The Sense of Collectivism and Individualism among Husbands and Wives in Traditional and Bi-cultural Navajo Families on the Navajo Reservation

Abstract

We examined the extent to which husbands and wives reported a sense of collectivism and individualism in traditional and bi-cultural Navajo families on the Navajo Reservation. Husbands and wives from thirty-five traditional and thirtyfive bi-cultural intact families participated in the study. Participants were interviewed to collect data. MANOVA analyses reveal that whereas husbands and wives from traditional families showed higher levels of collectivism than the husbands and wives in bi-cultural families, husbands and wives in both traditional and bicultural families showed a similar level of individualism. Qualitative accounts further suggest that although these Navajos largely adhere to their traditional collectivist world view, many of them are in transition to adapt to an individualistic self-other perspective. Results are discussed in terms of the nature of contemporary Navajo collectivism as a function of American mainstream values.