Culture and sex role as determinants of personality profiles

Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)

Authors Francis, Barry Sherwood, 1939-

Publisher The University of Arizona.

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CULTURE AW SEX SOLE AS BETSSMIMTS

OF PERSOIALITY PROFILES

by

B arry Sherwood. F ra n c is

A T hesis Sabraitted. to th e F a c u lty of th e .

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

In P a r t i a l F u lf i l lm e n t o f the; R equirem ents For th e Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

In th e G raduate C o lleg e

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

1 9 6. 4

STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR

This th e s is has been submitted in p a r t ia l fu lf il lm e n t of requirem ents for an advanced degree at the U n iversity of Arizona and i s deposited in the U n iversity Library to be made a v a ila b le to borrowers under ru le s of the L ibrary.

B r ie f quotations from t h is th e s is are a llow ab le without sp e c ia l perm ission , provided that accurate acknowledgment of source i s made. Requests for perm ission for extended quotation from or reproduction of th is manuscript in whole or in part maybe granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate C ollege when in th e ir judgment the pro­posed use o f the m ateria l i s in the in te r e s ts o f sch o la rsh ip .In a l l other in sta n c e s , however, perm ission must be obtained from the au thor.

SIGNED:

APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR

This th e s is has been approved on the date shown below:

Va' ""ARNOLD M O T W i 'T O r : " P rofessor of Psychology

A C EH OlfLED G-M M TS

The au th o r w ishes to express h is g r a t i tu d e to Dr 0 A rnold

Meadow fo r h is con tinuous s u p p o r t? encouragem ent, and a s s i s ­

tance both in the o r ig in a t io n and th e com pletion of th i s

p a p e r .

Dr® M arguart and Dr® H ertz deserve s p e c ia l r e c o g n itio n

and th e a u th o r 6s deep a p p re c ia t io n fo r read in g th e f i r s t

d r a f t of t h i s m anuscrip t and f o r th e h e lp fu l su g g e s tio n s which

made th e w r i t in g ta s k so much easier®

Louise Bronson, D an ie l Logan, and Mary Logan were of

g re a t h e lp in desig n in g t h i s s tu d y , in th e a d m in is tra t io n and

sco rin g o f th e t e s t s , and in th e com putation of th e n ecessa ry

s ta t i s t i c s ®

The a d m in is t r a t io n , te ach in g s t a f f , and sophomore c la s s

of Pueblo High School deserve s p e c ia l thanks® W ithout th e ir

co o p e ra tio n and support th i s s tu d y might never have been

conducted®

TABLE m C OMEITS

Page

Aekaewledg ements i i i

L is t ©f T ables and F ig u re s v

H is to ry of t i e Problem 1

T ie K ativ e Mexican C h a ra c te r 1

Tie Mexican C h a rac te r as A lte re d by th e - American C u ltu re 2

T ie Use o f th e SffiPl in C ro s s -C u ltu ra l R esearch 21

S tatem ent of t i e Problem 26

Method 30

S u b jec ts 30

A n a ly s is 34

R e su lts 36

Conclusion® 51

D isc u ss io n 56

Summary 62

B ib lio g rap h y . 64

iv

LIST' OF TABLES 11B FIG IKES

Page

TABLES

P erso n a l H is to ry Q u es tio n n a ire ,32

P ercen tag es of 170 Scores 49

FXGIBES

l o Mean T Score P r o f i l e s f o r th e C u ltu re and Sex V a r ia b le s 39

2 0 Mean T Score P r o f i l e s fo r "the I n te r a c t io n s of th e C u ltu re and Sex V a ria b le s 41

3« F req u en c ies o f ' T7@ Scores Among th e M exican- American a d Anglo-Am erican Groups 43

4 o F req u en cies of T 70 Scores Among Mexiean- Ameriean Males and Anglo-Am erican Males 45

S o F req u en c ies o f T79 Scores Among Mexican- American Fem ales and Anglo-Am erican Females 47

lo

2 o

v

HISTORY OF THE PKOB1EM

Many r e p o r ts have been p re se n te d which d e a l w ith th e

Mexican p e r s o n a l i ty ty p e and th e changes in t h i s ty p e th a t

r e s u l t from m ig ra tio n to th e B a ited S ta te s „ The m a jo r i ty .

o f th e se r e p o r ts have based t h e i r co n c lu sio n s on p u re ly

o b s e rv a tio n a l d a ta , although a few o f them have a ttem p ted to

measure re le v a n t v a r ia b le s in a more o b je c t iv e manner. This

r e p o r t w i l l f i r s t rev iew r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s tu d ie s o f both th e

o b s e rv a tio n a l and o b je c t iv e types and w i l l a ttem p t to s e t f o r th

th e need fo r g r e a te r ca re in conducting in v e s t ig a t io n s o f

th e o b je c tiv e v a r ie t y » Then an ex p erim en ta l s tu d y concerned

w ith an a tte m p t to meet th is need w i l l be r e p o r te d .

THE MTIYE MEXICAI CHAMCTER

There i s a f a i r amount of agreem ent among authors who

have a ttem p ted to d e s c r ib e the n a t iv e Mexican p e r so n a lity .

B iaz-G w errero (1955) sta te d the b a s ic theme of the m a jo rity

of th ese authors when he proposed two p r in c ip le s upon which

the Mexican fa m ily is founded: wi . The unquestioned and

a b s o lu te supremacy of th e father and 2 . The n e c e ssa ry and

a b s o lu te s e l f - s a c r i f i c e , pf the mother** (p . 411) . He a lso

d e sc r ib e d th e ro le e x p e c ta tio n for th e ch ild ren . Male c h i ld re n

must become m ascu line a t any c o s t . Any h int of f e m in in ity

1

in a B ale c h ild i s a g re a t fam ily t r a g e d y » The boys must

le a rn from a very e a r ly age th a t th e y must be "macho«w

M a sc u lin ity becomes equ a ted w ith being rough; and w ith no t

runn ing away from a f ig h t or an o b l ig a t i on 9 More emphasis

i s p laced on not runn ing away from a f ig h t , how ever, th a n on

m eeting © b lig a t io n s « V i r i l i t y becomes equated w ith le a d e r ­

sh ip and g re a t emphasis i s p laced on sexual knowledge and

experience^

Female c h i ld re n r e tu r n to th e home a f t e r com pleting

g rade schoo l and a re t r a in e d in dom estic d u t i e s „ At th is

tim e , th e y le a rn to se rv e th e needs o f the males in th e house.

Their honor and v i r g i n i t y come to be of prime im portance to

th e e n t i r e fa m ily , e s p e c ia l ly to th e f a th e r and th e o ld e r

b r o th e r s . The one break, in the g i r l ' s l i f e o f s e rv itu d e

occurs when she i s co n s id e red to have become th e id e a l woman

fo r a given man. However, th is change la s t s o n ly u n t i l she

i s m a rried , at which tim e she r e tu rn s to a l i f e of se rv ic e

to th e m ale . T h is ■sudden r e v e r s a l and r e tu rn to a p re v io u s ly

despis ed r o le is o f te n d i f f i c u l t f o r th e fem ale to accept „

From th i s pm. n t on th e Mexican w ife has a l l o f h er needs

denied .

The Mexican mother is c h a ra c te r iz e d as being ex trem ely

a f f e c t io n a te and overly , p r o te c t iv e in her r e la t io n s h ip s with

her in f a n t c h i ld r e n . This r e la t io n s h ip l a s t s u n t il th e c h i ld

i s about two years of age. From th is p o in t on, the c h ild i s

expected to become co m p le te ly o b ed ien t and subm issive to

th e d e s ire s of the p a r e n t s ,

Diaz-Guerrero goes on to d e s c r ib e th e c o n f l i c t s and

p a tho logy found in the Mexican c u l tu r e . He used a 46 item

q u e s tio n n a ire d es ig n ed to e v a lu a te th e degree o f m ental h e a l th

of h is s u b je c ts , Q uestions such as wDo you g e t angry f r e ­

q u e n tly ? 18 and 'wDo you th in k l i f e i s w orth l iv in g ? 18 (p , 415)

were in c lu d ed in th e q u e s t io n n a ire . The q u e s tio n s were to

be answered ”yes',” who,* or don’t know,88 Bach answer was

sco red as e i th e r n e u ro tic or not n e u r o t ic . The q u e s tio n n a ire s

were d i s t r i b u t e d . i n Mexico C ity by th e C a n t r i l l w eighted

random sample te c h n iq u e . Two hundred n in e ty -fo u r lo f th e

q u e s tio n n a ire s were r e tu r n e d .

He concluded th a t fo r th e s u b je c ts over 18 y e a rs of age

32 p e rce n t of th e m ales and 44 p e rce n t of th e fem ales were

n e u r o t ic . This d if f e re n c e reach ed s ig n if ic a n c e a t th e ,04

l e v e l , . He d e s c r ib e s th e problem s of th e m ales under s ix

c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s i

(1) submission.;, c o n f l i c t , and r e b e l l io n in th e a re a of a u th o r i ty , (2) p reo ccu p a tio n and a n x ie ty reg ard in g se x u a l po ten cy , (3) c o n f l ic t and am bivalence re g a rd in g h is double r o l e (w hehter to be te n d e r and m a te rn a l, th e r o le expected in.. h is r e la t io n s h ip w ith younger s i s t e r s , o r to be v i r i l e and s e x u a l ) ,1(4) d i f f i c u l t i e s in superced ing th e m a te rn a l s ta g e ,(5) problem s b e fo re and d u rin g m arriag e : m o th er’s love i n t e r f e r e s w ith th e love to an o th e r woman, and(6) th e Oedipus complex Cpp, 414 & 4 1 5 ),

1I n s e r te d by th e p re se n t a u th o r .

file most common problem s f o r th e fem ales r e s u l t from t h i e r

i n a b i l i t y to l iv e up to th e req u irem en ts o f th e c u l tu r e . This

r e s u l t s in re p e a te d s e l f - b e l i t t l e r a e n t and in d e p re s s iv e t r e n d s 0

F u rth e r d e s c r ip t io n s of th e m o th e r-c h ild r e la t io n s h ip

and th e f a th e r - f a m ily r e la t io n s h ip in th e Mexican c u l tu re have

been re p o r te d by Ramirez and P a r re s (1957)« They s e le c te d

t h e i r s u b je c ts by sam pling from IBgOQO case h i s t o r i e s from

a c h i ld r e n 's h o s p i ta l and m ental hygiene, c e n te r s in Mexico

C i ty , T heir sam ple in c lu d ed 63.5 f a m i l ie s . In d e s c r ib in g th e

b a s is f o r some of th e co n c lu s io n s th e y draw and fo r some of

th e r e s u l t s th e y r e p o r t , o th e r th a n s t a t i s t i c s o b ta in ed from

"the. case r e c o rd s , th e au th o rs s t a t e , ^The d ep th u n d e rs ta n d in g ,

p sy c h o lo g ic a lly sp eak in g , comes from our o b se rv a tio n during

a n a ly t ic tre a tm e n t o f e lev en p a t ie n t s whom we co n s id e r

ty p ic a l ly Mexican68 (p , 1 8 ) ,

They c l a s s i f i e d th e types of m arriag es p re v a le n t in

t h e i r sample and re p o r te d th e r e l a t i v e frequency o f each

ty p e . Of th e m arriag es s tu d ie d , 59 p e rcen t were bo th c i v i l

and r e l i g i o u s , 10 p e rc e n t were on ly c i v i l , 5 p e rc e n t were

on ly r e l i g i o u s , and 26 p e rcen t were of th e common law ty p e .

In 32 p e rc e n t of th e ca ses s tu d ie d , th e f a th e r was com plete ly

ab sen t from th e home, .Of th i s 32, p e rce n t on ly 7 p e rce n t were

ab sen t as the r e s u l t o f d e a th . The o th e r 25 p e rc e n t ab sen tees

r e s u l t e d from abandonm ent. In many o th e r ca se s th e f a th e r

was d e sc rib ed as being ^ p sy c h o lo g ica lly ^ a b s e n t. The au th o rs

d e sc rib ed th e r©le o f th e f a th e r as beiug th a t of a "b u ffe r^

th a t m ed ia tes th e p r im it iv e r e la t io n of th e m other w ith th e

ch ild o They d e sc r ib e th e ^machismo*1 as a r e a c t io n fo rm atio n

a g a in s t th e f a t h e r ’s la c k of r e a l im portance in th e fam ily

cr g a n iz a t io n 0

In 70 p e rc e n t o f th e c a se s o f abandonment th e f a t h e r ’s

le av in g co in c id e d w ith th e pregnancy of th e w ife . In an

a ttem p t to e x p la in t h i s c o in c id e n c e , th e a n th e rs beg in w ith

a d e s c r ip t io n o f th e c a re of i n f a n t s . This c a re is ag a in

d e sc r ib e d as in te n s e and c lo s e . However, t h i s in t e n s i t y

and c lo se n e ss l a s t on ly u n t i l th e mother becomes p regnan t

a g a in . At t h i s tim e , th e c h i ld i s weaned v e ry a b ru p tly , o f te n

w ith tra u m a tic e f f e c t s . Ramirez and F a rre s i n t e r p r e t th e

f a t h e r ’s d e s e r t io n a t the tim e of pregnancy as being th e

r e s u l t of h is i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w ith bo th th e weaned c h i ld and

w ith h is own mother who d e s e r te d him a t t h i s tim e in h is own

l i f e . They f e e l th is acco u n ts f o r th e ’’m ascu line r e v o l t ”

and th e r e s u l t in g ”maeho” p a t t e r n . The man i s ty p i f i e d as

being d i s t a n t and d i s t r u s t f u l . ”He f e a r s th e ex p re ss io n of

f e e l in g , f e a r s to adm it h is dependence on th e love o b je c t

th a t he f e a r s w i l l abandon him as h is mother d id ” (p . 2 1 ).

