This proposal requests funds to support an investigation of families of young children with mental retardation from two Latino cultures that vary with respect to country of origin; Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans, all of whom live in Florida. The purpose of the study is to determine the factors that shape beliefs, values, and responses to mental retardation within and across the two groups. A repeated measures, mixed-method design will be used to study 150 families of young children with mental retardation or developmental delay, 75 from each of the two groups. Variables of interest include family factors (e.g., socioeconomic status, gender of parent, education, acculturation, family size and composition, childbearing views/values), child characteristics (e.g., nature and type of disability, level of delay, presence of multiple disabilities, temperament, behavioral style), and family resources (e.g., informal support systems, support from other family members, religiosity and religious supports). All families will participate in an initial set of both structured and semistructured data collection activities designed to provide a comprehensive view of family beliefs and values. Data will be collected from others and fathers independently. A smaller set of families (10 from each of the two groups) will participate in more extensive ethnographic interviews to determine the meaning of responses to the more structured initial data collection activities. Families will be assessed twice, with a two-year span in between the first and second assessment, to determine stability and change in views. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses will be used to determine the degree to which parents (a) share similar beliefs about causes and treatments for mental retardation, (b) have similar expectations for their children, (c) express similar patterns of needs, and (d) have a shared view of professional services. Factors most predictive of the above outcomes will be identified and changes over time documented.
| Arcia, E; Skinner, M; Bailey, D et al. (2001) Models of acculturation and health behaviors among Latino immigrants to the US. Soc Sci Med 53:41-53 |
| Skinner, D G; Correa, V; Skinner, M et al. (2001) Role of religion in the lives of Latino families of young children with developmental delays. Am J Ment Retard 106:297-313 |
