The Impact of Acculturation on Attitudinal Familism in a Community of Puerto Rican Americans

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between acculturation and familism in a samnple of 182 Hispanics of Puerto Rican descent. Exploratory factor analysis was used to establish the multidimensionality of each construct. Consistent with earlier studies, three dimensions of acculturation and familism were identified. Each dimension offamilism was then regressed on a set of explanatory variables that included three dimensions of acculturation. For two dimensions offamilism (familial obligations and support from relatives), acculturation was positively related to familism; for the other dimension (family as referents), the relationship was nonsignificant. In explaining variance in attitudinal familism, the results suggest that acculturation may be better represented as a single, second-orderfactor In interpreting the findings in the context of previous research, however; it is useful to treat acculturation as a multidimensional construct.

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