The au th o rs f e e l th a t th e ru p tu r in g of th e m o th e r-c h ild

r e la t io n s h ip a t th e b i r t h o f th e nex t s ib l in g i s th e cause

of th e b a s ic problem s males e n c o u n te r . I t would seem

to fo llo w th a t th e same would be t r u e f o r th e fem ales s in c e th e y

6

to o ex p e rien ce th e traum a of th i s ab ru p t w eaning . However,

th e a u th o rs b e l ie v e th a t w h ile the fem ale goes th ro u g h th e

same s te p s as th e m ale, th e p o s s i b i l i t y of h e r r e s to r in g th e

sym bio tic r e la t io n s h ip i s much g r e a te r th an i t i s fo r th e

m ale. Every tim e th e woman has a c h i ld she has th e o p p o rtu n ity

of renew ing th e i n f a n t i l e r e l a t io n s h ip .

The m other is s a id to respond to th e d e s e r t io n by becoming

c lo s e r to the c h ild and by g iv in g to th e c h i ld t h a t p o r tio n

o f h e r a f f e c t io n s t h a t would have gone to th e now ab sen t

f a th e r . She n e g le c ts h e r u su a l fem in ine q u a l i t i e s and p u ts

g re a t emphasis on th e m a te rn a l a s p e c ts of h e r r o l e . The r o le

o f th e f a th e r as ’'b u f f e r 19 th a n becomes weakened or d isa p p ea rs

e n t i r e l y . ■

The au th o rs conclude th a t th e re a r e th re e b a s ic dynamic

te n d e n c ie s : (1) an in te n se m o th e r-c h ild r e la t io n s h ip ,

(2) a d i lu t io n o f the f a th e r - c h i ld r e la t io n s h ip and (3) a

trau m a tic ru p tu re of th e mother c h i ld r e la t io n s h ip a t th e -

b i r t h of th e n ex t c h i l d . -

Abel and C alaferesi (1951) used th e Rorschach to s tu d y

th e p e r s o n a l i t i e s of th e members of a sm all farm ing v i l l a g e

so u th w est o f Mexico C i ty . They c h a ra c te r iz e d th e se people

a s being p e r s i s t e n t in perform ing t a s k s , having a c o n c re te

approach to th e w orld , ho t r e s o r t in g to u n r e a l i s t i c a lo o fn e ss

or f l i g h t s of fan cy , having i n t e r e s t s c e n te re d around n a tu re

and th e item s of t h e i r m a te r ia l c u l tu r e , having s tro n g te n d e n c ie s

to avoid c lo s e p e rso n a l c o n ta c t w ith l i t t l e u n d erstan d in g of

7

coop erative e n t e r p r i s e , la v in g good mental c o n t r o l , being,

ca p ab le of im pu lsive b e h a v io r , an d no t having a com plete ly

r e p re s s e d f a n ta s y l i f e . Marked sex d i f f e r e n c e s were 'found,

The ad o le sc en t g i r l does wno t expand and en joy h e r s e l f 0R

Her s ix l i f e i s re p re s s e d and she becomes r i g id and c o n t r o l le d .

A do lescen t boys a re p ro d u c tiv e and sp o n tan eo u s, show a broad

range o f i n t e r e s t s , and have v a r ie d a c t i v i t i e s . T h e ir sex

l i f e is le s s in h ib i te d , bu t th e y have a n x ie ty about se x u a l

needs and s a t i s f a c t i o n s , In th e young a d u lt y e a rs th e women

become l e s s te n s e in t h e i r e f fo r s t to conform , bu t th e y s t i l l

show ”1 i t t i e s ig n o f l i v e l i n e s s and w arm th,w The male f e e l s

se cu re in h is r o l e , e s p e c ia l ly in h is se x u a l r o l e . However,

s ig n s of ado lescence a re never com ple te ly rem oved. As am

a d u lt he i s s t i l l im pu lsive and u n d is c ip lin e d in h is b e h a v io r ,

At age le v e ls over 40, th e s t r i c t d i s c ip l in e of th e woman

le ad s to c o n tro l and m an ip u la tio n o f th e fam ily s i t u a t i o n .

The o ld e r men do not a c c e p t t h i s and wth e y become th e ones

in c o n f l i c t As th e male becomes s e x u a lly im p o ten t, he

lo s e s h is m astery over th e w orld and becomes co n fu sed . Con­

f l i c t over h is r o le r e s u l t s ,

Lewis (1949) s tu d ie d th e r o le c o n f l i c t s o f husbands and

w ives in a sm a ll Mexican v i l l a g e . He d is c u s se s th e id e a l

image of th e Mexican f a th e r as being supreme in th e home and

of th e w ife as being devo ted , f r u g a l , and r e s p e c t f u l . However,

Lewis d e s c r ib e s th e r e a l s t a t e o f th in g s as being f a r from

8

th e i d e a l .

For th e husband, th e home i s a p lace to a t te n d to p h y s ic a l

n ee d s . He o f te n is away from home, Wien he i s home he avo ids

in tim acy w ith fam ily members as a tech n iq u e of m ain ta in in g

t h e i r r e s p e c t . However, by behaving in t h i s way he lo se s

touch and, u l t i m a t e ly , 'c o n t r o l .

Husbands t r y to keep from aro u s in g th e i r w ives s e x u a lly

fo r f e a r th a t th e w ives may en joy i t and become prom iscuous,

They b e lie v e t h e i r w ives w i l l become u n f a i th f u l a t th e f i r s t

o p p o r tu n ity . As a r e s u l t , th e husbands f e e l most secu re when

th e i r w ife is p re g n a n t. Wives o f te n s to p see in g t h e i r f r ie n d s

when th e y become m arried in an a ttem p t to avo id t h e i r husband6s

w ra th ,

G ilb e r t (1959) has a ls o s tu d ie d sex d if fe re n c e s in a

Mexican v i l l a g e . He has approached th e problem from th e

s ta n d p o in t of m ental h e a l th . He s t a t e s th a t th e r e have been

few a ttem p ts to examine th e wb io s o c ia lw r e la t io n s h ip fo r

p e r s o n a l i ty and m ental h e a l th . H is s tu d y was ^acco rd in g ly

designed to in v e s t ig a te , by means of a somewhat more sy s tem a tic

exam ination and s e t of c r i t e r i a th a n were used in th e Lewis

s tu d y , w hether th e re were c o n s is te n t sex d if fe re n c e s in

m ental h e a lth in e i th e r c h i ld re n or a d u l ts in an o th e r Mexican

r u r a l setting** (p , 208),

G i lb e r t 's s tu d y was conducted in a sm all r u r a l community

about s ix t y m iles from Mexico C i ty , The t o t a l p o p u la tio n of

th e v i l l a g e was a l i t t l e over 600. p e o p le » They were m ostly

’h aestizo s o” There were v e ry few modern conveniences and th e

average income..was between $2@0 and $400 a y e a r . There was

one v e ry sm all sch o o l in which c h i ld re n re c e iv e d s ix y e a rs of

com pulsory e d u c a tio n . Many of th e o ld e r in h a b i ta n ts had even

le s s ed u ca tio n and th e r a t e o f i l l i t e r a c y among th e o ld e r

groups was q u ite h ig h .

He found th e ty p ic a l m ale-dominance and fem ale-sd b m issiv en ess

p a t te rn s in ev idence in community l i f e , wThe c u l t o f machismo

(male dominance and v i r i l i t y ) , which is p re v a le n t in Mexico,

p la c e s a premium on male s e l f - a s s e r t i o n , g iv e s m ales th e

e x c lu s iv e p re ro g a tiv e of- w andering about u n a tten d ed , d r in k in g ,

gambling and ca ro u s in g in p u b lic ( e s p e c ia l ly on weekends),-

and ta k e s f o r g ran te d an extrem e double s ta n d a rd in sex u a l

m o ra lity ^ (p , 209)» -

G ilb e r t a d m in is te red Rorschach t e s t s to a sam ple of 100

v i l l a g e r s , ranging in age from 8 to 6 0 , These were f a i r l y

evenly d i s t r ib u t e d among f iv e groupss (1) p re -a d o le s c e n ts ,

(2) a d o le sc e n ts (3) young a d u l t s , (4) a d u l ts , and (5) o ld e r

a d u lts . H e -d o e sn 't fe e l , th a t socio-econom ic -c lass w as-an

im portan t f a c to r s in c e i t is r e l a t i v e l y th e same th roughou t

th e v i l l a g e . All- of th e 100-p ro to c o ls (excep t th r e e which

y ie ld e d few er th an seven re sp o n ses) were used ,

G ilb e r t used th e Horsehahc E ,H , S ca le as h is c r i t e r i o n

o f m ental h e a l th . T his i s a f iv e p o in t s c a le which i s used

10

to e s t im a te wgross m ental health*® The f iv e deg rees of

ad justm ent a re s (1) good ad jus tm en t w ith c r e a t iv e p o t e n t i a l ,

(2) sym ptom -free good ad ju stm en t, (3) m odera te ly good a d ju s t ­

m ent, (4) m oderate m alad justm en t, and (5) d e f in i t e pa th o lo g y .

His r e s u l t s show c o n s i s te n t sex d i f f e re n c e s i n fav o r of

th e fem ales from p re -a d o le sc e n c e onward. G i lb e r t s t a t e s

t h a t , '

. . . th e s e r e s u l t s would su g g e s t t h a t a c u l tu r e which emphasizes "male supremacy" and a double s ta n d a rd of s o c i a l and sex u a l freedom in fa v o r of th e males (machismo) n e v e r th e le s s seems to p ro ­duce b e t t e r a d ju s te d fem ales a t a l l ag e s , e s p e c i a l ly in l a t e r ad u lth o o d , ffhen co n s id e red in term s of psychodynamics, th e d a ta would suggest t h a t the s o c ia l p r e ro g a t iv e o f "machismo® may be more a n x ie ty p ro ­ducing th an need s a t i s f y in g f o r the. average male . . . . what we do su g g es t i s t h a t t h e r e may w e ll be c o n s t i ­t u t i o n a l d i f f e r e n c e s in dom inance-subm issiveness and th a t bo th sexes a r e a d a p tab le to moderate m o d if ica ­t io n s of th e s e d i f f e r e n c e s | however,, when th e c u l tu r a l s e x - r o le ex p e c tan c ie s ex a g g e ra te , o b l i t e r a t e , or r e v e r s e th e s e " n a tu r a l sex d i f f e r e n c e s " in b e h a v io ra l te n d e n c ie s , or m a in ta in r i g i d requ irem en ts o f behavior which do mot accomodate in d iv id u a l d i f f e r e n c e s in t e r Piper ament, then there , i s bound to r e s u l t an in c re a se of th e an x ie ty and patho logy l e v e l of th e a f f e c t e d sex or members th e re o f" (p . 211).

He concludes th a t t h e s e x - r o le ex p ec ta n c ie s o f th e Mexican

c u l tu r e d i s t o r t or ex x ag era te th e dominance' c a p a c i t i e s of

th e Mexican male and provoke g r e a t e r m aladjustm ent among males

than among fe m a le s . ,

I tu r r i a g a (1951) d e sc r ib e d th e way in which d e v ia tio n s

from th e t y p i c a l f a m i l y 'p a t t e r n d e sc r ib e d abovekhave come about

in Mexico as th e r e s u l t of u rb a n iz a t io n , i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n ,

and th e tremendous growth o f c i t i e s . He s t a t e s t h a t th e

11

p a t r i a r c h a l fa m ily , w ith i t s u n ity and th e u n c o n te s ta h le

p r e s t ig e of th e head o f th e househo ld , has p r a c t i c a l l y

d isa p p e a re d . This i s p a r t i a l l y th e r e s u l t of d if fe re n c e s

en co u n tered in s o c ia l v a lu e s when many fa m il ie s moved from

r u r a l a re a to the c i t i e s . In th e c i t i e s , th e emphasis on

fam ily u n ity was much le s s and, as a r e s u l t , th e d iv o rce

r a t e was h ig h e r . Fam ily t i e s were f u r th e r weakened by th e

in tro d u c t io n of th e women in to th e economic s p h e re , The

r e s u l t was th e weakening of the woman's dependence on th e

man, '

This d is ru p t io n of fam ily u n ity i s r e f l e c t e d in th e

com position o f th e fa m ily . F am ilie s have become sm a lle r as

compared to th o se in r u r a l a re a s = In c re a s in g r a t e s of ju v e n ile

d e lin q u en cy , f r e e union m a rria g e s , and d iv o rce s a re a lso to

be co n s id e red as r e f l e c t io n s of th e se ch an g es, The au th o r

f e e l s th a t th e in c re a s in g d iv o rc e r a t e and the d ec reas in g

f e e l in g s o f fam ily lo y a l ty a re a t l e a s t p a r t ly accounted fo r

by th e f a c t th a t th e re i s an in c re a s in g number of c i v i l m arriag es

(a s p o in te d out a ls o by Ramirez and F a r r e s , 1957)= These

c i v i l m a rriag e s do not p lace th e r e s t r i c t i o n s on d iv o rce

th a t a re imposed by r e l ig io u s m a rr ia g e s ,

I f u r r i a g a d e s c r ib e s the Mexican c h a ra c te r as tim id and

s e n tim e n ta l , w ith an e x te rn a l a i r of in d i f f e r e n c e . The Mexican

i s v io le n t y e t a r t i s t i c , and in d iv id u a l i s t i c r a th e r than

g re g a r io u s , He i s a ls o v e ry p reoccup ied w ith sex .and is .

