Based on theory and research, social aspects like friendship and sense of relatedness are fundamental in the development of children's cultural identity and achievement of outcomes. It is argued that this is a motivational aspect often neglected in research studies focusing on students' motivation and learning. Theory and research on motivation…

Interviews were conducted with 102 urban Mexican, Mexican American, and Anglo American women to examine health-illness beliefs in five health domains as related to acculturation level: folk and hot-cold beliefs, beliefs of responsibility and control over own health, and cardiovascular disease and stress-illness beliefs. Mexican-origin women mildly…

Experimental design studied global and componential self-esteem. Perceived ethnic status was manipulated among 132 Anglo- and Mexican-American college students. For both groups, those in the high-status condition showed higher overall self-esteem and higher social competitiveness. Compared to Anglos, Mexican-Americans showed lower social-power…

Surveys of reservation and nonreservation American Indians and Anglo-Americans in grades 8 and 12 examined perceptions about availability of alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, and other drugs; beliefs about whether occasional or regular use of alcohol or various drugs would cause harm; and intentions concerning future drug use. (SV)

Present study examined a model of the direct and indirect influences of mother, child, and family factors on home learning activities in low-income families. Results provided partial support for the model. Separate analyses yielded comparable results for Anglo- and Mexican-Americans. Ways to facilitate parent self-efficacy are discussed. (Author)

A sleep questionnaire was administered to 80 Mexican American and 80 Anglo elderly, ages 60 to 96. The Mexican American sample reported poorer quality and longer latency of sleep, greater negative affect concerning dreams, longer sleep duration, less dream recall, more regular sleep, and more positive valence towards sleep. (JHZ)

A year-long, social-ecological study assessed a kindergarten classroom setting and the beliefs of 32 kindergarten children, 9 parents, and 2 teachers, for the purpose of illuminating the interactive nature of the person-environment interaction model of the learning environment. Children were from lower- and middle-income Anglo and Hispanic…

Assessed the attitudes of 359 immigrant and native-born American parents of kindergarten through second-grade children about child rearing, education, and intelligence and their children's school performance. Found that parents' beliefs about conformity were negatively related to their children's school performance. (MDM)