Document Type
Honors Project
First Advisor
Dr. Carl Bowman
Degree Award Date
Spring 1990
Keywords
Mainstreaming, Mexican-Americans, Communities, Assimilation, Harrisonburg, interviews
Disciplines
Family, Life Course, and Society | Migration Studies | Sociology
Abstract
The United States is characterized by cultural pluralism, despite its ideal of minority assimilation. This study describes the acculturation process of Mexican Americans in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area. Twenty-six Mexican American couples were interviewed using qualitative research methods. The couples were assessed for degree of assimilation and potential for upward mobility. Defined as improving one's socioeconomic status within or across generations, upward mobility predicts the immigrant's entrance into mainstream America. As primary immigrants, the Mexican Americans in this study displayed only the first stages of assimilation. Acculturation rather than structural assimilation was occurring since the Mexican culture dominated, the immigrants' employment consisted of manual, unskilled jobs, and education levels were low. Generally, the findings reveal that 1) the adult Mexican Americans have experienced little assimilation with the children exhibiting higher degrees of acculturation, 2) those individuals with the greatest potential for upward mobility are the most acculturated, and 3) assimilation directly influences an individual's ability to exercise control over the factors in his or her life.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Rebecca S., "CULTURAL TRANSITION: THE ASSIMILATION OF A MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY INTO MAINSTREAM AMERICA" (1990). Honors Projects. 714.
https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/honors_projects/714