12

la ck in g a r e f l e c t i v e or a n a ly t ic a t t i t u d e because th e o ld e rV

c u l tu re s of Mexico don’t use r a t i o n a l i t y to a r r iv e a t the

t r u t h . The Mexican d em o n stra te s a h igh degree o f in co n s tan cy ,

f a ta l i s m , s u p e r s t i t i o n , and in d e e is iv e n e s s =

P ineda (1961) has e x te n s iv e ly s tu d ie d th e freq u en cy and

im p lic a tio n s of ly in g in the. Mexican c u l t u r e „ A ccording to

th e a u th o r a double s ta n d a rd is in v o lv ed in th e use of l i e s »

P a ren ts do no t h e s i t a t e to l i e to c h i ld re n , b u t th e c h i ld i s

expected to t e l l no th ing bu t th e t r u t h . A f te r language

develops and th e c h i ld beg ins to im i ta te th e ly in g b eh av io r

of h i s p a re n ts , th e p a re n ts p r o je c t th e blame away from them-

s ie v e s and o f f e r f a t e or th e in f lu e n c e o f some d i s t a n t a n c e s to r

as th e cause of th e c h i l d ’s b e h a v io r . The c h i ld le a rn s l i t t l e

o f how to g iv e lo v e , on ly to demand i t . This c o n d itio n and

th e f a c t th a t th e m o th e r-ch ild r e la t io n s h ip i s e s p e c ia l ly

n a r c i s s i s t i c r e s u l t s in th e c h i l d ’s being co n s id e re d a p o sse ss io n

t o be used by th e p a re n ts fo r t h e i r own good. The c h i ld i s

a ls o exposed to c o n tin u a l ly in g o u ts id e th e home. He h ea rs

i t in sc h o o l, in th e m ark e t, and-everyw here he g o e s , The* i • •

e th ic s fo r not c h e a tin g do n o t e x i s t in th e s c h o o ls , P ineda

s t a t e s th e g o a l of th e s tu d e n t as being ’’no t to le a r n , bu t to

copy, to c h e a t, to appear sm arte r th a n th e te a c h e r , and to

fo o l th e te a c h e r in every way p o s s ib le , ”

Lying w i l l o f te n ta k e th e form o f com plain ts o f i l l n e s s

o r o th e r i n f i r m i t i e s , I t i s used to e l i c i t com passion, P ineda

13

b e l i w e s males rn'ie th e l i e .in s te a d o f some e th e r mechanism

because th e m ale heeds e x te rn a l r e a f f i r m a t io n „ I t p ro v id es

a to u ch -o f-su rfa ce b rav e ry to cover th e h u m ilia t io n which

would r e s u l t from h is f e a r o f being fe m in in e . fh e m ascu linee

l i e , in w hatever form , i s s a y in g , ’’B e liev e me because I can

h u r t , d e s tro y , k i l l , ro b , because I am a man*” The m other,

on th e o th e r hand, l i e s to say , ’’P le a se b e l ie v e th a t I am

an o b je c t w orthy o f love® B e liev e me because I don’t b e l ie v e

i t , ”

Whether th e d eg ree o f em phasis and th e im portance P ineda

p la c e s on th e l i e in th e Mexican c u l tu r e i s j u s t i f i e d i s

d i f f i c u l t to a s c e r ta in o C e r ta in ly ly in g i s one f a c to r w ith

which we must d e a l in t r e a t in g th e Mexican c u l tu r e becau se ,

as many a u th o rs have s t a t e d , i t i s a prom inent phenomenon»

I t should a ls o be an a re a o f c o n f l i c t w ith th e American c u l tu r e

f o r th e se Mexicans who b rin g ly in g behav io r w ith them to th e

U nited S ta te s as a p a r t o f t h e i r Mexican c u l t u r a l h e r ita g e o

THE MEXICAN' CHABACTEB A S ALTERED BY THE AMERICA# C ULT IPS

Prom th e p u b lic a t io n s re p o r te d above we can o b ta in an

overview of th e p e r s o n a l i ty and c u l t u r a l background which th e

Mexican b rin g s w ith him to t h i s c o u n try . T his h e r i ta g e forms

th e base which combines w ith th e A m erican c u l tu r e to produce

th e Mexican-=Amerlean :c u l tu r e w ith w hich th e p re s e n t s tu d y i s

concerned . Many a u th o rs have a tte m p te d , by d e s c r ip t iv e methods

fo r th e most p a r t , to dem onstrate th e changes in th e Mexican

14

e h a ra e te r which r e s u l t from th e im m igration o f Mexicans to

% ls G©imtry0

Altws' (1949) s t ia i ie d a. gr@tjf..©f Mexieaii-American t r a in e e s

a t an i n s t i t u t e in Few Mexico in--an a ttem p t to d isc o v e r what

t r a i t s a r e p re se rv ed from th e M exican c u l tu r a l h e r i ta g e and

why th e s e t r a i t s a re p rese rv ed * His s u b je c ts were d iv id ed

in to fo u r groups af M exieaa-i& er le an s § Cl) American b o rn ,

E n g lish s p e a k i# , (2) American born# Spanish sp eak in g # (3) fo re ig n

berm# E n g lish speaking# and (4) fo re ig n born# Spanish speaking*

A ll o f th e se s u b je c ts were m ales * He found two p e r s i s t e n t

c u l tu r a l p a t te rn s * (1) L in g u is t ic a s p e c ts of th e Mexican

cu ltu re , p e r s i s t in th e Mexiean=Americano (2) th e - t r a in e e s ,

who were born in th e U nited S ta te s b u t who do no t speak E n g lish

were more m a lad ju sted and le s s i n t e l l i g e n t th an th o se who

were fo re ig n born and d id no t speak E n g lish *

A lt us proposed s ix f a c to r s t h a t may account for. t i e

p e r s is te n c e of th e se p a t te rn s * These f a c to r s a re s (1) th e

p ro x im ity to Mexico and f r e q u e n t - v i s i t s back t# Mexico#

(2) d i e t , (3) r e l ig io n # (4) th e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f Mexican news­

p a p e rs and magazines# (5) th e antagonism of th e American

people which fo rc e s e th n ic groups t o .c lin g to g e th e r , and

(6) Spanish p la c e names in th e U=So which rem ind them th a t

t h e s e ,p la c e s and th e Southw est used to be under th e c o n tro l

of Mexico and th a t t h e i r c u l tu r e - i s a l l t h a t i s l e f t to them*

I t appears t h a t A.ltus h as on ly a ttem p ted to e x p la in th e

15

s u rv iv a l o f l i n g u i s t i c a s p e c ts o f th e Mexican c u l tu r e , fhe

e x p lan a tio n s th a t he o f f e f s would no t account f o r th e h igher

r a t e o f m aladjustm ent and th e lower in te l l ig e n c e o f th e n a t iv e

b o rn , Spanish speaking group th an was found.among fo re ig n

b orn , Spanish speaking s u b je c ts .

fh e need fo r r e s e a rc h in t h i s a re a was p o in te d o u t.b y

Jones (19 4 8 ). He e s tim a te d th a t a t th a t tim e th e r e were th re e

m il l io n people of Mexican d escen t in th i s c o u n try . More th a n

80 p e rce n t o f th e s e were l iv in g in the r u r a l a re a s of th e South­

w est or in e th n ic com m unities where th ey were i s o l a te d from

th e m ainstream of Am erican l i f e . A lthough t h e i r Mexican

backgrounds were w id e ly v a r ie d , th e m a jo r i ty came from

r e l a t i v e l y sim ple c u l tu re s w here, as he p u t i t , ’’custom and

t r a d i t i o n d o m in a te .”

. Jones (1948) d id n o t p e rs o n a lly in v e s t ig a te how th e s e

p a t te r n s change a f t e r m ig ra t io n . However, h is rev iew of th e

l i t e r a t u r e in c lu d e s r e p o r ts o f p roposed reaso n s f o r th e con­

f u s io n o f c u l tu r a l p a t te r n s being e s p e c ia l ly pronounced when

th e fa m il ie s move in to urban a r e a s , fhe f a c t th a t many

M exican-Americans a re engaged in .s e a s o n a l work i s l i s t e d as

one of the c o n tr ib u t in g f a c to r s in th e d ec rease in p a te rn a l

a u th o r i ty and fa m ily u n i ty . S easonal employment i s a ls o in

p a r t re s p o n s ib le fo r the m o b il i ty , poor l iv in g c o n d it io n s , low

income, and in s e c u r i ty t h a t many M exican-American f a m il ie s

e x p e rie n c e . Jones b e l ie v e s th a t w h ile th o se v a lu e s in th e

16

Mexican c u l t w e which a re co n s id e red sacred, a r e m ostly

p re se rv e d many have broken up,

Jones speaks r e p e a te d ly o f the . need fo r sy s te m a tic s tu d y

in t h i s a r e a . H is r e p o r t i s mot th e r e s u l t o f long in te n s iv e

re s e a rc h bu t m erely an a ttem p t to s t im u la te f u r th e r work.

As a r e s u l t , h is s ta tem en ts a r e v e ry g e n e ra l and s p e c u la t iv e .

Hone th e le s s , th e y seem to have some v a lu e in defin in g th e

problem s th a t d eserv e in v e s t ig a t io n .

I t appears th a t in h is rev iew Jones overlooked one

r e p o r t th a t may have answered, sprae o f h is q u e s t io n s . Humphrey

(1944) a ttem p ted to determ ine th e e f f e c t s o f th e American

c u l tu r e on th e Mexican im m igrant f a m il ie s in D e tr o i t by s tu d y in g

th e changes in s t a tu s r o le s w ith in th e se f a m i l ie s . H is

p rim ary concern was w ith changes in th e s ta tu s r o le o f th e

f a th e r . Humphrey saw th e work s i t u a t i o n of th e f a th e r as

c r u c ia l to h i s a b i l i t y to m a in ta in h is p a t r i a r c h a l ho ld on

a u th o r i ty . I f th e work s i t u a t i o n i s p o o r, he w ro te , th e

re s n ip t may be d e s e r t io n but th e change i s u s u a lly more

g ra d u a l and depends a ls o on th e degree to which th e w ife and

c h ild re n .h a v e a s s im ila te d th e s o n - p a t r ia r c h a l Am erican c u l tu r e .

Many men overem phasise t h e i r fo rm erly p r o te c t iv e r o l e in an

e f f o r t to keep t h e i r w ives and c h i ld re n from becoming Ameri­

c a n ise d . Most of th e women a re n o t in a p o s i t io n to oppose

th is w over p r o te c t io n . ; . -

The w ives s tu d ie d by Humphrey were g e n e ra l ly expected to

17

behave in th e e ld ways and most o f them rem ained subm issive

and home © en tered» He eoneliaded th a t a lth o u g h th e w ife h a s,

for' the most p a r t , . re ta in ed her p rev io u s s t a tu s r o le th e

s t r u c tu r e of th e fam ily has changed i n th re e w ays, (1) fh e

s ta tu s r o le of th e f a th e r hast d e c lin e d r e l a t i v e to th a t .of

th e women and c h i ld r e n « (2) Some w ives have come to ho ld

th e dominant p o s i t io n in th e fa m ily 0 (3) fhe sta tu s r o le of

th e c h i ld re n , e s p e c ia l ly th e . o ld e s t boy, has la r g e ly re v e rse d

i t s e l f o fh e o ld e s t boy o f te n com petes w ith th e f a th e r fo r

th e p o s i t io n o f a u th o r i t y 0 A lthough i n th e o ld c u l tu r e . th e re

were fo u r r a th e r d i s t i n c t ' le v e ls in th e s ta tu s h ie ra rc h y —

f a th e r , m other, so n , d au g h te r— th e re a re now on ly two and

th e d is ta n c e betw een them h as g r e a t ly d e c re a se d , fh e son has

r i s e n above th e m other and i s now about equal w ith th e f a t h e r ,

fh e d au g h te rs have r i s e n to a t l e a s t th e le v e l o f th e m other,

fh e o ld e s t boy has p r a c t i c a l l y become a f e s t e r p a re n t to h is

younger s ib l in g s , in te r p r e t in g Am erican ways to them . In

th i s ro le he has become a r i v a l to t h e •f a t h e r , .

Many of th e changes in fa m ily s t r u c tu r e d e sc r ib e d above

have been re p o r te d a ls o by C la rk (1959) and by B eals (1951),

C la rk s tu d ie d th e Mexicam?Aaericam r e s id e n ts of S a l s i Pued.es,

an u n in c o rp o ra te d , Spanish speaking community on th e o u t s k i r t s

o f San J o s e , C a l i f o r n ia , She l iv e d in th e community, p a r t i­

c ip a ted in community a c t i v i t i e s , and conducted in te n s iv e

in te rv ie w s w ith 20 p e rc e n t of th e r e s i d e n t s » Her book t e l l s

of the c o n d itio n s she observed and th e im p lic a tio n s of th e se

c o n d itio n s fo r p u b lic h e a l th .

