Previous studies of college entrance and graduation have identified strong ethnic identity, cultural congruity, and low acculturative stress as protective factors for academic persistence among Latina/o college students. However, lacking in the literature is a more differentiated and complete understanding of the complex relationships between cultural and psychosocial factors that may lead to college success for students attending Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) of higher education. Proposing a structural equation model, we examined positive effects of ethnic identity, cultural congruity, and low acculturative stress on emotional wellbeing and GPA of Latina/o students attending HSIs. Further, we explored whether sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy mediate the relationships between the aforementioned cultural factors and emotional wellbeing and GPA. Participants were 289 Latina/o college students attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution in a Southwest city. Results showed that cultural factors, including low acculturative stress and strong ethnic identity, had significant positive effects on emotional wellbeing and GPA. However, the effects of cultural congruity were not substantiated. The mediating effects of sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy on cultural factors and college success outcomes were partially supported. Implications for improving adjustment among Latina/o college students attending Hispanic-Serving Institutions are discussed.

This article describes the results of research study that investigated the relationship between life satisfaction and three primary protective factors—la adaptabilidad, la sabiduría, and pariente—that contribute to family resilience for Mexican American elderly who are experiencing self-reported anxiety. A sample of 135 Mexican Americans aged 65 and older were administered measures to assess self-reported anxiety, life satisfaction, and the three protective factors. Of these, 60 met the cutoff criteria for high anxiety and either high or low life satisfaction and were included in the final analyses. A significant positive relationship was found between higher perceptions of the protective factors la sabiduría and pariente and high life satisfaction. No significant relationship was found between la adaptabilidad and life satisfaction. These results provide support for a position asserting that the degree to which elderly Mexican Americans’ perceive their families to possess certain protective qualities may provide a competence-based focus for mediating adaptation in the presence of self-reported anxiety.

IntroductionThe prevalence of obesity is 26% among Hispanic children and teenagers and 47% among Hispanic adults. One contributor to obesity is sedentary behavior, such as using electronic screen devices (ie, screens). Low-income and Hispanic youths spend more time using such devices than other youths.MethodsWe interviewed 202 parents of Mexican-origin children aged 6 to 10 years in 2 rural communities near the US–Mexico border to determine screen use among children. We tested for associations between covariates and heavy screen use (≥4 hours/day) and calculated adjusted odds ratios (AORs) to identify independent, modifiable risk factors for such use.ResultsMore than two-thirds (68.3%) of households had an annual income of less than $24,000, 89.1% spoke primarily Spanish, and 92.1% had internet access. The percentage of children with heavy screen use was 14.9% on weekdays and 25.2% on weekends. Smartphones were used by 62.4% of children, desktops or laptops by 60.9%; homework was the most common reason for use of these devices. One in 3 children used them for social media. Increased odds of heavy screen use were associated with having a television on while the child ate (weekday AOR = 3.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08–8.45 and weekend AOR = 2.38; 95% CI, 1.04–5.40) and using electronics to entertain (weekend AOR = 2.94; 95% CI, 1.15–7.51). More than 3 family meals per week (AOR = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.17–0.94 compared with ≤3 meals) and 2 or 3 family activities per week (AOR = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.12–0.87 compared with ≤1 activity) were associated with decreased odds of heavy weekend use.ConclusionEven in low-income, Spanish-speaking communities, children have access to electronic devices, social media, and the internet, and a substantial fraction of them are heavy users. Efforts to reduce screen time might focus on understanding and changing the social norms that promote it.

A total of 120 master's‐level counseling students were given the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and the Counselor Self‐Estimate Inventory. Significance was found for all 3 hypotheses: (a) nonnative English‐speaking students have significantly more language anxiety than native English‐speaking students, (b) nonnative English‐speaking students’ language anxiety was negatively correlated with counseling self‐efficacy, and (c) native English‐ and nonnative English‐speaking students significantly differed in their perceptions of counseling self‐efficacy.Se administraron la Escala de Ansiedad en Clase de Lengua Extranjera y el Inventario de Autoestimación de Consejeros a un total de 120 estudiantes de máster en consejería. Se encontró significación para las 3 hipótesis siguientes: (a) los estudiantes cuya lengua nativa no es el inglés sufren un nivel considerablemente más alto de ansiedad a causa del idioma que los hablantes nativos de inglés, (b) la ansiedad a causa del idioma de los estudiantes cuya lengua nativa no es el inglés mostró una correlación negativa con la autoeficacia en consejería y (c) los grupos de estudiantes nativos y no nativos en inglés mostraron diferencias significativas en sus percepciones de autoeficacia en consejería.

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