Acculturation and Family Cohesiveness in Mexican American Pregnent Women: Social and Health Implications

This article describes a classification system based on acculturation status and family cohcsivcncss and examines the extent to which these variables may determine the degree of exposure to high acculturative stress, social isolation, and health-related risk behaviors among Mexican American pregnant women. Empirical data from the Arizona Perinatal Acculturation Project was used to test the presence of an acculturation effect, a family cohesiveness effect, and a traditionalism effect, on a series of dependent variables including: socioeconomic status, acculturative stress, coping strategies, social support, and pregnancy risk factors. The results obtained from the postulated contrasts yielded several patterns of interest from the variables studied. A typology derived from the classification system was developed to illustrate common characteristics and demographic patterns within each of the four categories. Characteristics that are associated with these subgroups suggest how the health care system might respond appropriately to meet the health needs of subgroups of Mexican American women