A SURVEY: THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY AND THE DEGREE OF COHESION AND ADAPTABILITY OF THE FAMILY SYSTEM WITH AN ADOLESCENT AS PORTRAYED THROUGH THE CIRCUMPLEX MODEL AND IN RELATION TO ACCULTURATION

MARIA TERESA FLORES, Purdue University

Abstract

This explorative study gathers normative data about the Mexican American family who are economically stable in the United States. The study matched Olson's (1983) Anglo American families in being a never divorced, nuclear family with a mean income level of 20,000. The study compared and contrasted the Mexican American and Anglo American family systems which included an adolescent. It then focused on the effect of acculturation of the Mexican American family. Specifically: how types of acculturation relate to types of family structure, and how acculturation was correlated with cohesion and adaptability of the family. The study then moved to examine various variables impact on the family system such as language usage, sex, education, and occupation. Lastly, the study investigated how the joint family income of spouses had an influence on family structures. This study utilized two instruments: Faces III and ARSMA. The results of this study indicate that Mexican American families and Anglo American families with similar family incomes are more similar than distinct in their family structure. Families were found to be similar in their cohesiveness and adaptabililty. Most were in the balanced, flexible structured category of the Circumplex Model which is in the balanced family range. Few families fell into the extreme family types. However, throughout the investigation Mexican American spouses were consistantly more cohesive with one another than were the Anglo American spouses with one another. The cohesive Mexican American spousal pair may suggest a bond and team work reflected in the literature review of research findings. When acculturation and family structure was analyzed, it was found that acculturation, cohesion, and adaptability were related. When family income was introduced into the analysis, poorer Mexican American families were less similar to Anglo American as well as other Mexican American families in relation to family structure.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology

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