This exploratory study examines reactions and sense of safety experienced by Mexican American individuals in Laredo, Texas. Two bilingual interviewers conducted structured field interviews with residents of three different communities. Responses were very similar across these stratified samples of convenience. Gender did not influence responses. The authors discuss alternate explanations for the findings, limitations of the study, and further research suggestions. The impact of the interviews on both respondents and researchers is noted.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abad, V., Ramos, J., & Boyce, E. (1974). A model for delivery of mental health services to Spanish speaking minorities. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 44, 584-595.
2.
Aguilar, M. A. (1996). Promoting the educational achievement of Mexican American young women. Social Work in Education, 18(3), 145-157.
3.
Barrera, M. J. (1978). Mexican American mental health service utilization: A critical examination of some proposed variables. Community Mental Health Journal, 14, 35-45.
4.
Chandler, C. R. (1979). Traditionalism in a modern setting: A comparison of Anglo and Mexican American value orientations. Human Organization, 38(2), 153-159.
5.
Fierros-Gonzalez, R., & Brown, J. M. (2002). High risk behaviors in a sample of Mexican American college students. Psychological Reports, 90, 117-130.
6.
Garcia, J. (1997). Perspectives in Mexican American studies: Vol. 6. Mexican Americans in the 1990s. Tucson: The University of Arizona.
7.
Garcia, M. T. (1989). Mexican Americans: Leadership, ideology and identity, 1930- 1960. New Haven: Yale University Press.
8.
Griffith, J. (1985). A community survey of psychological impairment among Anglo and Mexican Americans and its relationship to service utilization. Community Mental Health Journal, 21, 28-34.
9.
Highlen, P., & Finley, H. (1996). Doing qualitative research. In F. Leong & J. Austin (Eds.), The psychology research handbook: A guide for graduate students and research assistants (pp. 185-194). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
10.
Manuel, H. T. (1971). Spanish-speaking children of the Southwest: Their education and public welfare. Austin: University of Texas Press.
11.
McWilliams, C. (1949). North from Mexico: The Spanish-speaking people of the United States. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.
12.
Meier, M. S., & Ribera, F. (1993). Mexican Americans/American Mexicans: From conquistadors to Chicanos. New York: Hill and Wang.
13.
Mindiaola, T. (2000). Population growth and distribution. In N. Kanlellos (Ed.), Reference library of Hispanic America: Vol. 1 (pp. 185-194). Farmington Hills, MI: The Gale Group.
14.
Padilla, E. R., Carlos, M. L., & Keefe, S. E. (1976). Mental health service utilization by Mexican Americans. In M. R. Miranda (Ed.), Psychotherapy with the Spanish-speaking: Issues in research and service delivery. Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, Spanish-Speaking Mental Health Research Center.
15.
Portes, A., & Bach, R. (1985). Latin journey: Cuban and Mexican immigrants in the United States. Los Angeles: University of California Press, Berkeley.
16.
Vargas, P. (1975). Aerosols: A new drug danger. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
17.
Werner, O., & Campbell, D. (1970). Translating, working through interpreters, and the problem of decentering. In R. Narroll & R. Cohen (Eds.), A handbook of cultural anthropology (pp. 398-419). New York: American Museum of Natural History.
18.
Yzaguirre, R. (200l). America attacked: Racial profiling. The Washington Post.com Live On Line. Retrieved September 22, 2001 from http://discuss.washingtonpost.com
19.
Zamora, E., Orozco, C., & Rocha, R. (Eds.). (2000). Mexican Americans in Texas history. Austin: Texas State Historical Association.
20.
Zimbardo, P. G. (2002, February). Ground zero: Looking up and beyond. APA Monitor, 33, 2.