Relationship between Acculturation and Psychological Impairment in Adult Mexican Americans

Abstract

Some have argued that the Mexican American's relinquishment of traditional values lessens acculturative stress and associated adjustment problems (the "melting pot" or "damaging culture" hypothesis). A competing argument, the "bicultural hypothesis," supposes on the other hand that identification with the Anglo-American culture, while at the same time maintaining traditional values, facilitates healthier psychosocial adjustment. Mexican American adults (n = 259) residing in one of three suburban communities in Southern California provided responses to a standardized measure of psychological impairment to test these hypotheses. Neither the melting pot nor the bicultural hypotheses was directly supported. Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans reported significantly fewer problems of social relations, while paradoxically more anxiety problems than did more acculturated Mexican Americans (both English-speaking and bilinguals). Consistent with this pattern, first generation expressed significantly fewer problems of psychosocial dysfunction than did third generation. Depressive symptoms were not significantly related to one's level of acculturation. When sociodemographic characteristics were held constant, only differences in psychosocial dysfunction symptoms persisted. Differences in anxiety symptoms between the groups are perhaps best explained by socioeconomic status. It was suggested that differences in problems of social relations across the acculturated groups reflect: (a) a cultural difference in the expression or the acceptance of psychosocially dysfunctional behaviors; and (b) stress which accompanies acculturation.