Acculturation and Family Functioning Are Related to Health Risks Among Pregnant Mexican American Women

• Published in: Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.) Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 62 - 70
• Main Authors: Balcazar, Hector, Krull, Jennifer L., Peterson, Gary
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Taylor & Francis Group 2001; Heldref; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Acculturation; Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Attitude to Health; Biological and medical sciences; cultural factors; Families & family life; Family - psychology; Family cohesion; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Illness and personality; Longitudinal Studies; maternal risk factors; Mexican American people; Mexican American women; Mexican Americans; Mexico - ethnology; Personality, behavior and health; Physician-Patient Relations; Pregnancy; Pregnancy - psychology; Pregnant women; Prenatal Care; Prenatal Care - standards; Psychology and medicine; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social Support; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States - epidemiology; Women; Young Children; Central America; Mexico; United States; North America; America; Social environment; Disease; Mental health; Cigarette; Alcoholic beverage; Acculturation; Marihuana; Family environment; Female; Cultural aspect; Coping; Public health; Consumption; Human; Ethnic origin; Illicit drug; Psychosocial factor; Stress; Pregnancy; Follow up study; Adolescent; Young adult; Risk factor; Strategy; Comparative study; Social support
• ISSN: 0896-4289; 1940-4026
• DOI: 10.1080/08964280109595772

The authors examined the independent and interactive effects of acculturation status and family cohesiveness on a series of psychosocial and medical risk factors of pregnancy among 500 women of Mexican origin. In general, both higher and lower levels of acculturation produced positive or negative psychosocial and healthcare consequences, and the operative relationships depended heavily on the particular outcome chosen. Higher levels of family cohesiveness tended to foster the most constructive health and psychosocial outcomes. However, in some circumstances higher levels of family cohesiveness resulted in less coping and a lower quality of prenatal care for less acculturated women. An important implication of this study is that psychosocial and health information can be obtained through assessments that identify different subgroups of Mexican American women and depend on women's level of acculturation and family cohesiveness. Culturally competent health practitioners or clinicians can conduct these assessments in a prenatal healthcare setting.