Mainland Puerto Ricans Research Articles

Equal access to income and union dissolution among mainland Puerto Ricans

This study investigates the implications for union stability of different methods for providing access to income in cohabiting and marital unions among mainland Puerto Ricans. Using the Puerto Rican Maternal and Infant Health Study (N = 836), we show that union dissolution is associated with both union type and type of method. The relatively high rate of union dissolution among cohabiters is explained partially by their lower likelihood of organizing access to income under an equality principle through income pooling. Cohabiting unions that follow the equality principle, however, are as stable as marital unions that follow the equality principle. These patterns are interpreted in terms of the role of economic equality in solidifying socioemotional bonds.

Creatinine levels among Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans in the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Although Latinos constitute the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States, little is known about the prevalence of renal disease among different Latino subgroups. We used data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES) to compare serum creatinine measurements among Mexican Americans, mainland Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans. We compared estimated creatinine clearance across Latino subgroups adjusted for demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic characteristics (including known predictors of chronic kidney disease) using survey logistic regression analysis. Cuban Americans had higher mean serum creatinine levels than the other groups across both gender and age categories. In multivariable analysis, Puerto Ricans [odds ratio (OR) 1.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16 to 2.60] and Cuban Americans (OR 4.59, CI 2.53 to 8.31) were more likely than the referent category of Mexican Americans to have an estimated creatinine clearance < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Serum creatinine levels differ substantially among Latino subgroups, suggesting national origin needs to be taken into consideration in studies of renal disease in Latinos. In addition, our findings highlight the need for more contemporary studies directly comparing both incidence rates of end-stage renal disease and measured renal function among Latino subgroups, perhaps leading to subgroup-specific prediction equations.

Working group 3: How to encourage more minorities to choose a career in cardiology

The report of this working group focuses on ways to increase the number of cardiovascular specialists who are classified as members of an underrepresented minority (URM). The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) defines URMs as blacks, Mexican Americans, mainland Puerto Ricans, and Native

Taíno Revival: Critical Perspectives on Puerto Rican Identity and Cultural Politics

