, a career, going to college?
39
(1) Translating for adults, interfacing with power on an adult’s behalf. This may have an
effect on one’s political efficacy or trust.
Do you now or have you ever had to translate for an adult (including an adult
member of your family) for the purposes of communicating with a nurse/doctor,
police officer, teacher, lawyer, welfare officer, immigration officer? Yes, often,
Yes, but not often, Once, Never
(2)Rights and citizenship:
Do you think if someone is a legal resident, but not a citizen, that they should be
entitled to any of the above: health care, legal representation, public education, a
minimum wage? All, None, or any named combination,
What about if they are undocumented? All, None, or any named combination.
(1)Entremundos: It sounds like DuBois’s double consciousness, but here seems to
explain a feeling of being trapped between two cultures, which also has a lot of baggage
with discrimination and meaning of citizenship, and being part of a group whose
citizenship and legal belonging is constantly in question. For Puerto Ricans, there is an
added element of being connected to a current, quasi-colonized political identity, part of
the Revolving Door Migration phenomenon.
Do you feel more at home/comfortable/like you belong or do you think you would
feel more at home/comfortable/like you belong: here in the United States, in the
region from where your ancestors are from, I feel at home/comfortable/like I belong
in both, I do not feel or think I would feel more at home/comfortable/like I belong in
either one?
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