Making Sense of Diversity: Recent Research on Hispanic Minorities in the United States

Abstract

This is a review of the principal strands of the sociological literature on Spanish-origin groups in the United States. It emphasizes: (a) their labor market characteristics; (b) English acquisition; and (c) political participation and naturalization. We conclude that the label “Hispanic” is itself problematic because of the diversity of the groups included. There are trends toward convergence in political orientations and voting, but there are major divergences in patterns of social and economic adaptation. The rapid increase of new Latin American immigrant communities is likely to add to the diversity characterizing the major Spanish-origin groups already settled in the country.

Poverty, Chronic Stress, Ethnicity and Psychological Distress Among Elderly Hispanics

“…Their expericnces within the United States and the degree of acculturation add other layers of complexity. Even the emergence of a Hispanic "minority" in the United States has so far depended more on actions of governmental and collective perceptions of the larger society than on the initiative of individuals so designated (Portes & Truelove, 1987 (Murphy, 1990). Ignorance of these and other differences is bound to result in insensitive and ineffective work with the Hispanic elderly.…”

“…Although Spanish is the predominant languagc across the various Hispanic groups, each group often has its own unique way of using that language, including different idioms and styles. Each group has its own unique history, culture and traditions (Council on Scientific Affairs, 1991;Portes & Truelove, 1987). More Hispanic families are in poverty than non-Hispanic families.…”

Neighborhood Diversity and the Rise of Artist Hotspots: Exploring the Creative Class Thesis through a Neighborhood Change Lens

“…Researchers, however, point to the need to further explore other relevant elements of social differentiation (e.g., Markusen 2006, p. 1923)., including racial, ethnic, and immigration status, language group, country of birth, ancestry, or exposure to mainstream American culture (Blau 1977; Portes and Truelove 1987; Alba 1992; Waters 2000). In response, the current study expands the measures of diversity further to explore how multidimensional aspects of diversity affect neighborhood-level dynamics (Okediji 2005).…”

“…Also added was the percentage of residents who report Multiple Ancestries (Alba 1992; Waters 2000; Okediji 2005). The Hispanic Diversity Index refers to the diversity of origin for Hispanic residents (Portes and Truelove 1987) grouped into 15 categories, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Costa Rican, Argentinean, Chilean, and others. The Asian Diversity Index refers to Asian origin, such as Chinese, Asian Indian, Cambodian, Filipino, Japanese, Vietnamese 11 .…”

Solamente Mexicanos? Patterns and sources of Hispanic diversity in U.S. metropolitan areas

“…When justifying the panethnic approach, which is common to both scholarship and popular perception, one can point to similarities across origin groups on cultural indicators such as language or religion. Yet the panethnic treatment of Latinos obscures differences by origin in citizenship status, ethnic identity, socioeconomic standing, and—most relevant to the present analysis—locational concentration or dispersion in the U.S. (Logan and Turner 2013; Portes and Truelove 1987; Rumbaut 2006; Saenz and Morales 2015). The period from 1990 to 2010 is of interest since it coincides with the differential growth and the spatial redistribution of origin groups, two phenomena that imply greater intermetropolitan variation in Hispanic diversity.…”