Acculturation and Risk Behavior among Pregnant Mexican American Females: A Structural Equation Model

  1. Gary W. Peterson1,
  2. José A. Cobas2,
  3. Hector Balcazar3,
  4. Jeffrey W. Amling4

Article first published online: 9 JAN 2007

DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-682X.1998.tb00484.x

Issue

Sociological Inquiry

Sociological Inquiry

Volume 68, Issue 4, pages 536–556, October 1998

Additional Information

How to Cite

Peterson, G. W., Cobas, J. A., Balcazar, H. and Amling, J. W. (1998), Acculturation and Risk Behavior among Pregnant Mexican American Females: A Structural Equation Model. Sociological Inquiry, 68: 536–556. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-682X.1998.tb00484.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Is professor of sociology at Northwestern University. He is most recently the author of Morel Tales: The Culture of Mushrooming (Harvard University Press, 1998) and is currently completing a manuscript on how adolescents learn to argue and use evidence, through an ethnographic investigation of highschool debate. His current research interests are in political reputation and in the creation of a market for self-taught art.

  2. 2

    Is professor of sociology at Arizona State University. His interests include statistics, acculturation, and race and ethnicity. His book (with Jorge Duany), Cubans in Puerto Rico: Ethnic Economy and Cultural Identity, was recently published by the University Press of Florida. Some of his other work has appeared in journals such as the American Journal of Public Health and Social Forces. He is currently planning a research project on definitions of race.

  3. 3

    Is associate chair and associate professor of public health and community nutrition in the Department of Family Resources and Human Development at Arizona State University (ASU). He is also the coordinator of the Latino Public Health Working Group of ASU's Hispanic Research Center. Dr. Balcazar specializes in the study of public health problems of LatinoMexican Americans. He has published widely in the areas of Mexican Americans' perinatal and infant health outcomes, relationships between acculturation and Latino health problems, and border issues. As a Latino health specialist, Dr. Balcazar provides consultation and leadership to local and national health organizations.

  4. 4

    Is pursuing his Ph.D. in sociology at Arizona State University and expects to finish in May 1999. His research interests include family sociology, social psychology, rural sociology, quantitative methodology and statistics, and applied criminology. He holds a B.A. in journalism and an M.S. in rural sociology from Auburn University.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 9 JAN 2007
  2. Article first published online: 9 JAN 2007

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The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical model designed to predict risk behavior (i.e., cigarette and/or alcohol use) in a sample of Mexican American females who were pregnant and ranged in age from adolescence to early adulthood. The model consisted of six hypothesized predictors–acculturation status, intergenerational family conflict, acculturative stress, educational attainment, household income, and age of respondent, which were proposed as antecedents of risk behavior. Structural equation modeling was used to test both the direct and indirect effects for a set of proposed antecedents to the tendency for Mexican American females to engage in risk behaviors. Several of the hypothesized relationships were supported, with the strongest predictors of risk behavior being acculturation status, intergenerational family conflict, and acculturative stress. An important conclusion was that risk behavior by Mexican American females increased as they became more acculturated to the social circumstances of the U.S. Another notable result was that risk behavior increased among Mexican American females as they experienced higher levels of intergenerational conflict within their families.

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