The strength of an anthology often lies in its contributors’ efforts to create a harmonious exchange of ideas that builds toward a singular, if complex, argument. Taíno Revival takes a deliberately different tack; here, a cacophony of voices engages in contradictory and sometimes heated debates over questions of Puerto Rican identity. Contributors seek to explain the recent phenomenon of “Taíno resurgence”: that is, the assumption of a precolumbian indigenous identity by a growing number of Puerto Ricans, most of whom were born and raised in the United States. Based on papers originally presented at a 1998 symposium in New York’s El Museo del Barrio, the book explores a fundamental question best posed by the symposium’s organizer, anthropologist Arlene Dávila: “[Does] the Taíno resurgence represent a daring oppositional blow to the canons of the [racial] blending myth of Puerto Rican nationality, or is it better seen as yet another example of Puerto Ricans’ inability to deal with their long subordinate African legacy?” (p. 35).The Spanish Conquest decimated Puerto Rico’s indigenous people by the mid–sixteenth century, and official records declared the Indian extinct by the late eighteenth century. Nonetheless, today’s “Taínos” assert that they are both biological and cultural survivors of this process, and they have successfully negotiated for official recognition by federal agencies and international indigenous rights groups. Given the paucity of information on Puerto Rico’s indigenous people, membership is largely based on “natural,” rather than social, criteria (p. 104). For example, New Jersey’s Taíno Inter-Tribal Council requires the submission of 1 x 1 head shots to determine applicants’ suitability for two different membership categories, based on approximation of the proper Indian “look”: natiao (“blood brothers”) or guatiao (“adoptive brothers”) (p. 45).The contributors differ greatly in their perspectives, depending on the implications that each believes the Taíno movement holds for contesting or confirming the legitimacy of Puerto Rico’s continuing colonial condition vis-à-vis the United States and mainland Puerto Ricans’ experience as “colonized racial minorities” (p. 117). With the exception of Roberto Mucaro Borrero (who is a Taíno leader himself), all argue that Taíno resurgence reproduces the values of the European-imposed system of power based on racial purity. However, Gabriel Haslip-Viera and Peter Roberts see the movement as a reaction to marginality that offers little more than short-term, self-serving empowerment. Roberts regards Taíno revivalism as an outgrowth of the tendency among Caribbean groups to morph into new racial identities when faced with social adversity and the enduring appeal of the white ideal. Haslip-Viera equates today’s Taínos with other U.S. minority movements that claim similarly essentialist identities, such as the Latino Israelites, Black Muslims, and Afrocentrists.In evaluating the political reach of Taíno resurgence, Dávila and Duany adopt polar views. Focusing on the U.S. context, Dávila interprets the Taínos’ quest for an alternative memory (that is admittedly based on “hunches”) as a discursive inversion of formerly oppressive values. However, Duany views Taíno resurgence as an “invented tradition” whose greatest impact may be felt on the island. There, claims of Taíno heritage advance the idea that nationality exists independent of nationhood. Despite their differences, Duany and Dávila analyze the uses of Taíno claims but avoid any interpretation of their content; Miriam Jiménez, however, proves that it is possible to do both. Providing the richest historical analysis of the collection, she brilliantly interprets Taíno resurgence against the backdrop of Native American movements, as well as internal struggles among island and diaspora Puerto Ricans over questions of race. On the one hand, Taínos seek to “whiten” themselves by silencing blackness as irrelevant to Puerto Ricanness, while simultaneously claiming a nonwhite identity that is not only inherently resistant to the realities of conquest but also elitist and self-serving. Rather than confront divisions among Puerto Ricans that obscure their common cause with other marginalized groups, claimants to Taíno identity choose to adopt a Hollywood-style image whose exoticism appeals to mainstream society. Playing Indian on a U.S.-controlled stage, Jiménez concludes, allows Taínos to avoid the struggle and the pain of confronting the living legacies of Puerto Ricans’ dual colonization, as well as those of slavery and prejudice against blackness.Finally, Taíno leader Mucaro Borrero recaps all these essays through the lens of Taíno thought, reflecting in the process the very views and arguments that other contributors question and in some cases, rebuke. He points out that, with the exception of Dávila, none of the contributors interviewed real-life Taínos. Although doing so may not have changed much, his remark reveals the poignancy of the problem faced by the scholar-activists whose works make up this volume.In short, this book addresses some of the hardest political and scholarly issues relevant to diaspora societies today. Its elegant embrace of diverse approaches makes it an exciting and unique contribution to Caribbean studies more broadly.

Income Allocation in Marital and Cohabiting Unions: The Case of Mainland Puerto Ricans

The rise of cohabitation and the growing share of births to cohabiting couples have led to speculation that the boundary between marriage and cohabitation is blurring. We examine this issue with an analysis of the financial arrangements of fathers of mainland Puerto Rican children. The analysis shows that married fathers are more likely than cohabiting fathers to pool their income, but this difference does not result from socioeconomic and demographic factors that foster uncertainty. The analysis also demonstrates that income allocation methods are generally stable over time after differences in union dissolution by allocation method are considered. The discussion emphasizes the need for research on the ways that financial ties reflect and reinforce the bonds between partners.

3000 by 2000 and Beyond: Next Steps for Promoting Diversity in the Health Professions

In 1991, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) launched a national campaign to enroll 3,000 underrepresented minority students in medical school by the year 2000. (The AAMC defined underrepresented minorities as blacks, Mexican Americans, mainland Puerto Ricans, and Native Americans, which includes American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.*) The initiative, named Project 3000 by 2000, focused on education-pipeline interventions. Although the project did not meet its numeric goal, in large part because of court decisions in several regions of the country that hampered affirmative action programs, Project 3000 by 2000 did have a number of important successes. At a time when there is a need to develop new and creative ways to promote diversity in health professions education, there are a number of lessons to be learned from this project. Large-scale national campaigns serve an extremely useful purpose in promoting diversity in the health professions. And for these campaigns to be successful, it is important that the health professions work together to coordinate their activities and share their resources to ensure that health professions close the diversity gap in the twenty-first century.

Structure, process, and satisfaction with obstetricians: an analysis of mainland Puerto Ricans.

