Perceived Educational Barriers, Cultural Fit, Coping Responses, and Psychological Well-Being of Latina Undergraduates

Abstract

Given the unique educational experiences and disproportional representation of Latinas in higher education, this study examined how Latinas'perception of educational barriers and cultural fit influenced their coping responses and subsequent well-being in college.Participants (N = 98) were primarily second-generation Mexican-heritage women who were highly motivated to pursue advanced graduate training. Differences by generation and educational characteristics were not found. Cultural congruity and the coping response of taking a planned, positive action were the strongest predictors of psychological well-being accounting for 31% of the variance. The study's findings challenge stereotypes of Latina students in higher education, as they valued higher education, believed that they could overcome any barriers to achieve their educational goals, and used active coping responses, which informed their positive and healthy functioning.

Acculturative stress, social support, and coping: Relations to psychological adjustment among Mexican American college students.

“…Generally, active coping (in which the problem is managed cognitively or through action) is thought to mitigate the debilitating effects of stress, whereas avoidant coping (in which the problem is ignored or repressed) is thought to be less effective; empirical research has largely supported these predictions (Compas, Connor-Smith, Saltzman, Thomsen, & Wadsworth, 2001). Studies of college students have linked active coping methods to better college adjustment in diverse ethnic groups (Zea, Jarama, & Bianchi, 1995) and to better psychological wellbeing among Latinas (Gloria, Castellanos, & Orozco, 2005). Furthermore, approach (active) coping predicted lower levels of psychological symptoms in a largely Mexican American sample of inner-city adolescents (Crean, 2004).…”

The 2017–2018 Psi Chi Presidential Initiative: Help Helped Me

“…Only the total wellbeing score was used in the analysis for this study, as recommended by Springer and Hauser (2006). This scale has been found to be reliable in research with college students from nondominant ethnic groups (Gloria, Castellanos, & Orozco, 2005;Paradise & Kernis, 2002). The Cronbach's α coef ficient for the scale in the current sample was .86.…”

Kawm Ntawv Qib Siab Understanding the psychosociocultural educational experiences of Hmong American undergraduates

“…Hypotheses were formulated from the psychosociocultural framework and supporting educational literature on Asian American and Hmong Americans. Based on previous differences within the literature (Gloria, Castellanos, Orozco, 2005;Sengkhammee et al, 2008), the first question asked how psychological, social, and cultural factors differed by gender and class standing (lower and upper division) for Hmong Americans. Per Sengkhammee et al's (2008) findings, it was anticipated that females and upper division students would report higher self-beliefs and increased social support.…”