Immigration NATURE OF THE STUDY Background of t

The Central American immigrant population is one that suffers from a wide variety of social problems and represents the poorest population of all minority populations in California (Davis, 1993). The poverty rates for this group are twice as high as those for other minority groups such as blacks.

The rates of both medical symptoms and mental disorders are much higher than those of the general population (Williams & Berry, 1991) and the services provided to them are said to generally be inadequate. Moreover, because of their often illegal status, there is a reluctance on the part of many Central American immigrants to seek out and utilize provided services (Gong-Guy, Cravens & Patterson, 1991).

Within Central American immigrant groups, women are said to have an especially difficult time, often because they are single mothers responsible for both earning a living and raising young children. This

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status of Central American immigrant groups is difficult. First, the determination is difficult because most studies of acculturation include a wide variety of Hispanic groups in a single sample. Thus, the stressful effects of acculturation on any one Hispanic ethnic group is difficult to parcel out from the overall findings. Second, (in part as a result of the heterogeneous sample procedure) findings of acculturation studies are mixed. For example, Rogler et al. (1991) reviewed thirty studies examining for correlations between acculturation and measures of distress and lack of well-being. The authors reported that of the total 30 studies, 12 resulted in a positive relationship, 13 resulted in a negative relationship, 2 resulted in a positive and negative relationship, and 3 resulted in a curvilinear relationship. However, after breaking down these findings into particular ethnic groups, the authors concluded that among Central Americans, the general findings are that psychological well-being increases as acculturation increases. In a more focused study, Orozco and Freidrich (1992) examined for a relationship between acculturation and psychological adjustment as measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Pages = 37 (250 words per page)

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