18

C lark d e s c r ib e s th e independence th a t is pushed upon th e

young c h i ld r e n . She r e p o r ts th a t th e use o f f e a r i s th e main

means o f c o n tro l l in g th e c h i ld re n . This f e a r i s a ro u sed by

t h r e a t s o f p h y s ic a l punishm ent from both p a re n ts and th e

o ld e s t b r o th e r , A c h i ld who c l in g s to h is m other o r f a th e r •

i s co n s id e red sp o ile d and i s r e je c te d and sc o ld ed by h is

p a r e n ts . The c h ild re n a re expected to be a b le to do household

chores bu t th e y a re no t rebuked when th ey f a i l . They a re

no t g iv en any encouragement: e i t h e r and u su a lly have to f ig u re

out th e r ig h t way to do th e jo b s by th em se lv es ,

C lark f u r th e r in d ic a te s thst th e Mexicans do no t b e l ie v e

in sex ed u ca tio n fo r t h e i r c h i ld re n . The main so u rc e s o f

sex in fo rm a tio n become m agazines and ?Si a t e v e r , th e c h i ld can

le a rn from h is p e e r s . The sex u a l s ta n d a rd is indeed a double

one. The g i r l s a re no t p e rm it te d to have d a te s and a l l such

a c t i v i t y i s u n d erco v er. Women a re expected to be housekeepers

and to be com ple te ly v i r tu o u s , They a re co m p le te ly v ir tu o u s

or th e y a r e c o n s id e re d wbad women,18 The bo y s9 on th e o th e r

h a n d 9 a r e expected to have had amorous ad v en tu res by th e tim e

th ey reach t h e i r l a t e te e n s . The g en e ra l p a t te r n i s to

r e le a s e th e boy from c o n tro l by th e age of s ix t e e n . This

o ften r e s u l t s in h is in d u lg in g in 18sex^ a lc o h o l, and some

v io le n c e ,88

BeM s (1951) em phasized th e la c k of e x p re s s io n o f a ffec»

t io n in th e Mexioam-Americam fam ily , l e d id no t ta k e th i s

19

to mean th a t th e re i s no a f f e c t io n f e l t bu t on ly t h a t ? in

— many c a s e s , i t i s thougIt bad t a s t e to ex p ress a f f e c t io n o p en ly »

He s ta te d th a t a lth o u g h th e p a t r i a r c h a l - a u t h o r i t a r i a n fam ily

i s th e id e a l? th e a c tu a l p a t t e r n is q u i te d i f f e r e n t e He'

s t r e s s e s th e ©pen r e v o l t of th e w ife more th a n Humphrey did*

B eals s a id w ives open ly defy male a u th o r i ty and o f te n have

c o n t r o l . over fam ily f in a n c e s <, th e y a re a ls o beg inn ing to seek

employment o u ts id e th e home which ten d s to weaken th e husband8s

a u th o r i t y 0 He -went on to say th a t? on th e o th e r hand? M exican-

American w ives a re u s u a lly devo ted to t h e i r husbands and

dependent upon them in s p i t e o f th e g r e a te r deg ree of independence

a v a i la b le to them.

B e a ls 8 p o r t r a y a l o f th e Mexiean-Amerieam w ife i s s im ila r- ■ h.

to th a t g iven by Humphrey (1944) f r o # h i s s tu d y in D e t r o i t .

I t seems th a t th e American c u l tu r e has an em ancipating e f f e c t

on M exican-American fem ales which causes them to s t r i v e f o r

eq u a l . s t a tu s . While t h i s p rocess has been la r g e ly a t t r i b u t e d

to th e e f f e c t s of a c c u ltu ra tio n ? i t does no t occur on ly in

th e Mexicans who have m ig ra ted to th e U nited S t a t e s , le w is

(1949) found th a t women in le p o z t la n were a lso becoming more

in d ep en d en t. In v iew of l e w is ? f in d in g s the Am erican c u l tu r e

can n o t be s a id to be th e so le f a c to r in th i s p ro cess ? but

i t p ro b ab ly does, f a c i l i t a t e th e p ro cess in Mexic an-Amer ic a n

fem ales in t h i s ' c o u n try . -

Simmons (1961) observed, th e in te r a c t io n s between

E exiean-A B erieans and Anglos and th e r e s u l t in g a t t i t u d e s and

ce a f l i s t s . A f te r s tu d y in g th e o® # i t le n s in a Texas fejnrder

town., he d e s c r ib e s th e M exican=Ameriean8s c o n f l i c t as r e s u l t in g

from h is d e s i r e fo r egtaal r i g h t s and th e c o n f l ic t in g d e s i r e

to m a in ta in h is e n l t i t r a l idemt ity o As a r e s u l t 9 th e M exican-

.American a ttem p ts to keep th e b e s t o f th e Mexican ways w h ile

in c o rp o ra tin g th e b e s t o f th e Am erican ways =

One s tu d y which made use o f o b je c tiv e m easures in a ttem p tin g

to e v a lu a te d if fe re n c e s between Mexican-Americams and Anglos

was conducted by C arlso n and Henderson (1 9 5 0 )0 They compared

two w e ll matched g ro u p s , one Mexican..American and one A nglo,

over a p e r io d o f fiv e 'an d . a h a l f y e a rs using a b a t te r y o f

in te l l ig e n c e t e s t s » This s tu d y was ex trem ely w e ll c o n tro l le d

f o r socioeconom ic c l a s s , e d u c a tio n , r u r a l o r urban back­

ground, h e a l th , and b ia s o f th e t e s t e r s = Both p a re n ts of each

c h i ld in c lu d e d in th e .Mexican-Amerlean group were born in

Mexico o The language 'f a c to r was found to be n e g l ig ib le s in c e

fo r bo th groups th e non-language f a c to r of th e . C a l i fo rn ia

T est o f M ental M aturity - d e v ia te d from th e language f a c to r by

l e s s th a n one .point-* ; .

The a u th o rs conclude t h a t : (1) th e M exiean-Amerlean c h i ld re n

had c o n s is te n t ly .low er l .Q .- ’ s . .• (2 ) The d if fe re n c e s in- I .Q . *s

in c re a se d from th e f i r s t to l a s t t e s t i n g , an in t e r v a l o f f iv e

an d a h a l f y ea rs* This was p r im a r i ly the r e s u l t o f a drop

in I«4« among th e Mexicam-Amerioans * (3) .When a l l th e t e s t

21

s c o re s were cmiMned. and t r e a te d a s a s in g le v a r i a b le , th e

p o s s i b i l i t y of p re d ic t in g l a t e r t e s t sco re s was le s s fo r th e

■ M exican-Americans th an f o r th e A nglos o (4) The means of th e

hon=»langiage s c o re s on th e C a l i fo rn ia T est o f M ental M a tu rity

d id n o t d i f f e r m arkedly fo r e i t h e r group from th e language

s c o re . ,

W hile th e 'la n g u a g e f a c to r i t s e l f d o es .n o t seem to h are

been an im p o rtan t f a c to r in th e o b ta in e d d i f f e r e n c e s ? o th e r

a s p e c ts ,©f: th e M exican.background may be im p o r ta n t6 The

s u b je c ts were a l l f i r s t g e n e ra tio n Am ericans and a s such were

v e ry l i k e l y to have been s t i l l under v e r y 's t r o n g . Mexican

c u l tu r a l in f lu e n c e «> S ince th e y a re th e f i r s t in t h e i r f a m il ie s

to bear the- d i r e c t c o n f l ic t , of t r a in in g .the ways of th e two

c u l tu r e s , th e y would be l i k e l y tocbe much l e s s c o n f id e n t in

most s i tu a t io n s than, t h e i r Angle c o u n te r p a r t s , This would

be e s p e c ia l ly t ru e in a s i t u a t i o n in which th e y a re in d i r e c t

co m p etitio n w ith A n g lo s . A la c k of s o c ia l co n fid en ce and a

d i f f e r e n t a t t i t u d e tow ard a u th o r i ty , which th e t e s t e r would

undoubtedly re p re s e n t to them* might e a s i ly make them anxious

and h e s i t a n t in a s i t u a t i o n th a t r e q u ir e s a g r e a t d e a l of

c o n c e n tra tio n and a p p l ic a t io n o f t h e i r a b i l i t i e s =

TEE MSB OF THE MMgl I I CgOSS-CHLftlSAL HESEARCH .

In a tte m p tin g an o b je c t iv e s tu d y o f c r o s s - c u l tu r a l d i f f e r ­

ences in p e r s o n a l i ty th e cho ice o f an a p p ro p r ia te m easuring

in s tru m en t i s o f g r e a t im p o rtan cec Such f a c to r s as language

22

d iffe r e n c e s , e u l t ts r a l s ig a i f ic a a e e of t i e s t i i a a l i , and ques­

t io n a b le eq u iv a len ce of t r a n s l a t i o n s o f t e s t s co m p lica te th is

c h o ic e «. .In a p re lim in a ry rep ort.on th e German t r a n s l a t i o n o f

■fee l l P l .Sundberg (1956) s t a t e s th a t i t has been g e n e ra l p r a c t ic e

to u s e 'p r o ja c t iv e te ch n iq u e s fo r c r o s s - c u l tu r a l s tu d ie s =

w S truc tu red t e s t s a re more amenable to s t a t i s t i c a l t re a tm e n t,

item a n a ly s i s , e t c . , th a n p r o je c t iv e te ch n iq u e so s? (p* 281 ). •

I B i le Sundberg .was working w ith a t r a n s l a t i o n of th e

o r ig in a l MEPI, T a ft (1957) used th e E n g lish form on two c u l tu r e s

in an a tte m p t to dem onstra te th e u n iv e r s a l i ty of th e t e s t

as a v a l id p e r s o n a l i ty m easure. He compared a group of

A u s t r a l ia n c o l le g e s tu d e n ts to a com posite group o f American

c o lle g e s tu d e n ts , drawn from s e v e r a l p rev io u s s tu d ie s . The

o v e ra l l com parison o f means showed th e two groups to d i f f e r

s i g n i f i c a n t ly on ly on th e Hf s c a le . S ig n if ic a n t d if fe re n c e s

were found on JM and Fa between th e m ales o f th e two groups

and on 3 and. Se f o r th e fem ales-. The number, o f T 7@ sco re s

was g e n e ra l ly h ig h e r fo r th e A u s t r a l i a n s .

■ T a ft concluded th a t by and la rg e the s c a le s h o ld up fo r

th e A u s tr a l ia n sam ple. He f e l t t h a t where th e eq u iv a len ce

b reaks down e i th e r or both- of two f a c t o r s a r e o p era tin g ..

V a r ia t io n s in th e p sy ch o lo g ica l s ig n i f ic a n c e of th e item s

acco rd ing to th e c u l tu r a l background may have in f lu e n c e d

th e r e s u l t s . The o th e r p o s s i b i l i t y i s th a t th e r e a re r e a l

p e r s o n a l i ty d if fe re n c e s between A u s tra l ia n s and A m ericans.

23

These s tu d ie s a re concerned w iiii th e use o f th e 1MP1 in

c r o s s - c u l tu r a l , r e s e a rc h * However, n e i th e r s t ady was faced

w ith th e s p e c if ic ta s k of d e term in ing th e u se fu ln e ss of th e

HMPI on a c u l tu r a l subgroup w hose' o r ig in a l c u l t u r a l language

was d i f f e r e n t from th a t which th e y speak in th e la rg e r c u l tu re

o f which th ey a re now.a p a r t „ 1 This r a i s e s the q u e s tio n o f

w hether i t i s v a l id to assume th a t th e re would be e q u iv a le n t

r e s u l t s using, th e E n g lish form w ith both Anglos and Mexiean-

Amerleans or i f i t would be b e t t e r to use a Spanish t r a n s l a t i o n

w ith th e M exican-American g ro u p .

Penn (1963) used th e 2SMPI w ith M exicah-A aerican c o lla g e

s tu d e n ts in an a ttem p t to dem onstrate th a t th e re a re d if fe re n c e s

in p e r s o n a l i ty between M exican-Americans and A nglos. She a ls o

t r i e d to- d e f in e a b a s ic p r o f i l e f o r th e M exiean-American group

as a-w ho le . In ju s t i f y in g th e use of th e E n g lish form o f

th e MWI w ith her M exican-American s u b je c ts Penn s t a t e d , #Por

American educated Mexican-Americans-, w h ile Spnaish i s th e

n a t iv e spoken language, E n g lish i s th e n a t iv e read in g language*6

(p . 4 6 ) . ,

The com parison group of Anglo c o lle g e s tu d e n ts used in

t h i s s tu d y was drawn from s e v e ra l p rev io u s s tu d ie s conducted

by d i f f e r e n t a u th o rs in v a r io u s p a r ts o f the c o u n try . The

r e s u l t s in d ic a te t h a t Mexican-American males have s ig n i f i c a n t ly

( . 0 5 'or b e t t e r ) h ig h e r mean I sc o re s than do Anglo m ales on

Pd, P a , P t , Sc, and S i . M exican-American fe m a le s8 mean T

24

sc o re s were h igher th a n th o se o f th e Anglo fem ales on a l l

th e c l i n i c a l s c a le s excep t E f and P a 0 For a l l s c a le s excep t

Ha th e M exican-Ameriean means were h igher th a n th e means fo r

th e combined Angle g ro u p 0

The g e n e ra l co n c lu s io n t o .be drawn from th e s e r e s u l t s

i s t h a t i t ap p ears t h a t Hexlcan-Amerlcam p r o f i l e s ten d to be

more e le v a te d th an th e co rrespond ing p r o f i l e s f o r A n g lo s»

I t must be borne in mind th a t th e s e r e s u l t s were o b ta in ed on

c o lle g e s tu d e n ts and m ay.not h o ld between groups from th e

g e n e ra l p o p u la tio n o f th e two c u l t u r e s »

The d e te rm in a tio n o f a modal p r o f i l e f o r each of th e s e

groups was a ttem p ted by means o f a frequency count o f how

many t im e s . th e h ig h e s t T sco re on a p r o f i l e f e l l on each

s c a l e 0 The r e s u l t in g modal wp r o f i l e f o r M exican-Ameriean

. males was 78 » 45936 210% (p i 33) (I tS c - PdHfMaHyPa BHsSi) .

