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A Longitudinal Study of Cultural Adaptation among Mexican and Dominican Immigrant Women

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Abstract

The present longitudinal study examined cultural adaptation (i.e., acculturation and enculturation) and its correlates in a sample of 189 Mexican and Dominican immigrant women. Acculturation and enculturation were measured within the domains of language competence, identity, and cultural knowledge at two time points over a 1-year period. Across groups and domains, cultural adaptation was generally stable over time; only American cultural knowledge showed change and only for MA women. Several correlates of cultural adaptation were identified. For Mexican women, living in poverty and in immigrant-dense neighborhoods was associated with lower acculturation. For Dominican women, age at immigration was the most robust correlate and was associated with more acculturation and less enculturation, though poverty and neighborhood characteristics emerged as significant for Dominican women too. Findings are consistent with the notion of cultural adaptation as a complex construct that is influenced by cultural context as well as individual immigrant characteristics.

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Author notes

  1. Esther J. Calzada

    Present address: University of Texas at Austin, School of Social Work, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd, D3500, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas at Austin, School of Social Work, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd, D3500, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Keng-Yen Huang, Maite Covas, Denise Ramirez & Laurie Miller Brotman

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  1. Esther J. Calzada
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  2. Keng-Yen Huang
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  3. Maite Covas
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  5. Laurie Miller Brotman
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Correspondence to Esther J. Calzada.

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Calzada, E.J., Huang, KY., Covas, M. et al. A Longitudinal Study of Cultural Adaptation among Mexican and Dominican Immigrant Women. Int. Migration & Integration 17, 1049–1063 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-015-0449-6

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