We examined the role of behavioral (acculturation and enculturation) and cognitive cultural orientation (independent and interdependent self-construal) on Mexican American college students’ life satisfaction. Analyses explained 28% of the variance in life satisfaction, with social class, grade point average, and independent self-construal being unique predictors. Furthermore, enculturation was associated with increasing life satisfaction among those low in interdependent self-construal, whereas acculturation was associated with decreasing life satisfaction among those high in independent self-construal. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
2.
AudS.HussarW.KenaG.BiancoK.FrohlichL.KempJ.TahanK. (2011). The Condition of Education 2011 (NCES 2011-033). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Government Printing Office.
3.
BerryJ. W. (1980). Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In PadillaA. M. (Ed.), Acculturation: Theory, models and some new findings (pp. 9-25). Boulder, CO: Westview.
4.
BerryJ. W.TrimbleJ. E.OlmedoE. L. (1986). Assessment of acculturation. In LonnerW. J.BerryJ. W. (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural research (pp. 291-345). Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
5.
BrownT. N.WallaceJ. M.WilliamsD. R. (2001). Race-related correlates of young adults’ subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 53, 97-116. doi:10.1023/A:1007190226538
6.
CastilloL. G. (2009). The role of intragroup marginalization in Latino college student adjustment. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 31, 245-254. doi:10.1007/s10447-009-9081-5
7.
CastilloL. G.ConoleyC. W.BrossartD. F. (2004). Acculturation, white marginalization, and family support as predictors of perceived distress in Mexican American female college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 151-157.
8.
CrossS. E.HardinE. E.Gercek-SwingB. (2011). The what, how, and why of self-construal. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15, 142-179. doi:10.1177/1088868310373752
9.
CuéllarI.ArnoldB.MaldonadoR. (1995). Acculturation rating scale for Mexican Americans–II: A revision of the original ARSMA scale. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 17, 274-304. doi:10.1177/07399863950173001
10.
Del PilarJ. A. (2009). Mental health and Latino/a college students: A psychological perspective and new findings. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 8, 163-281.
11.
DienerE.EmmonsR. A.LarsenR. J.GriffinS. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
12.
EdwardsL. M.LopezS. J. (2006). Perceived family support, acculturation, and life satisfaction in Mexican American youth: A mixed-methods exploration. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 279-287. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.53.3.279
13.
GilmanR.HuebnerE. S. (2000). Review of life satisfaction measures for adolescents. Behaviour Change, 17, 178-195. doi:10.1375/bech.17.3.178
14.
JonesL.CastellanosJ.ColeD. (2002). Examining the ethnic minority student experience at predominantly White institutions: A case study. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 1, 19-39. doi:10.1177/1538192702001001003
15.
KimB. S. K. (2007). Acculturation and enculturation. In LeongF. T. L.InmanA. G.EbreoA.YangL.KinoshitaL.FuM. (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American psychology (2nd ed., pp. 141-158). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
16.
KitayamaS.MarkusH. R.KurokawaM. (2000). Culture, emotion, and well-being: Good feelings in Japan and the United States. Cognition & Emotion, 14, 93-124. doi:10.1080/026999300379003
17.
LaFromboiseT.ColemanH. L.GertonJ. (1993). Psychological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 395-412. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.114.3.395
18.
LopezJ. D. (2005). Race-related stress and sociocultural orientation among Latino students during their transition into a predominantly White, highly selective institution. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 4, 354-365. doi:10.1177/1538192705279594
19.
MarkusH. R.KitayamaS. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224
20.
MillerM. J. (2007). A bilinear multidimensional measurement model of Asian American acculturation and enculturation: Implications for counseling interventions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54, 118-131. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.54.2.118
21.
OjedaL.FloresL. Y.NavarroR. L. (2011). Social cognitive predictors of Mexican American college students’ academic and life satisfaction. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58, 61-71.
22.
OjedaL.NavarroR. L.Rosales MezaR.ArbonaC. (2012). Too Latino and not Latino enough: The role of ethnicity-related stressors on Latino college students’ life satisfaction. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 11, 14-28. doi:10.1177/1538192711435553
23.
SchwartzS. J.KimS. Y.WhitbourneS. K.ZamboangaB. L.WeisskirchR. S.ForthunL. F.LuyckxK. (2013). Converging identities: Dimensions of acculturation and personal identity status among immigrant college students. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19, 155-165. doi:10.1037/a0030753
24.
SchwartzS. J.UngerJ. B.ZamboangaB. L.SzapocznikJ. (2010). Rethinking the concept of acculturation: Implications for theory and research. American Psychologist, 65, 237-251. doi:10.1037/a0019330
25.
SchwartzS. J.WatermanA. S.Umaña-TaylorA. J.LeeR. M.KimS. Y.VazsonyiA. T.WilliamsM. K. (2013). Acculturation and well-being among college students from immigrant families. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69, 298-318. doi:10.1002/jclp.21847
26.
SingelisT. M. (1994). The measurement of interdependent self-construals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 580-591. doi:10.1177/0146167294205014
27.
SuhE. M.DienerE.UpdegraffJ. A. (2008). From culture to priming conditions: Self-construal influences on life satisfaction judgments. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 39, 3-15. doi:10.1177/0022022107311769
28.
SzapocznikJ.KurtinesW. M. (1993). Family psychology and cultural diversity: Opportunities for theory, research and application. American Psychologist, 48, 400-407. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.48.4.400
29.
Umaña-TaylorA. J.FineM. A. (2001). Methodological implications of grouping Latino adolescents into one collective ethnic group. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 23, 347-362. doi:10.1177/0739986301234001
30.
WangS.SchwartzS. J.ZamboangaB. L. (2010). Acculturative stress among Cuban American college students: Exploring the mediating pathways between acculturation and psychosocial functioning. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40, 2862-2887. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00684.x
31.
WillertonE.DankoskiM. E.Sevilla MartirJ. F. (2008). Medical family therapy: A model for addressing mental health disparities among Latinos. Families, Systems, & Health, 26, 196-206. doi:10.1037/1091-7527.26.2.196
32.
YazedjianA.ToewsM. L. (2006). Predictors of college adjustment among Hispanic students. Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 18, 9-29.
