Ethnicity and acculturation: Assessing Mexican American couples' relationships using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory—Revised.

This study compared the marriages of 75 Mexican American and 66 non-Hispanic White American couples sampled from the same geographic region of the southwestern U.S., using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory—Revised (MSI—R) . Analyses of internal consistency and scales' intercorrelations provided partial support for the structural equivalence of MSI-R scales across both samples. Multivariate analyses indicated modestly higher levels of relationship distress among the Mexican American couples, although group differences dissolved after controlling for demographic variables other than ethnicity. Ratings of higher acculturation among Mexican American couples were modestly related to higher levels of marital distress for wives but unrelated to relationship satisfaction for husbands. Implications of findings for the study of Mexican American marriages and interventions with clinically distressed couples are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What college students really think about ethnic student organizations.

In this study, the authors examined European, Hispanic, and African American college students' attitudes toward ethnic student organizations (ESOs). Based on data from Study 1 (N = 750), it was found that students across ethnic groups expressed uncertainty about whether ESOs were beneficial/necessary, fair/acceptable, and about their interest in joining an ESO. As a group, Hispanic and African American students did not believe that ESOs contributed to racial or ethnic separatism on campus, whereas European Americans expressed uncertainty about that possibility. In Study 2, a separate sample of students (N = 631) was randomly assigned to read the mission statement of a White, Hispanic, or African American ESO. Consistent with asymmetry theory, students in general judged the White American ESO as significantly less beneficial/necessary, less fair/acceptable, and as contributing more to racial/ethnic separatism than the Hispanic and African American ESOs. European, Hispanic, and African American students viewed their own ESO most favorably, although European American students were more consistent in their appraisals of ESOs irrespective of the ethnic focus of the ESO. Implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and equivalence of the Spanish translation of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory—Revised (MSI—R).

This study examined the reliability and linguistic equivalence of the Spanish translation of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory—Revised (MSI—R) in a sample of 86 bilingual Mexican American couples. Overall, findings provided preliminary support for using this translation of the MSI—R with respondents whose preferred language is Spanish. Coefficients of internal consistency and temporal stability for scales constituting the Spanish MSI—R in both languages averaged .69. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated no significant effect for language of administration on MSI—R scale scores. Discussion emphasizes caveats in using the Spanish MSI—R and directions for further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)