Cognitive referents of acculturation: Assessment of cultural constructs in Mexican Americans

The relations among behavioral measures of acculturation and five cultural constructs were explored in a sample of 379 persons varying across five generation levels. The sample was mostly (89%) of Mexican origin. The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) was used as the measure of acculturation. The development of five scales measuring the cultural constructs of Familism, Fatalism, Machismo, Personalismo, and Folk Beliefs is reported. Significant relations were found among four of the five constructs with generational status and acculturation. The findings support Acculturation Theory, which postulates that psychological acculturation takes place at least along cognitive and behavioral domains. The findings demonstrate that cultural attitudes, ideas, beliefs, and values associated with the acculturation processes can be reliably measured and that these processes have empirical construct validity. Familism, Fatalism, Machismo, and Folk Beliefs were found to be negatively correlated with acculturation (Pearson's r = −.23, p <.001) for Familism; r = −.19, p <.05 for Fatalism; r = −.24, p <.001 for Machismo; r = −.32, p <.001 for Folk Beliefs. The findings are discussed with regard to understanding cultural differences within the Mexican-American population, and the role that such factors may have in the experience of illness, help-seeking behaviors, and in the provision of culturally competent mental health services.