The co rrespond ing Anglo male p r o f i l e was 59 4783 612 / 0

( i f l a PdPtScHy PaHsD / S i) » I t ap p ears th a t th e i n i t i a l

f a c to r s g iv e th e b e s t d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n s in c e from th e re on.,

th e re i s o v e rlap between th e g ro u p s„

wFor fem ales s th e mean coded ll©xiean=>Am@rlean p r o f i l e

was 98 - 3476 1205 FKL/ (MaSc... ° . HyPdFtFa EsDSiMf M L /) and

t h a t f o r th e heterogeneous Am ericans was J234678 150 / 2

(MaHyPdPaPtSc EsMfSi / B)% (p. 3 3 ) , These p r o f i l e s seem to

HHFI s c a le symbols in p a ren th e s Were in s e r te d by th e p re se n t au th o r = ' ' •

25

d i f f e r e n t i a t e l e s s w e ll th a n th e s e fe r m ales s in c e th e same

f a c t o r is -m o st f re q u e n t fo r bo th g ro u p s» 1.1s©s, th e Anglo

p r o f i l e f i r s t f a c to r c o n ta in s so many s c a le s th a t d i f f e r e n ­

t i a t i o n on t h i s b a s is would be d i f f i c u l t .

Penn a ttem p ted to d e s c r ib e th e H exiean-A m eriean male

and fem ale on th e b a s is o f t h i s a n a ly s i s . She b e l ie v e s th e

a n a ly s i s ,

o . . showed th e s e males to p o ssess a h igh i n t e l l e c t ? a e s th e t ic i n t e r e s t s , v e rb a l f lu e n c y , and a p roneness to worry.. He was r a th e r h o s t i l e and co m p e titiv e and lack ed adquate in te rp e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s . The fem ale , on the o th e r hand, was c h a ra c te r iz e d as e n e rg e t ic , a g g re s s iv e , in d ep en d en t, s o c ia b le , and t a l k a t i v e . She a ls o r S f le c te d te n d e n c ie s tow ard im m atu rity , s e l f i s h n e s s , and d is h o n e s ty . F a m il ia l d is c o rd , in ad eq u ate p e r s o n a l r e la t io n s h ip s , , .and a la c k of conform ity in th e m oral a re a a ls o c h a ra c te r iz e d th i s fem ale (p p . 48 & 4 9 ) .

T his c h a r a c te r iz a t io n ap p ea rs to ag ree f a i r l y w e ll w ith

p rev io u s d e s c r ip t io n s of th e M exican-Amerlean m ale. ,However,

th e fem ale appears q u i te d isc re p a n t from th e s u b s e rv ie n t ,

dependent, and re se rv e d woman d e sc r ib e d by o th e r a u th o rs .

Again i t i s n ec e ssa ry to keep in mind th a t th e s e a re M exican-

American c o lle g e s tu d e n ts .who a re being d e s c r ib e d . As o th e r

a u th o rs have p o in te d o u t, h ig h e r e d u c a tio n in th e Mexican

c u l tu r e i s la rg e ly re se rv e d f o r m a les . I t would seem under­

s ta n d a b le , th e n , th a t f o r a g i r l to go on w ith h er ed u ca tio n

would a lm ost r e q u ir e h e r to be independent and r e b e l l io u s

agains t th e o ld w ays.

S f A M S l f OF THE FEOBLEM

The b a s ic problem of t h i s s tu d y was th a t o f s e le c t in g

an a p p ro p r ia te in stru m en t w ith w hich to t e s t f o r p o s s ib le

p e r s o n a l i ty d if fe re n c e s between M exican-Americans and A nglo-

Americans = The m a jo rity of th e s tu d ie s r re v ie w e d above

invo lved th e use o f p r o je c t iv e te c h n iq u e s ? o b se rv a tio n , or

p s y c h ia t r ic in te rv ie w s to m easure p e r s o n a l i ty v a r ia b le s & V ery

few s tu d ie s have been conducted using e m p ir ic a l ly d e riv ed

and s ta n d a rd iz e d m easures in th e in v e s t ig a t io n o f t h i s probleEo

This l a t t e r method has the advan tage o f p e rm ittin g th e use

of la rg e r sam ples 0 In a d d i t io n , s t a t i s t i c a l analyses, a re

more f e a s ib le and th e r e l i a b i l i t y o f measurement i s le s s

s e n s i t iv e to t e s t e r - b i a s »

One s tu d y (Penn, 1963) was conducted using an o b je c tiv e

measure on th i s problem . However, a s a r e s u l t of th e design

employed i t was no t p o s s ib le t o use some o f th e s t a t i s t i c a l

a n a ly se s which would have been d e s i r a b le . The com parison

group in th e Penn s tu d y d id no t come from th e same lo c a l i t y

as th e M exican-American group bu t re p re s e n te d a n a t io n a l

com posite group of c o lle g e s tu d e n ts . This makes" i t v e ry

d i f f i c u l t to s e p a ra te th e e f f e c t s o f lo c a l in f lu e n c e s on t e s t

sco re s from th o se r e p re s e n tin g t r u e c u l tu r a l d i f f e r e n c e s .

There i s a ls o some q u e s tio n a s to w hether th e c o l le g e s tu d e n ts

26

27

in the sam ples a r e re p resen ta tiv e of th e g e n e ra l p o p u la tio n s

o f th e c u l tu r a l groups from which th e y were draw n„ These

p o s s ib le l im i ta t io n s make i t d i f f i c u l t to de term ine th e

e x te n t to which Penn8s r e s u l t s can be g e n e ra l iz e d .

There appears to be one a re a in th e l i t e r a t u r e d e a lin g

w ith th e changes in th e Mexican p e r s o n a l i ty as th e r e s u l t o f

m igration, to th e U nited S ta te s which r e l a t i v e l y few in v e s t i ­

g a to rs have chosen to s tu d y . Many r e p o r ts have d e a l t w ith

th e s e p e r s o n a l i ty changes by comparing the Mexican-Ajaeriean

p e r s o n a l i ty w ith th e Mexican c h a ra c te r from which i t was

d e r iv e d . However ? th e c o n tra s t between the. Mexiean-American

p e r s o n a l i ty and th e American p e r s o n a l i ty has n o t been s y s te m a tic a lly

s tu d ie d ,

I t i s d i f f i c u l t to attem p t-to draw co n c lu sio n s or hypo­

th e s e s about th e Mexican-Amer ic a n p e r s o n a l i ty - f ro m 'th e , l i t e r a ­

tu r e w hich d e a ls w i th 'th e .n a tiv e Mexican p e r s o n a l i ty . This

d i f f i c u l t y r e s u l t s from th e fac t, t h a t much o f th e l i t e r a t u r e

on the Mexican p e r s o n a l i ty r e f e r s to s tu d ie s conducted in th e

la r g e c i t i e s in C entral M exico-(Iturr'iaga, 1951$ and Sam irez

and Farres$ 1957)» Even many of th e r u r a l s tu d ie s may not

be r e le v a n t to th e p resen t, in v e s t ig a t io n because th ey were

conducted in r u r a l a re a s t© th e w est and to th e so u th of

Mexico C ity (Abel and C a la b re s i , 1951$ and G i lb e r t , 1959),

B igg ins (1946) s ta te d th a t th e Mexican im m igrants in Tucson

come m ostly from r u r a l a re a s o f n o r th e rn Mexico and e s p e c ia l ly

28

from Sonora. I f t h i s s ta tem en t i s to r e , th e a p p l i c a b i l i t y

o f r e s u l t s o b ta in e d in o th e r p a r ts of Mexico may no t app ly

to th e Mexican im m igrants mho came to th e Tucson a r e a .

S ev e ra l common f in d in g s seem to have a r i s e n in th e

d e s c r ip t io n s of M exican-A m ericans. From th e s e f in d in g s

Mexican=.American males shou ld appear . to be a u th o r i t a r ia n ,

p reoccup ied w ith se x , ex trem ely m ascu lin e , p u g n ac io u s,

i r r e s p o n s ib le , in d ep en d en t, r e b e l l i o n s , in c o n f l i c t over

r o le expectancy , ou tw ard ly i n d i f f e r e n t , and g e n e ra l ly f i t t i n g

th e ^macho^ p a t t e r n .

M exican-American fem ales , on th e o th e rh an d , shou ld

g e n e ra l ly be su b m issiv e , d o m estic , m a te rn a l, s e l f - s a c r i f i c i n g ,

s e l f - b e l i t t l i n g , r e s t r a in e d , and le s s a f f e c te d by th e American

c u l tu re th an th e m ales. The d eg ree to which th e se t r a i t s a re

found w i l l , o f c o u rs e , depend upon th e degree to which th e

new Am erican c u l tu re has been a s s im ila te d and th e Mexican

c u l tu r a l h e r i ta g e has been a l t e r e d .

Combining th e s e sp e c u la tio n s d e r iv e d from th e rev iew of

th e l i t e r a t u r e w ith th e c l i n i c a l im pressions of s e v e ra l

p sy c h o lo g is ts who work w ith r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s of bo th of th e

g roups under s tu d y f iv e hypo theses can be p ro p o sed . The

h y p o th e ses ' t a re s

(1) Both male and fem ale Mexic an-Am ericans w i l l sco re

h igher on Hs, B, Hy, P t , and S c"than w i l l t h e i r Anglo c o u n te r­

p a r t s . •

29

" (2) Mexicaii-American m ales w i l l sco re h ig h e r th a n Anglo

males on Pd w hile M exican-American fem ales w i l l sc o re low er

onvthese s c a le s th an w i l l Anglo fe m a le s ..

(3) Anglo males and Anglo fem ales w i l l sc o re h ig h e r on

Pa th a n M exican-American m ales and fem ales w i l l .

(4) M exican-American fem&les w i l l sco re h ig h e r on Si

th a n w i l l Angle fem ales w h ile M exican-American m ales w i l l

have lo w er S i s c o re s th an w i l l A nglo m a le s»

(5) M exican-American males w i l l be more m ascu line th an

Anglo males on E f w h ile M exican-American fem ales w i l l be more

fem in ine th a n Anglo fem ales on th i s s c a le .

The s u b je c ts f©r t h i s s tu d y were th e sophomore students

e n ro lle d in the b a s ic l i f e sc ie n c e course which i s re q u ire d

f o r sophom ores.a t Pueblo High S choo l? Tucson? A rizona^ From

th is o r ig in a l group Of ap p ro x im ate ly 500 s tu d e n ts a sm a lle r

sample o f Mexican^Americans and Anglo-Am ericans was d e riv e d

fey e lim in a tin g .th o se s u b je c ts who: in one o r more ways m ight

have b ia s e d t h e ' d a t a 6 A l l s u b je c ts whose p a re n ts o r g rand - •

p a re n ts were bo rn in a co u n try o th e r th a n Mexico or th e U nited

S ta te s o r who were members o f th e Segro p o p u la tio n were e lim i­

nated® S u b je c ts su sp ec ted o f being M exican-American on th e

b as is , of t h e i r , name or o th e r c r i t e r i a bu t whose p a re n ts and

g ran d p a ren ts had a l l been born in th e 'W a ite d S ta te s were a ls o

e lim in a ted o The s u b je c ts e l im in a te d on th e above bases in c lu d ed

.approxim ately 100 o f th e o r ig in a l g ro u p 0

A ll s u b je c ts who f a i l e d to co m p le te . th e p e rso n a l in f e r - .

mat io n sh e e t o# th e MMPI during th e two t e s t in g se ss io n s o r

who f a i l e d to fo llo w d i r e c t io n s on e i th e r of th e s e ta s k s were

e lim in a te d also® Of' th o se e lim in a te d on t h i s b a s is ap p ro x i- ■

raately 60 were M exiean-Americah a n d .35 were Anglo® A ll

s u b je c ts who were u n d e r ,15 or over 18 y e a rs o f age were a lso

dropped from th e group® About 35 H exiean-A m erleans and 20

31

Anglos were e lim in a te d in t h i s way. F in a l ly , any su b je c t

whose f sco re on th e F sc a le was 7®.or h ig h e r was e l im in a te d 0

A pprox im ate ly ’13 Mexican “Americans and 9 Anglos were e lim in a te d

f o r t h i s reasono

The r e s u l t in g s u b je c t group co n ta in ed 232 o f th e o r ig in a l

su b je c ts = Of th e se 232 s u b je c ts , 101 were c l a s s i f i e d as

M exican-American on th e b a s is of t h e i r having a t l e a s t one

g ran d p a ren t or p a re n t who was born in M exico. This group

in c lu d ed 41 m ales and 60 fem aleso S u b je c ts whose p a re n ts

and g ran d p a ren ts had a l l been born in th e U nited S ta te s and

who were no t elim im at'ed on one o f th e o th e r c r i t e r i a were

d e s ig n a te d as th e Anglo g roup . This group was composed o f

63 m ales and 68 fem a le s .

The n ecessa ry in fo rm a tio n fo r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f s u b je c ts

and some in fo rm a tio n b ea rin g on th e re le v a n t v a r ia b le s to be

s tu d ie d were o b ta in ed by having each s u b je c t f i l l in a p e rso n a l

h is to r y q u e s tio n n a ire p r io r to the a d m in is t ra t io n o f th e MMPI

(se e Table X f o r a sample o f th is q u e s t io n n a i r e ) ,

BEASEREHEKT

The M innesota M u ltip h as ic P e r s o n a l i ty X nvetory was used

to m easure th e p e r s o n a l i ty c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f each s u b je c t .

The r e s u l t in g p r o f i l e s were compared to determ ine i f any

d i f fe re n c e s e x is te d among th e g ro u p s. The MMPX i s composed

of 566 item s which c o n tr ib u te to sc o re s on te n e m p ir ic a l ly

d e r iv e d s c a le s designed to m easure v a r ia b le s r e le v a n t to

32

TABLE I

P e rso n a l H is to ry Q u estio n n a ire

Fame Age Sex Weight H eight

S i r tM a te g Month Day Year

B e lig ie n s C a th o lic P ro te s ta n t O ther Zone

B ath er?

Bern in HeSn' ~ I f n e t , w here?