This study examines various dimensions of satisfaction with obstetricians among mainland Puerto Ricans using data from a survey administered to a representative sample of 1,219 Puerto Rican mothers. The results indicate that the majority of Puerto Rican women are satisfied with their obstetricians, but they are not typically "extremely" satisfied. Moreover, satisfaction is influenced by the structure of care, the process of care, and the outcome of care. Two aspects of process that are especially important are the continuity and content of care. Although satisfaction is not generally associated with the ethnicity or the gender of physicians, some evidence suggests that patients who utilize public facilities or lack continuity of care tend to be more satisfied if they have a female physician.

White, Black, or Puerto Rican? Racial Self-Identification among Mainland and Island Puerto Ricans

Recent studies have examined the implications of exposure to U.S. race relations for the racial and ethnic identities of migrants to the U.S. Most investigations are based exclusively on U.S. data. There are few, if any, comparisons of the identities of migrants and their offspring to those of nonmigrants in their country of origin. Using data from a survey of Puerto Rican mothers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, this study provides such a comparison. Responses to an open-ended race question show that mainland and island Puerto Ricans most often designate their race as Puerto Rican, but responses of women who do not self-identify as Puerto Rican diverge between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Island women primarily identify themselves as white, black, or triguena, while mainland women identify themselves as Hispanic/Latina, Hispanic American, or American. Mainland-island differences cannot be explained by parental ethnicity, skin tone, demographic factors, and socioeconomic status. The findings suggest that mainland Puerto Ricans more strongly reject the conventional U.S. notion of race than do their island counterparts.

Variation in Asthma Beliefs and Practices Among Mainland Puerto Ricans, Mexican-Americans, Mexicans, and Guatemalans

This study reports on community surveys of 160 representative Latino adults in Hartford, CT; Edinburg, TX; Guadalajara, Mexico; and in rural Guatemala. A 142-item questionnaire covered asthma beliefs and practices (e.g., causes, symptoms, and treatments). The cultural consensus model was used to analyze the agreement among respondents within each sample and to describe beliefs. Beliefs were then compared across the four samples. Analysis of the questionnaire data shows that there was overall consistency or consensus regarding beliefs and practices among individuals at each site (intraculturally) and to a lesser extent across respondents of all four different Latino cultural groups (i.e., interculturally). This pattern of response is indicative of a shared belief system among the four groups with regard to asthma. Within this shared belief system though, there is systematic variation between groups in causes, symptoms, and treatments for asthma. The most widely recognized and shared beliefs concerned causes of asthma. Notable differences were present between samples in terms of differences in beliefs about symptoms and treatments. The biomedical model is shown to be a part of the explanatory model at all sites; in addition to the biomedical model, ethnocultural beliefs such as the humoral (“hot/cold”) aspects and the importance of balance are also evident. The Connecticut Puerto Ricans had a greater degree of shared beliefs about asthma than did the other three samples (p<0.00005). It was concluded that the four Latino groups studied share an overall belief system regarding asthma, including many aspects of the biomedical model of asthma. In addition, traditional Latino ethnomedical beliefs are present, especially concerning the importance of balance in health and illness. Many beliefs and practices are site-specific, and caution should be used when using inclusive terms such as “Hispanic” or “Latino,” since there is variation as well as commonality among different ethnic groups with regard to health beliefs and practices.

Who Is Indoctrinating Whom?

Who Is Indoctrinating Whom?

Poverty, insurance, and well-baby care among mainland Puerto Rican children.

Using data from the Puerto Rican Maternal and Infant Health Study, we investigate the implications of family income and insurance status for well-baby care among mainland Puerto Ricans. Given the socioeconomic disadvantage of Puerto Ricans, it is critical to understand the extent to which low income and lack of health insurance create barriers to well-baby care and result in low utilization. The analysis shows that the income-to-needs ratio is related to barriers to well-baby care, and a key intervening factor is insurance status. The odds of reporting any barriers to care are lowest among those with both adequate income and private health insurance. Access to insurance is also vital in achieving adequate well-baby care. Uninsured children receive inadequate care more often than children with public or private insurance, especially when their income is also low. Children with public insurance are as likely as children with private insurance to receive an adequate number of well-baby visits, despite the fact that their mothers report more barriers to care.

