The late-night cramming, comprehensive exams and esoteric lectures can make college stressful enough, but for Mexican-American women in college, having to balance the disparate values of two different cultures may be an additional and significant source of stress, says Linda G. Castillo, an assistant professor in Texas A&M University's Department of Educational Psychology.
In a recent study of nearly 250 Mexican-American female college students, Castillo, along with colleagues Collie W. Conoley and Daniel F. Brossart, examined the influence of discomfort with white American values and beliefs on the students' perceived distress and found that it may partially explain the low number of U.S.-born Mexican-American women who graduate from college.
This discomfort - referred to as "white attitudinal marginalization" - suggests that it's possible for bicultural individuals to be integrated into white American culture behaviorally but at the same time not incorporate traditional white American values into their belief system, Castillo notes.
The resulting dissonance translates into greater perceived distress for these students. Studies have shown that balancing gender role expectations with the pursuit of higher education can drain their emotional reserves and lead to distress, depression and anxiety, she says.
"This study underscores the importance of addressing psychosociocultural issues in supporting Mexican-American women in college," she says. "To provide relevant services to Mexican-American college women, counselors may need to attend to both attitudinal and behavioral aspects of acculturation and culturally traditional support systems."
For Mexican-American females - a group that has the lowest college rate (5.3 percent) when compared with Puerto Rican, Cuban-American and Central and South American women, according to the U.S. Census - this cultural divide can be a great one.
Mexican-American values, she explains, are characterized as being centered on the family with family unity and loyalty highly valued. Cooperation rather than competition is considered appropriate and willingness to sacrifice on behalf of the group is highly esteemed.
In contrast, white American culture is characterized by individually centered values that emphasize uniqueness, independence and self-assurance. Independence and autonomy are highly valued by white American culture, she explains.
In addition to analyzing the effects of white attitudinal marginalization within the cohort, Castillo and colleagues assessed the influence of other factors such as acculturation, family support and income on the students' perceived distress, finding marginalization and family support to be two previously unidentified predictors of distress among female Mexican-American college students.
The relationship between family support and distress, Castillo explains, is consistent with well-documented findings that Mexican-American college women rely on family support to deal with college-related stressors.
Findings from this study, Castillo says, suggest that counselors implement culturally sensitive clinical services to Mexican-American college women that address white marginalization in addition to other acculturation issues.
In addition, these finding also support previous calls on counselors to establish and maintain a Latino community network as a resource support system, she adds.
"This study underscores the importance of addressing psychosociocultural issues in supporting Mexican-American women in college," she says. "To provide relevant services to Mexican-American college women, counselors may need to attend to both attitudinal and behavioral aspects of acculturation and culturally traditional support systems."
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