Discrimination, Stress, and Acculturation Among Dominican Immigrant Women

Abstract

Researchers have well established the association between discriminatory experiences, life chances, and mental health outcomes among Latino/as, especially among Mexican Americans. However, few studies have focused on the impact of stress or the moderating effects of low acculturation levels among recent immigrants, such as Dominicans. Using the transactional stress model, the present community-based study examines the relationship between discrimination and stress, and whether this association varies by low acculturation levels in a sample of 246 Dominican women. Results indicate a positive relationship between major racist events (e.g., job-related discrimination), everyday discrimination (e.g., not receiving services in a store), and stress levels. Furthermore, low acculturation moderated the impact that discriminatory experiences had on the stress level of Dominican women. Implications for further research on discrimination and stress among Dominican immigrants are discussed.

Latino family mental health: exploring the role of discrimination and familismo

“…Concomitantly, the Latino community experiences higher levels of perceived and actual discrimination (Hovey, Rojas, Kain, & Magaña, 2000). There is substantial evidence supporting the negative effects of discrimination on individuals mental health (Araújo Dawson, 2009; Gee, Ryan, Laflamme, & Holt, 2006; Moradi & Risco, 2006; Umaña-Taylor & Updegraff, 2007; Yip, Gee, & Takeuchi, 2008). …”

Discrimination, acculturation, acculturative stress, and Latino psychological distress: A moderated mediational model.

“…Maintaining a Latino orientation can provide a protective function by providing individuals access to traditional cultural resources. A recent study provided support for this notion and reported that retention of the traditional Latino culture moderated the relationship between everyday discrimination and general stress among a sample of Dominican women (Araujo Dawson, 2009). However, contrary evidence has shown that a Latino orientation augmented the relationship between perceived discrimination and anxiety among Latino college students (Alamilla et al, 2010).…”

Perceived Discrimination and Mexican-Origin Young Adults’ Sleep Duration and Variability: The Moderating Role of Cultural Orientations

“…Among Mexican-origin youth, perceived discrimination emerges within a larger cultural context; a context characterized by the process of dual-cultural adaptation—adaptation to the majority culture ( acculturation ) and adaptation to (or retention of) their culture of origin ( enculturation ; Gonzales, Fabrett & Knight, 2009). Evidence suggests that cultural orientations may play a role in the ways that Latinos experience stress (Araújo Dawson, 2009; Umaña-Taylor & Updegraff, 2007). However, research rarely considers the duality of cultural orientations (e.g., how mainstream orientations interact with ethnic-specific orientations) in the stress process.…”

“…Findings from this literature have revealed, for instance, that among Dominican immigrant women, enculturative behavioral orientations (i.e., Spanish media and music use) interacted with everyday discrimination to predict feelings of stress (Araújo Dawson, 2009); here, enculturative orientations proved protective, mitigating the link between discrimination and feelings of stress. In another study of primarily Mexican-origin adults, Anglo orientations moderated the association between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress, with Anglo orientations operating as a protective factor to minimize the relation between discrimination and feelings of stress (Torres, Driscoll & Voell, 2012).…”