Investigacion

Hispanic Journal of
Behavioral Sciences
http://hjb.sagepub.com

Hispanic Acculturation in a Predominately Black High School:
Application of an Adapted Model
Carolyn Hughes, Matthew J. Hollander and Amber W. Martinez
Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 2009; 31; 32
DOI: 10.1177/0739986308329031
The online version of this article can be found at:http://hjb.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/31/1/32

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Hispanic Acculturation in a
Predominately Black High
School

Hispanic Journal of
Behavioral Sciences
Volume 31 Number 1
February 2009 32-56
© 2009 Sage Publications
10.1177/0739986308329031
http://hjbs.sagepub.com
hosted athttp://online.sagepub.com

Application of an Adapted Model
Carolyn Hughes
Matthew J. Hollander
Amber W. Martinez
Vanderbilt University

The authors applied an adaptation of prior models of acculturation to all 16
Hispanic students attending a predominately Black, high-poverty, urban high
school (n = 1,267 students) identified by No Child Left Behind standards as
failing. No published study to date hasinvestigated Hispanic acculturation
within such a setting. Findings reveal that students were identified across all
four acculturation modes of the model and that only half (n = 8) of students
demonstrated substantial affiliation with a dominant U.S. culture. Of these,
five students identified more strongly with the dominant Black culture of the
school versus the prevailing White U.S. culture.Findings are discussed with
respect to future research and practice designed to improve educational experiences for Hispanic youth.
Keywords:

acculturation; Hispanic youth; Black youth; high-poverty
school culture

Theoretical Framework
Acculturation is the social and psychological interchange that occurs
across values, behaviors, and attitudes when there is continuous contact andinteraction among individuals of different cultures (Berry, 1997, 2003;
Cabassa, 2003; Padilla & Perez, 2003). Berry’s early model of acculturation (Berry, 1980; Doná & Berry, 1994) comprises four modes of adaptation to a new culture: Assimilation, Separation, Integration, and
Marginalization. Assimilation is characterized by individuals who do not
maintain their cultural identity and adopt a new oneby increasing their
dominant culture interactions. Separation refers to individuals who reject
32
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Hughes et al. / Hispanic Acculturation

33

and avoid interaction with a dominant culture while retaining allegiance
toward their culture of origin. Integration is bicultural, characterized byindividuals who embrace and value both a dominant, new culture and their
original culture. Finally, Marginalization is portrayed as rejection and
mutual exclusion of both the culture of origin and a dominant culture.
Berry’s model was groundbreaking because it acknowledged the bidirectional interaction of dominant and minority cultures, but it failed to
acknowledge contextual variables inplacing individuals into each mode of
acculturation (Cabassa, 2003; Padilla & Perez, 2003). Padilla’s (1980,
1987) model incorporated multiple factors that may influence acculturation, such as language proficiency; preferences for food, music, or hobbies;
and experiences of discrimination. However, Padilla and Perez (2003)
argued that no model has yet explained why individuals from the same...