Communal Goals,Campus Racial Climate Perceptions,and Cultural Differences in Perceived Academic Satisfaction

Although some research has examined Latino collectivism and Latino students' campus climate perceptions, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the interactive effects of these two constructs. Therefore, the authors examined the moderating effect that perceptions of campus racial climate may have on the relationship between communal goals and academic major satisfaction for Latino students in comparison with European American students. Contrary to prediction, perceptions of a positive university campus racial climate moderated the relationship between communal goals and academic satisfaction for European American students but not Latino students. Specifically, European Americans endorsing higher communal goals were more likely to report higher academic satisfaction when holding a positive perception of the university's racial climate. However, a main effect was observed whereby communal goals were a significant positive predictor of academic satisfaction for Latino students. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Negotiating cultural values and expectations within the public child welfare system: A look at familismo and personalismo

This paper examines, from the perspective of parents and child welfare workers, how cultural values and expectations are integrated and negotiated in public child welfare cases. The study focuses on the experiences and interactions of Mexican families with the public child welfare system in Southern California. Grounded theory is used to complete the content analysis. Findings indicate that workers' efforts to provide culturally congruent services are limited by organizational structural factors. Consistent with the value of personalismo, parents stress the importance of a good relationship with their worker and the implications to their case. Specific recommendations to enhance service delivery include (1) developing services models that are informed by families served; (2) developing/providing ongoing training and evaluation to ascertain if services are in fact culturally competent; and (3) promoting a change in child welfare policy that reflects the diverse needs of families.     

The relation between cultural values and condom use among Latino gay men

ABSTRACT

Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) are the second largest group to be affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Latino cultural values may influence sexual behaviors that can result in HIV acquisition. This study explored the relations among traditional machismo, caballerismo, familismo, unprotected anal intercourse (UAI), and the appeal of sex without condoms (ASWC) among Latino gay men. Results indicated that higher levels of familial honor and traditional machismo predicted higher levels of ASWC. These findings suggest that exploration of gender roles and family are important factors to be included in HIV prevention and intervention programs.     

Latino Adolescents' Community Violence Exposure: After‐school Activities and Familismo as Risk and Protective Factors

Low‐income, urban adolescents are exposed to extremely high rates of witnessing and being victimized by community violence. Such violence exposure presents serious implications for youth's development and psychological well‐being. In a sample of 223 ninth‐grade Latino adolescents, we examine: (1) what types of after‐school activity participation increase or reduce adolescents' risk for violence exposure and (2) the role of the cultural value of familismo in moderating the impact of violence exposure on adolescents' psychological well‐being. Our results indicate that spending unstructured leisure time with peers and participating in non‐school sports and non‐school clubs were associated with higher levels of community violence exposure, whereas adhering to the cultural value of familismo was associated with lower levels of violence exposure. Additionally, familismo moderated the positive association between violence exposure and depressive symptoms, but not posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Implications of these results are discussed.