Relationship of Acculturation and Social Integration to Assaults on Intimate Partners Among Mexican American and Non-Mexican White Students

• NCJ Number: 220190
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 7 Dated: October 2007 Pages: 533-542
• Author(s): Ignacio Luis Ramirez
• Date Published: October 2007
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the influence of Mexican ethnicity, acculturation into Angle-American society, and social integration on intimate-partner violence (IPV) among a sample of 348 college students.

Abstract

The findings show that Mexican-American ethnicity and acculturation into Anglo-American society were not linked to the incidence of IPV in this sample of college students; however, social integration was associated with a decreased probability of severely assaulting an intimate partner among both Mexican-American and non-Mexican White students. These findings support a control theory for explaining IPV, which reasons that a person's commitment and bonding to conventional normative values and behaviors (the result of social integration) largely determines whether he/she will engage in behaviors that depart from those norms. The study collected data from a sample of 348 students from 2 southwestern universities. It consisted of 213 students of Mexican-American ethnicity and 135 non-Mexican students. All participants had been in a heterosexual romantic dating or marital relationship for a month or longer during the previous 12 months. Partner assault was measured with the revised Conflict Tactics Scales. Acculturation was measured with six questions that determined place of birth, country of residence, citizenship, and language spoken in various social settings (at home, with friends, and at work). The Social Integration Scale measured the range of social integration, with a high score indicating high integration into society. The Social Desirability Scale measured the degree to which a respondent would tend to avoid admitting undesirable behavior, such as partner assault and other forms of crime. The higher the social desirability score, the less likely the respondent is to disclose undesirable information. Socioeconomic status was also measured. 6 tables, 2 figures, and 30 references