Examines cultural assimilation in a Mexican and Chicano community in Santa Paula, California. Argues that the assumption of Anglo-Saxon superiority ascribed inferior social positions to Mexican-origin groups and generated conflict among these groups at times, but promoted intergroup unity when social conditions became intolerable. Contains 39…

School environments dominated by high socioeconomic status levels have a negative effect on ethnic self-attitudes and on ethnic salience in self-identification, but Anglo-dominated school environments alone do not. In a test of the effect of different levels of Anglo dominance in schools on the ethnic self-attitudes of Hispanic elementary…

Survey found that: (1) immigrant Mexican networks are the smallest, are kin and friend based, and include almost exclusively Mexicans; (2) American born Mexican American networks are the largest, are kin based, and are somewhat ethnically mixed; and (3) Anglo American networks are relatively small, are friend based, and are almost exclusively…

Differences in the age of entry to kindergarten and the use of kindergarten retention as functions of a child's sex and ethnicity were assessed for over 1,800 Anglo and Latino kindergarten students in 3 California school districts. Impact of these policies on early school failure are discussed. (SLD)

School environments conducive to equal status relations appear counter-productive to assimilation, according to a study of the relationship between school status characteristics and assimilation levels achieved by Hispanic sixth graders. A prior study provided data for this research from 10 desegregated elementary schools in California regarding…

A modified version of the Societal, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental Acculturative Stress Scale (SAFE) was administered to 71 Latino and Euramerican children aged 8-10 from southern California. Despite being U.S.-born, Latino children experienced significantly more acculturative stress than their Euramerican peers, thereby helping to…

Acculturation and biculturalism of four populations (first-, second-, and third-generation Mexican American school children, and a comparison group of Anglo American children) were measured by teacher ratings of classroom behavior, using the Bicultural Identity/Respect for Cultural Differences Scale, developed expressly for use in…