Check y ea r;fa th er ®s occupations-

U n sk illed la b o r (g a rd e n e r , handyman, j a n i t o r , farm hand,.e tc o)

S e m i-sk il le d la b o r ( c a r p e n te r 5 s h e lp e r , t r n c k d r iv e r ,e t C e )

S k il le d la b o rs (mason, plum ber, c a rp e n te r , e t c . )

S a le s • ■ .

S to re k e e p e r , fa rm e r , or owner o f sm all b u s in e ss

Owner of la rg e b u s in e ss

P ro fe s s io n a l -

%/<, L #ther .

Describe^; your f a t h e r 8 s work

l y f a th e r w orks:

A l l bu t v a c a tio n s Mo s t o f th e tim e About h a l f of

th e tim e Seldom

Sy f a t h e r ’ s f a th e r was? Born in th e _ I f m ot, where?

My f a t h e r 8s mother w as: Born in th e HoSo I f n o t , where?

33

Hy m other w ast Born in th e ILSo I f n o t , where

I f your m other w orks, i i ia t does sh e do?

y m o th er’s f a th e r was i. Born in th e XL So I f n o t , where?_

My m o th e r’s m other wass Born in th e XJoSo I f n o t, where?_

What language o th e r th an E n g lish do you speak?____________; I

speak t h i s languages very l i t t l e a l i t t l e _ q u ite a

l o t " a l lo t « _ ■

Check th e members of your fam ily l iv in g in your homes

F a th e r Mother S te p fa th e r S tepm other _

Grandmother • G ran d fa th er Uncle_ Aunt O ther

l i s t your b ro th e rs and s is t e r s s

BKOTHERS SISfE iS

Marne age Marne A g e .

H alf B ro th e rs Haif S i s t e r s

v a rio u s c l i n i c a l syndroraes ..o r 'd ia g n o s tic d a te g o r ie so The

s c a le s a re Hs (H y p o ch o n d rias is )? D (D e p re ss io n )s Hy (H y s te r ia ) f

Fd (P sychopath ic d e v ia te ) , Hf C M a sc u lin ity -fe ra in in ity ) ,

•Pa (P a ra n o ia )P F t (P s y e h a s th e n ia ) , Sc (S c h iz o p h re n ia ) ,

Ma (Hypomania)y and S i (S o c ia l i n t r o v e r s io n ) = Four v a l i d i t y

■ scal.es are a ls o inc liidM to he msed f o r th e d isc o v e ry of

such f a c to r s as m a lin g e rin g 9 ly in g , d i n a b i l i t y to choose between

answ ers, and f a i l u r e to understand in s t r u c t io n s or q u e s t io n s »

These f a c to r s co u ld cause th e c l i n i c a l s c a le s to r e g i s t e r

sp u rio u s sco reso

The F s c a le m entioned above as having been used as an

.e lim in a tio n c r i t e r io n , p ic k s up such t e s t ta k in g b eh av io r as

c a re le s s n e s s , la ck of com prehension o f th e ite m s, and

e x te n s iv e re c o rd in g or sco rin g e r r o r s „ ”I f th e F sco re i s

h ig h , th e o th e r s c a le s are. l i k e ly to be in v a l id ” (Hathaway

and''McKinley,. 1951, p , 18)»

AIALfSlS . ' - .

The raw s c o re s , c o r re c te d fo r K, f o r each .su b je c t on each

o f th e te n c l i n i c a l s c a l e s were converted , to s ta n d a rd f

scores.o These T sc o re s were,.:them an a ly zed in two ways, by

a n a ly s is of v a r ia n c e o f w eigh ted mean T sco re s and by a c h i

square t e s t , of th e frequency o f T sc o re s of 70 o r more (T 70).

The a n a ly s is of v a r ia n c e , employed a f iv e way model using ag e ,

f i f t e e n compared to s ix te e n and o ld e r ; sex , m ales compared

to f© m alesf. c u l tu r e , M exiean-Amerleans compared to n o n - f i r s t

3 5

born c h i ld re n , and each o f th e te n s c a le s as th e .r e le v a n t -

v a r ia b le s o I n each of t h e s e .com parisons and in the compu­

t a t i o n o f th e in te r a c t io n s of th e se v a r ia b le w eigh ted 'means

were used to e l im in a te the p o s s ib le b ia s in g e f f e c t of th e

unequal numbers of s u b je c ts in the v a r io u s g ro u p s,

fhe age v a r ia b le was in c lu d ed to determine the v a l id i t y

of g rouping th e s u b je c ts w ith in th e t o t a l age range because

most r e s e a rc h w ith th e MMPI does no t in c lu d e s u b je c ts below

16 y e a rs of a g e , fh e r e s u l t s o f th e a n a ly s is o f th e e f f e c t s

o f s e r i a l b i r t h o rd e r were no t t r e a te d h e re bu t w i l l be p re se n te d

in a l a t e r paper, fhe b a s ic d a ta from th i s a n a ly s is which,

i s p e r t in e n t to th i s paper x'is concerned w ith th e e f f e c t s of

c u l tu re and sex on th e sco re s on each o f th e MPX s c a le s ,

fhe c h i square a n a ly s is o f 170 f re q u e n c ie s i s included

t o determ ine any d if fe re n c e s in th e in c id en c e of p a th o lo g ic a l

s c o re s , A T sco re o f 70 o r more i s u s u a lly in te r p r e te d as

in d ic a t in g p a th o lo g y because i t f a l l s two or more s ta n d a rd

d e v ia tio n s from th e mean of th e s ta n d a rd iz a t io n g roup . This

c h i square a n a ly s is in v e s t ig a te s a d i f f e r e n t .a s p e c t of p o s s ib le

d if fe re n c e s th an th e a n a ly s is o f v a r ia n c e does, While th e

analys i s o f v a r ia n c e i s capable o f dem onstra ting a s ig n i f i c a n t

d i f f e r e n c e .and- can demonstrate th e d i r e c t io n of t h i s d i f f e re n c e ,

i t does no t g iv e as c le a r a p icture of th e degree of s e v e r i ty

invo lved in th e d if fe re n c e s o b ta in e d , Chi square can tak e

th e s e v e r i ty 'o f p a th o lo g y in to acco u n t.

RESULTS

The a n a ly s is o f v a r ia n c e used to t e s t th e e f f e c t s of

ag e , c u l tu r e , s e x , and s e r i a l b i r t h o rd er on i W I s c a le sc o re s

showed v e ry few s ig n i f i c a n t d if fe re n e e s o There were no

s ig n i f i c a n t d i f f e re n c e s between the Mexican=Ameriean group

and th e Anglo group:;;e ither when th ey were t e s t e d s in g ly o r

in com bination w ith o th e r v a r i a b l e s <, Thus, th e r e were no

d if fe re n c e s dem onstra ted between H exiean-A m erican males and

Anglo- m ales nor betw een M exiean-American fem ales and Anglo

fem a le s»

In f a c t , th e on ly d if fe re n c e s found which reach ed s ig n i -

canoe (=05) were dem onstra ted between m ales and fe m a le s=

They o ccu rred when a l l th e male s u b je c ts were compared to

a l l th e fem ale s u b je c ts w ithou t r e s p e c t to age, c u l tu r a l h e r i- .

ta g e , or s e r i a l b i r t h o rder c These d i f fe re n c e s o ccu rred on

Ha, B, and Pt= The grouped m ales had s ig n i f i c a n t ly h ig h e r

mean T sc o re s on each o f th e s e s c a le s th an th e grouped fem ales

dem onstratedo S in ce th e T sco re s f o r m ales and fem ales do

no t r e p re s e n t th e same raw sc o re s on B 'a n d -F t, ' and s in c e th e

mean T sc o re s f o r b o th ,g ro u p s w ere above th e mean of th e norm

groups we can only assume g r e a te r d i f f e re n c e s from th e male

norms f o r th e males, th a n from th e fem ale norms f o r fem ales

on th e se two s c a l e s =

36

37

The mean T sc o re s on each of th e s c a le s a re g iven in

F ig u re 1 fo r th e M exican-American Anglo-Am erican com parison

and fra1 th e grouped m ales and grouped fem ales com parison.

Figure. 2 p re se n ts th e man, T sco re p r o f i l e s f o r Mexic an-

Amer ic an m a les , Mexic an-Am erican fem a le s , Anglo-Am erican m a les ,

and Anglo-Am erican fe m a le s , F ig u re 2 i s a g rap h ic re p re se n ­

t a t i o n of th e ways in which th e v a r ia b le s in F ig u re 1 i n t e r ­

a c t „ Fone of th e se in te r a c t io n s were s i g n i f i c a n t ,

Eo s ig n i f i c a n t d if fe re n c e s were found between f i f t e e n

y ea r o ld s u b je c ts and .su b je c ts who were s ix te e n to e ig h te e n

years of age . This i s t ru e of a l l d i r e c t and in te r a c t in g

e f f e c t s o f th e age v a r i a b le . As a r e s u l t o f t h i s la c k of

d if fe re n c e s on th e age v a r ia b le , th e f i f t e e n y ea r o ld s were

in c lu d e d w ith th e o th e r s u b je c ts when a l l o th e r com parisons

were made,

F ig u re s 3? 4 , and 5 p re s e n t th e f re q u e n c ie s o f T79

sc o re s fo r th e d i f f e r e n t groups th a t were used in an a ttem p t .

to f in d d if fe re n c e s in th e freq u en cy of p a th o lo g ic a l sc o re s

among th e g ro u p s . F ig u re 3 compares grouped. Mexic an-Amer ic ans

w ith grouped A nglo-A m ericans, These two groups a re broken

down and th e sex v a r ia b le i s added in F ig u re s 4 and 5 , C ross-

c u l tu r a l d i f f e re n c e s between fem ales a re given in F ig u re 4

and between males in F ig u re 5 , .

The freq u en cy d i s t r ib u t io n s in F ig u re s 3 , 4 , and 5-

cou ld be m is in te rp re te d i f th e f a c t th a t th e re a re no t th e

FIGURE 1

MEAN T SCORE PROFILES FOR THE

CULTURE AND SEX VARIABLES

T SC

OR

ES

6 8

6 5

62

5 9

5 6

53

5 0

o—o Anglo (Grouped)

Mexican - American (Grouped)

Males (Grouped)

Females (Grouped)

Hs Hy Pd Mf

MM PI

I_______ i_Pa Pt

SCALESSc Ma Si

CO<o

FIGURE 2

MEAN T SCORE PROFILES FOR TH

INTERACTION OF THE CULTURE

AND SEX VARIABLES

T SC

OR

ES

6 8

65

6 2

59

5 6

53

5 0

T " ' I I I I

o—* Anglo Males

Mexican-American Males

Anglo Females

o—o Mexican-American Females

Hs Hy Pd Mf

MMPI

t-------------1------------ 1-------------1-------------r

I________1____ ___-l________ 1______ _LPa Pt Sc Ma Si

SCALES

FIGURE 3

FREQUENCIES OF T70 SCORES AMONG

THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN AND

ANGLO-AMERICAN GROUPS

T 70

FR

EQ

UE

NC

Y

T40

35

3 0

2 5

20

15

10

5

0

T T

Anglo N=I3I

0—0 Mexican • American N=IOI

1 1Hs Hy Pd Mf

MMPI

1---------1--------- 1--------- 1---------r

I_________i______ l_______ i________ i IPa Pt Sc Mo Si

CO

SCALES

FIGURE 4

FREQUENCIES OF T70 SCORES AMONG

MEXICAN-AMERICaN MALES AND

ANGLO-AMERICAN MAi.ES

T 70

FR

EQ

UE

NC

Y

21

18

15

12

«—° Anglo Males N=63

o—o Mexican-American Males N=4I

IHs Hy Pd Mf Pa Pt

MMPI SCALES

S c Mo Si

FIGURE 5

FREQUENCIES OF T70 SCORES AMONG

MEXICaN-AMER KAN FEJiAjjES AND

ANGLO-AMERICAN FEMALES

T 70

FR

EQ

UE

NC

Y

T18 -

15 -

12 -

9 -

6 -

3 -

0 -

Anglo Females N=68

Mexican - American Females

MMPI

T---------- 1-----------1---------- 1-----------r

N =60

Pa Pt S c Ma Si

SCALES4

48

same number ©f s u b je c ts in each group were n e g le c te d 0 In

o rd er to c l a r i f y th e r e la t iv e - f r e q u e n c y of T7® s c o re s among

th e groups T able I I p re s e n ts th e p e rcen tag es o f 170 s c o re s

re c e iv e d by each group on each o f th e s c a le s .

Of th e c h i square r a t i o s computed, on ly one proved to

be s ig n i f i c a n t o H exican-A pericans., a s a g roup, sco red signi«=

f i c a n t l y ( .0 5 w ith Y afe6s c o r re c t io n ) more T70 sc o re s th an

Anglos d id on th e E f s c a le . This r e s u l t su g g e s ts th a t th e re

i s more r e j e c t io n o f . th e p re s c r ib e d Anglo sex r o le among

Mexiean-’American m ales and f m a le s th a n among th e i r Anglo-

American c o u n te rp a r ts , lo n e o f th e o th e r com parisons made

u sin g th i s c h i sq u a re m ethod 'cou ld be d e sc r ib e d a s even approach­

ing s ig n i f ic a n c e .

A supplem entary a n a ly s is which used more of th e o r ig in a l

sample th a n w ere in c lu d e d ,,in the above a n a ly s e s , re p la c in g

some of- th e s u b je c ts who had been removed because of ag e ,

F sco re over 70, e t c . , dem onstra ted o th e r d i f f e r e n c e s . The

s u b je c ts used in t h i s a n a ly s is in c lu d ed 184 M exican-Americans

o f which 8.2 were m ales and 102 w ere fem a le s , -if th e 128

A nglo-Am ericans u s e d , ,63 were m ales and 68 fem a le s . The

s u b je c ts added were a l l M exican-A m ericans.

In t h i s a n a ly s is M exlcan-American m ales had s i g n i f i ­

c a n t ly more T70 s c o re s on th e E f f s c a le than A ngle males d id ,

and th e Anglo fem ales showed more T79 sc o re s th a n M exican-

American fem ales d id . The d if fe re n c e on I f betw een a l l

TABLE I I

PEBCMTAGBS OF $70 SCORES IF 'EACH OF $HE FOUR GROUPS

SCALE HBXICA1-Ammcm

AFGLO MEXICAH-A M IC A l

HALE

A1GL0HALE

ill 116FEES

Hs 3 5 7 8 0 2

D 12 11 20 17 7 6

Hy 7 8 4 4 8 12

Pd 18 18 15 17 20 21

I f 8 2 7 2 8 3

Pa 8 14 10 11 7 13

P t 11 13 17 17 7 10

Sc 22 26 27 29 18 24

Ha 28 25 34 35 23 16

S i 8 7 4 8 10 6

50

Mexiean«Am@ricans and. a l l Anglos dem onstrated, in th e o r ig in a l

e h i square a n a ly s is d id n e t reach s ig n i f ic a n c e in th e extended

a n a ly s is o

A nother a sp ec t o f t h i s ex tended a n a ly s is dem onstrated

th a t when M exican-Ameriean m ales were compart'd .to Mexican-'

American fem a les , a com parison n o t made in th e o r ig in a l t r e a t ­

ment of th e d a ta , th e m ales had more T70 sco re s th a n th e fem ales

on B, F t , and S c0 The com parison o f Anglo m ales w ith Anglo

fem ales vWhowed. th a t th e m ales 'had s ig n i f i c a n t ly more T70

sc o re s th an the fem ales on Ma, A l l th e d if fe re n c e s found in

th e extended a n a ly s is were s ig n i f i c a n t a t th e .05 le v e l w ith

th e ex cep tio n o f th e d if fe re n c e between M exiean-Amerlean m ales

and fem ales on Ft which reached th e .005 le v e l o f .s ig n i f ic a n c e .

The f din d ings concern ing sex d i f fe re n c e s o f t h i s expanded

a n a ly s is a re g e n e ra l ly in accord w ith th e d i f f e r e n c e s in mean

T sc o re s between m ales and fem ales on Ma, F t , and B which

were found in th e a n a ly s is o f v a r ia n c e . However, Sc f a i l e d

to d i f f e r e n t i a t e m ales and fem ales in th e a n a ly s is o f v a r ia n c e .

COECEUSIOHS

These r e s u l t s in d ie a te v e ry few p e r s o n a l i ty d if fe re n c e s

between the M exican-American and 4 n g lo h ig h sch o o l s tu d e n ts

who se rv ed a s s u b je c ts in th i s s tu d y . The m a jo r i ty of th e

o b ta in ed d i f fe re n c e s o ccu rred on th e sex v a r ia b le , not as

th e r e s u l t of c u l tu r a l d i f f e r e n c e s . The sex d if fe re n c e s

o b ta in ed a re g e n e ra l ly c o n s is te n t w ith th e m ale-fem ale

d if fe re n c e s on th e MHPT re p o r te d in th e l i t e r a t u r e , G oodste in

(Welsh and D ahlstrom , 1956, p , 577) compared a com posite group

o f c o lle g e males ta k e n from, e a r l i e r r e p o r ts in th e l i t e r a t u r e

to th e com posite group o f c o lle g e fem ales r e p o r te d by B lack ,

He found t h a t m ales had h ig h e r mean T sc o re s th an fem ales d id

on a l l th e c l i n i c a l s c a le s excep t Pa on which th e means fo r

th e two groups were n e a r ly i d e n t i c a l , G oodstein re p o r te d

th a t th e l a r g e s t d if f e re n c e s were o b ta in ed on Mf, Ma, F t ,

B, and H s,

G o o d ste in ’s r e p o r te d d if fe re n c e s a re to be viewed as

d i f fe re n c e s f o r each sex from t h e i r s ta n d a rd iz a t io n groups

r a th e r th an a s d i r e c t d i f f e re n c e s between th e s e x e s . However,

we can conclude th a trm a le s had mean T .sc o re s which d i f f e r e d

from th e male norms to a s ig n i f i c a n t ly g re a te r e x te n t th a n

th e mean T sc o re s f o r th e fem ales d i f f e r e d from th e fem ale

norm s. The p re s e n t s tu d y found s im ila r d if fe re n c e s on Ma,

51

52

3Pt,, aad 1 in th e a n a ly s is ©f v a r ia n e e and found M exican-

American m ales to have more T7© sc o re s th an Mexican=Amerie-an

fem ales d id on D and F t » In a d d i t io n ? Anglo m ales had more

f70 sc o re s th an Anglo fem ales d id on

The only d if fe re n c e s which can be a t t r i b u t e d to c u l tu re

o r i t s in te r a c t io n w ith sex were found on Z f betw een th e m ales

o f th e two groups and on Fa between th e fem ales o f th e two

groupso The o r ig in a l c h i sq u a re a n a ly s is a ls o showed th a t

Zf d i f f e r e n t i a t e d th e two c u l tu r a l groups s u c c e s s fu l ly . From

th e s e r e s u l t s we m ight conclude th a t except fo r Mexican-

Americans having more d i f f i c u l t y in sex id e n t i f i c a t i o n and

female M exican-Americans la v in g le s s d i f f i c u l t y w ith being

su s p ic io u s or p a ran o id th e re a re no c u l t u r a l l y produced

■ p erso n a lity d if fe re n c e s between M exiean-American and-Anglo

high sch o o l s tu d e n ts . -

The Z f d if fe re n c e between th e two groups o f m ales may

be s u rp r is in g because i t does no t su p p o rt th e Mexican emphasis

©n m a sc u lin ity which has so o ften been re p o r te d as c e n t r a l

to th e Mexican c u l tu r e . On th e co n tra ry * i t - su g g ests th a t

M exiean-American m ales a r e more fem in ine in t h e i r i n t e r e s t s

th a n a re Anglo m ales . ••

W hile a ccu ltu ra tio n may ten d t© e q u a liz e c r o s s -c u ltu r a l,

d if fe re n c e s* i t does no t accoun t fo r th e com plete r e v e r s a l

on Z f . lam ire z and P a rre s (1957) h y p o th e s ize th a t th e ,8Eachow

p a t te r n i s no t j u s t an emphasis on m ascu lin ity b u t an a ttem p t

S3

to overcome b a s ic a l ly fem in ine id e n t i f i c a t io n „ As .has' been

re p o r te d above, ca se s of d e s e r t io n i n th e Mexican c u l tu re a re

f re q u e n t The on ly p o ss ib le , id e n t i f i c a t io n f ig u r e f o r most

boys when th e i r f a th e r d e s e r ts the fam ily i s t h e i r m other.

However, th e boy cannot d is p la y h is fem in ine i d e n t i f i c a t i o n

to h is p e e rs so he assumes, th e ^macho9’ r o le as a defense

a g a in s t h is b a s ic i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . T h e re fo re , one p o s s ib le

e x p la n a tio n o f th e e le v a te d Mf sc o re s fo r M exican-American.

m ales i s t h a t th e Am erican c u l tu r e has reduced th e need fo r

th e wmachow r o le and th e 38M3P1 was a b le to g e t th ro u g h th e

rem aining d e fe n se s to th e b a s ic i d e n t i f i c a t i o n in th e se b o y s .

I t i s a ls o in te r e s t i n g to n o te th a t th e M exieaa-Am eriean

fem ale who i s u su a lly d e sc r ib e d as re s e rv e d , devoted , and

su b se rv ie n t i s shown to be more m ascu line th a n th e A nglo-

American f emale who ta k e s g r e a t p r id e in h er e q u a l i ty w ith

men and in h er a b i l i t y to be in d ep en d en t.

Penn (1963) found th a t H exiean-A m eriean fem ales sco red

s ig n i f i c a n t ly h ig h er th an Anglo fem ales on a l l th e c l i n i c a l

s c a le s excep t Pa and Mf. P en n 's c r i t i c a l r a t i o and th e

a n a ly s is o f v a r ia n c e fo r th e d if fe re n c e between means in t h i s

s tu d y bo th showed nd s ig n i f i c a n t d if f e re n c e betw een th e se

two groups on P a . However, th e .-p re se n t s tu d y found Anglo-

fem ales to have s i g n i f i c a n t ly more T70 sco re s th a n were found

f o r M exican-Ameriean fem ales on th e Pa s c a le . S ince Penn

d id n o t compare T70 sc o re s between H exiean-A m erleans and

5 4

Anglos a d i r e c t com parison between th e r e s u l t s o f th e T70

f in d in g s and Penn»s r e s u l t s i s no t p o ss ib le*

O ther l i t e r a t u r e se em s.to su p p o rt eh o b ta in ed d if fe re n c e

between M exiean-Ameriean and Anglo fem ales on Pa„ B enedict

(B e lia k , 1958, ch . 17) s t a t e s th a t people from underdeveloped

a re a s ten d to dem onstra te low sc o re s on Fa* On th i s b a s is

M exican-Americans would be ex p ec ted 'looseore lower on Fa

th a n A n g lo s»

S toker (1963) s tu d ie d groups o f M exican-American and

Anglo p s y c h ia t r ic p a t ie n t s in an a ttem p t to d e f in e th e ty p es

o f symptomatology which a re common to each group and to

dem onstra te th e d if fe re n c e s in symptomatology between th e se

two g ro u p s , He found th a t g r e a te r p e rcen tag e s of Mexican-

Am ericans were d iagnosed as having a n x ie ty and d e p re ss iv e

r e a c t io n s , w h ile more Anglo-Am ericans were d iagnosed as p a ra ­

noids and m a n ic -d e p re ss iv e s , He accounts fo r th e g re a te r

freq u en cy of p a ra n o ia among A nglos of bo th sexes th an among

M exican-A m erieans' by p o in tin g ou t th a t p r o je c t io n i s no t am

im p o rtan t defense fo r M exican-A m erieans. He f e e l s t h i s i s

t r u e because o f th e f r e e r ex p ress io n o f e m o tio n a lity and th e

e x tro p u n it iv e n a tu re o f h o s t i l i t y and ag g re ss io n among th e

Mexic an-A m erican group* .The p re s e n t s tu d y found th e expected

d if fe re n c e on Pa -only between "the fem ales of th e two. groups*

The o v e ra l l d i s t r i b u t io n of means is a ls o in te re s t in g *

C on trary to Penn’ s r e p o r t of a g e n e ra l e le v a t io n of th e

H exican-A m eriean sc o re s our r e s u l t s in d ic a te t h a t th e Anglo

sc o re s are h ig h e r ? a lth o u g h no t a t a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i ­

can t l e v e l , , on a l l b u t th r e e sc a le s* T sc o re means on th e se

th re e s c a le s fo r th e two groups d i f f e r by no more th a n one

T sc o re <, Ma, th e s in g le s c a le on which one o f Penn$s Mexi­

can-Am erican means tended to be as low as th e Anglo mean, i s

one o f th e th r e e sc a le s on which M exican-Americans tended to

s c o re h ig h e r in th i s s tu d y * The o th e r two s c a le s on which

M exican-Americans ten d ed to sc o re h ig h e r were B and S i .

DISCUSSION

There a re two p o s s ib le i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of th e o b ta in ed

r e s u l t s o The f i r s t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n assumes th a t th e re r e a l l y .

a re v e ry few d if fe re n c e s in p e r s o n a l i ty between Mexican-

Amerioam and Anglo-American h ig h schoo l s tu d e n ts in Tucson„

This would mean th a t th e s tu d ie s r e p o r te d in th e l i t e r a t u r e

which r e s u l t e d in d if fe re n c e s would not foe a p p l ic a b le to th e

groups used in th e p re s e n t studyo The second p o s s ib le

in te r p r e ta t io n assumes th a t th e r e s u l t s o f t h i s s tu d y a re

no t v a l id and t h a t th e d if fe re n c e s r e p o r te d , in th e l i t e r a t u r e

betw een M exican-Americans and Anglo-Am ericans a r e v a l id and

shou ld have been foucti using h ig h schoo l s tu d e n ts in Tucson;

There a re s e v e ra l fa c to r 's which may have been in opera­

t io n a t th e tim e of t e s t in g th a t would su p p o rt th e f i r s t

in te rp re ta t io n * . The most obvious of- th e s e f a c to r s i s a c c u l­

tu ra t io n * A ccu ltu ra tio n -m ay have been so n e a r ly com plete in

th e M exican-American group a t th e tim e of t e s t in g th a t th e se

s u b je c ts w ere, to a l l in te n ts and p u rp o ses , co m p le te ly a t tu n e d

to th e Am erican way of l i f e and had adop ted i t as t h e i r own*

They may have been to o fa r removed from t h e i r M exican c u l tu r a l

h e r i ta g e fo r i t to have had a s ig n i f i c a n t e f f e c t on th e i r t e s t

perform ance*

There i s a ls o th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a c c u l tu r a t io n working

56

57

la ' re v e rse of i t s norm al coiarse „ The f a c t t h a t th e high

schoo l from w hich t h i s sample was taken i s in a p redom inan tly

Mexioan=American neighborhood may in d ic a te t h a t th e Anglo-

American s u b je c ts who- a t te n d th e h ig h schoo l and l i v e in th e

neighborhood a re a f f e c te d by Mexican c t& iu ra l in f lu e n c e s «

T his m ight r e s u l t in a two way f a e i l i t a t i v e a c c u l tu r a t io n

p ro cess in which th e Anglo c h i ld re n a s s im ila te p a r t s o f th e

Mexican c u l tu r e as th e y grow up w hile th e M exican-Amerieans

a r e adop ting p a r ts o f th e Am erican c u l tu r e a t th e same tim e 6

Age of th e s u b je c ts in t h i s in v e s t ig a t io n could a ls o be

e .onsidered .a s 'p o s s ib le -support f o r th e in t e r p r e t a t i o n th a t

no r e a l d i f f e re n c e s e x is t iu Most o th e r s tu d ie s have used

ad d It su b je c ts * Many s tu d ie s have re p o r te d t h a t much of th e

p a th o lo g y in th e Mexican c u l tu re seems to have i t s onse t a t

about th e tim e o f marriage® 'The g e n e ra l in te r p r e t a t i o n - o f

t h i s f in d in g i s th a t th e need to assume a d u lt r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

and to a t te n d to dom estic d u t ie s i s a p rim ary f a c to r in p ro ­

ducing t h i s pathology® S ince none of th e s u b je c ts in th e

p re s e n t s tu d y were m arried o r .of m arrying age , i t . i s p o s s ib le

t h a t d if f e re n c e s which may appear l a t e r were n o t f u l l y developed

in th e s u b je c ts tested® A g r e a t d e a l o f s t r e s s has been

p laced on th e d i f f i c u l t i e s of th e a d o le sc e n t p e r io d in th e

American culture® In sp e c tio n of F ig u re 1 su g g e s ts th a t th e

Anglo means are h ig h e r on most s c a le s th a n would have been

expected® I f , th en th e Mexiean-A.merican s u b je c ts have y e t

58

t© develop th e p a t te r n s which were p re d ic te d and th e Anglo-

•Americans a re now a t a peak from which th e y w i l l reced e as

t h e y g e t o ld e r ? i t would, have been ex trem ely d i f f i c u l t t o

o b ta in r e s u l t s l i k e th o se re p o r te d fo r a d u lts in th e l i t e r a ­

tu r e .The e f f e c t s o f socioeconom ic &lass have a ls o been t r e a te d

in th e l i t e r a t u r e on M exican-Americans = While a f u l l re p o r t

of th is , v a r ia b le as i t appeared in th e p re s e n t s tu d y i s in

p re p a ra t io n f o r s e p a ra te p r e s e n ta t io n , i t was found th a t

f o r th e se two groups th e soe ioeconomic v a r ia b le s as m easured

by such th in g s as o c c u p a tio n a l l e v e l s annual income, e t e 0,

were approx im ate ly e q u a l0 T his f in d in g does n o t , however,

e l im in a te socioeconom ic s ta tu s as a r e le v a n t v a r ia b le in

t h i s s tudy o W hile i t may foe t r u e th a t th e annual income of

th e tw o .groups i s n e a r ly e q u a l, th e re i s no g u a ran tee th a t

th e same meaning would b e a tta c h e d to a g iven income le v e l

in b o th c u l tu r a l g ro u p s„ An annual income o f th r e e thousand

d o l la r s may pu t an Anglo fam ily in th e lower t h i r d o f th e

g e n e ra l Anglo p o p u la tio n w hile th e same income cou ld p la c e

a llex ican-A m erlean fam ily in a c o n s id e ra b ly h ig h e r p o s i t io n

in t h e i r c u l t u r a l g roup . .

A f i n a l p o s s ib le reaso n th a t would support the . in te r p r e ­

t a t i o n th a t th e re a re no r e a l d i f f e re n c e s is t h a t th e re may

be a g r e a te r e f f e c t on the d a ta r e s u l t in g from th e lo c a t io n

in which th e se s u b je c ts grew up th a n from e i th e r c u l tu r a l

h e r i ta g e o r i t s d i f f e r e n t i a l e f f e c t s on th e s e x e s . This

59

ex p lan a tio n would d i r e c t l y s ta te th a t because o f lo c a l e f f e c t s

th e f in d in g s r e p o r te d in th e l i t e r a t u r e f o r th e M exican-

American group as a whole do n o t ap p ly to our s u b je c ts .

In s p i t e o f th e f a c t th a t s e v e ra l of th e s e f a c to r s cou ld

have been o p e ra tin g to produce a la c k o f d if f e re n c e s between

th e two groups under S tudy, i t i s d i f f i c u l t to accep t th e se

e x p la n a tio n s as v a l id in th e fa c e of so much l i t e r a t u r e to

th e c o n t ra ry . S e v e ra l f a c to r s may have been o p e ra tin g to keep

r e a l d if f e re n c e s between th e se groups from being d em o n stra ted ,

The f i r s t of th e se f a c to r s i s th e m easuring in s tru m e n t i t s e l f .

Many o f th e s tu d ie s in Which d if fe re n c e s were dem onstra ted

to o k t h e i r s u b je c ts from c l i n i c a l l y d iagnosed p a th o lo g ic a l

c a s e s . The H P 1 should be more e f f e c t iv e w ith , known cases

o f psychopathology th a n w ith a group th a t i s e s s e n t i a l l y

norm al.

W hile Penn’ s s tu d y was conducted w ith a ’’normal®

p o p u la tio n , s e v e r a l q u e s tio n s shou ld be c o n s id e re d . How

w e ll dees a group o f M exiean-American c o lle g e s tu d e n ts

r e p re s e n t th e la r g e r M exican-American p o p u la tio n ? What

e f f e c t d id th e h ig h e r in te l l ig e n c e le v e l of P enn8s sample

have on h e r r e s u l t s . t h a t would no t be as l i k e l y t o be in

o p e ra tio n in th e p re s e n t s tu d y ? . I t appears t h a t th e sam ple

o f Mexiean-AmeriGam h igh sch o o l s tu d e n ts would more c lo s e ly

r e p re s e n t th e g e n e ra l M exican-American p o p u la tio n th an Penn9s

sample w ould. However, h e r r e s u l t s come much c lo s e r to

60

p re v io u s ly r e p o r te d f in d in g s th an th e r e s u l t s o f t h i s s tu d y

do o

W hile th e H P ! has been ttsed w ith A E eriean s u b je c ts as

young as s ix te e n and the p re s e n t d a ta shows no d if fe re n c e s

between th e f i f t e e n y ea r o ld s and th e o ld e r s u b je c t s s age

may be a r e le v a n t f a c t o r „ I t has no t been dem onstra ted th a t

th e M ill i s u s e fu l and valid , w ith H ex iean -ijaerican s in th i s

age ra n g e . I f indeed th e t e s t i s in cap ab le of dem onstra ting

psychopatho logy in Mexic an-Am erican a d o le s c e n ts w ith th e

pr e s e n tly a v a i la b le norm s, th e MMPI i s of no use in t h i s type

of d es ig n , in s p i t e of th e f a c t th a t i t may be q u i te v a l id

w ith th e Anglo s u b je c ts .

A lthough i t seems th a t i t m ight have been w ise r to use

o ld e r s tu d e n ts in t h i s in v e s t ig a t io n , th a t would n o t have been

v e ry p r a c t i c a l . A f te r th e sophomore y ea r th e dropout r a t e

a c c e le r a te s v e ry r a p id ly , e s p e c ia l ly among th e Mexican-

A m ericans. I f o ld e r s tu d e n ts had been used , i t would have

been v e ry d i f f i c u l t to o b ta in sam ples th a t were even c lo se

to being e q u a lly d iv id e d . Even using sophom ores, th e number

o f M exiean-American m ales f e l l c o n s id e ra b ly below th e numbers

in th e e th e r th r e e g ro u p s.

Another p o s s ib le reaso n fo r th e d isc re p an c y between th e

r e s u l t s o f t h i s e tu d y -an d th o se i n th e l i t e r a t u r e i s th e g en e ra l

type o f measurement em ployed. Gan we assume th a t a paper

and p e n c i l p e r s o n a l i ty t e s t such a s th e MMPI w i l l produce

61

s im ila r r e s t i l t s in c r e s s - c a l t n r a l 'r e s e a r c h as th e p r o je c t iv e

t e s t s and. th e in te rv ie w and o b s e rv a tio n a l te c h n iq u e s used

by o th e r in v e s t ig a to r s ? While w ith more s u b je c t iv e m easures

i t i s p o s s ib le f o r th e in v e s t ig a to r to a d ju s t h is tech n iq u es

to th e s i t u a t i o n , re p h ra s in g q u es tio n s so th a t th e y can be

u n d ersto o d , tak in g c u l tu r a l , f a c t o r s . in to account in i n t e r ­

p re tin g r e s u l t s , e t c . , t h i s i s no t p o s s ib le w ith a h ig h ly

s ta n d a rd iz e d o b je c t iv e t e s t u n less r e l i a b l e norms a re developed

fo r th e new s i t u a t i o n . ■

A d i f f i c u l t y of d es ig n should, a lso be co n s id e red as •

p o s s ib ly lend ing some su p p o rt to th e e x p la n a tio n th a t e x is t in g

d if fe re n c e s were no t m easured. In s o r tin g s u b je c ts fo r the

fo u r g roups, over 250 s u b je c ts were e lim in a te d from th e o r i ­

g in a l , sample . T his a tte m p t to av o id f a c to r s which might eon- '

found th e r e s u l t s may w e ll have e lim in a te d a co n s id e ra b le number

of th e more p a th o lo g ic a l cases from th e a n a ly s i s . S ince th e

o r ig in a l group o f s u b je c ts co n ta in e d more M exican-Amerieans

th an A nglos, i t seems rea so n ab le to assume th a t i f indeed

p a th o lo g ic a l ea ses were lo s t by using th e se c r i t e r i a i t would

have had a g r e a te r e f f e c t on th e average M exican-American I

s c o re s th an on th e Anglo T s c o re s . In f a c t , app rox im ate ly

110 M exican-Americans were, e lim ina ted - from th e f i n a l sample

as opposed to a b o u t .65 A nglos. I f f u t r e re se a rc h o f th is -

type i s conducted u sing th e KEPI t h i s p i t f a l l shou ld be ca re ­

f u l l y in v e s t ig a te d .

s m i s w

This th b s is has a ttem p ted to dem onstra te p e r s o n a l i ty

d i f fe re n c e s betw een M exican-American and Anglo-Am erican h igh

sch o o l s tu d e n ts w ith an e m p ir ic a lly ' d ev ised p e r s o n a l i ty

In v e n to ry . Two hundred and th i r ty - tw o s tu d e n ts from th e l i f e

- sc ien ce co u rse a t PneBlo High School were d iv id e d in to fo u r

groups on th e b a s is o f s e v e r a l c r i t e r i a » The groups used

in c lu d ed M exican-American m ales, Anglo-Am erican m ales, •

M exican-American fem a les , and Anglo-Am erican fe m a le s . The

M innesota M u ltip h asic P e r s o n a l i ty In v e n to ry was g iv en to a l l

o f th e se s u b je c ts . The r e s u l t in g p r o f i l e s were an lyzed in

two ways in an a ttem p t to d isc o v e r in te rg ro u p d i f f e r e n c e s .

A f iv e way a n a ly s is o f v a r ia n c e was computed to t e s t mean

T sc o re d i f fe re n c e s and a c h i sq u a re a n a ly s is o f th e f re q u e n c ie s

o f T70 sc o re s was computed to t e s t fo r d if fe re n c e s in th e

f re q u e n c ie s of p a th o lo g ic a l sc o re s among th e g ro u p s .

The r e s u l t s o f th e an a ly se s in d ic a te d v e ry few d i f f e r ­

ences among th e g ro u p s . The a n a ly s is o f v a r ia n c e showdd

on ly th r e e s ig n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s . These d i f fe re n c e s o ccu rred

when a l l mMe s u b je c ts were compared to a l l fem ale s u b je c ts .

Sfo d if fe re n c e s were d isc o v e red by th e a n a ly s is o f v a r ia n c e

which cou ld be s a id to r e s u l t from p u re ly c u t lu r a l d i f f e r e n c e s .

However, M exican-Americans and Anglo-Am ericans d id d i f f e r

62

63i

s ig n i f i c a n t ly on th e I f s c a le when th e i r f re q u e n c ie s of

f70 sc o re s were eopipared by c h i square ', M exican-American

m ales a ls o dem onstra ted more p a th o lo g ic a l s c o re s on M£ th an

d id Anglo m ales, and Anglo fem ales re c e iv e d more p a th o lo g ic a l

sc o re s on Pa th an Mexican^Ameriean fem ales d id ,

• In a ttem p tin g to e x p la in th e o b ta in ed - r e s u l t s , i t i s

p o s s ib le to assume th a t th e r e s u l t s a re v a l id and th a t th e re

a r e very few p e r s o n a l i ty d i f f e re n c e s between M exican-Amefican

and Anglo-Am erican high sch o o l s tu d e n ts , o r , one can assume

th a t r e a l d if fe re n c e s do e x i s t and th a t some f a c to r or com­

b in a t io n of f a c to r s were o p e ra tin g which p rev en ted th e d if fe re n c e s

from a p p e a r in g . S ev era l f a c to r s which cou ld be re le v a n t were

d is c u s se d ,

W hile most r e p o r ts in th e l i t e r a t u r e have re p o r te d more

d if fe re n c e s between M exican-Amerleans and Anglo-Am ericans

th an were found in t h i s s tu d y , th e few d if fe re n c e s t h a t were

found in t h i s s tu d y correspond f a i r l y w e ll w ith p rev ious

r e p o r t s . The d if fe re n c e between males and fem ales on Ma i s

common in th e l i t e r a t u r e concerned w ith sex d i f f e r e n c e s . The

f in d in g th a t Anglo fem ales had more p a th o lo g ic a l sc o re s on

Pa th a n M exican-Amerlean fem ales i s a ls o born out by re c e n t

re s e a rc h w ith c l i n i c a l c a s e s .

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O - *

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