Father Involvement in the Lives of Mainland Puerto Rican Children: Contributions of Nonresident, Cohabiting and Married Fathers

This study examines the nature and determinants of father involvement among mainland Puerto Ricans using interview data collected from mothers of a representative sample of Puerto Rican infants. Focusing on both financial contributions and participation in child care (e.g. diapering feeding and bathing the child) the behavior of non-resident fathers is compared to that of cohabiting fathers and married fathers. A key question addressed in the analysis is whether father involvement is influenced primarily by the fathers economic status or whether other factors identified in the literature are also important for Puerto Ricans. Overall the authors results underscore the critical role of employment in fathers contributions to Puerto Rican children. (authors)

Prenatal care among Puerto Ricans on the United States mainland

Recent public health initiatives in the USA identify the improvement of maternal and infant health outcomes among ethnic minorities as a national priority. Prenatal care is emphasized in these initiatives as a crucial intervention for reducing the risks of adverse outcomes. We investigate the barriers to prenatal care and the adequacy of prenatal care among mainland Puerto Ricans using data from a follow-back survey of a representative sample of mothers. The results show that barriers to prenatal care and the adequacy of prenatal care cannot be reduced solely to financial problems or problems associated with migration. Rather, attention to the social and the psychological circumstances surrounding the pregnancy (e.g. pregnancy wantedness) is required.

Minority and nonminority pediatricians' care of minority and poor children.

Although it has been established that minority physicians tend to see more minority and more poor or uninsured patients, pediatrics as a specialty has not been studied in this regard. To determine if minority pediatricians disproportionately provide care to minority children and to poor and uninsured children, relative to nonminority pediatricians, while controlling for possible confounding variables (socioeconomic background, sex, use of non-English languages in practice, and subspecialty training). In 1996, a stratified random sample of 1044 pediatricians, half of whom were underrepresented minorities (URMs) (African, Native, and Mexican Americans, mainland Puerto Ricans, and other Hispanics) and half of whom were Asian or Pacific Islanders, commonwealth Puerto Ricans, and whites (non-URMs), were surveyed about personal, practice, and patient characteristics. Multivariate analyses reveal that, independent of other variables, being a URM pediatrician is significantly (P = .001) and positively associated with caring for a greater proportion of minority and Medicaid-insured or uninsured patients. Underrepresented minority pediatricians saw 24 percentage points more minority patients and 13 percentage points more Medicaid-insured or uninsured patients than did non-URM pediatricians. Compared with what non-URM pediatricians report, URM pediatricians report caring for significantly (P =.001) more minority and poor and uninsured patients. Given the few pediatricians who are URM, non-URM pediatricians should be adequately prepared to provide care for minority patients, as the proportion of minority children is high and will be increasing significantly in the next several years. Most important, efforts to ensure a racially and ethnically diverse health care workforce should be greatly enhanced, as its diversity, and hence representativeness, will improve the health care system for all Americans.

The pragmatics and perceptions of multicultural Puerto Ricans

Integrating natural observation, interviews, and quantitative analysis, this study used a recursive research approach to compare the sociolinguistic judgments of four groups: 38 Puerto Ricans who were encultured on the US mainland, 38 return migrants to Puerto Rico, 161 Americans encultured in the Greater New York metropolitan area (continental Americans), and 86 bilingual Puerto Ricans encultured on the island of Puerto Rico (island Puerto Ricans). These participants evaluated alternative sociolinguistic strategies to critical incidents presented in English. Four alternative responses to five critical incidents were surveyed (20 responses in all). Discriminant analysis of group judgments on three subscales (evaluation, social cooperation, and dynamism) showed that while the participants had much in common, there were significant differences and surprising similarities on one or more subscales for 17 of the 20 alternate responses to the critical incidents. Bilingual-bicultural experts and group members interpreted the data in open-ended interviews; analysis of the interview transcripts revealed both subtle and striking differences in the norms and values underlying sociolinguistic behavior in one or another community. Mainland and migrant Puerto Ricans were surprisingly alike in their judgments, which in the majority of cases were more like those of Island Puerto Ricans than of continental Americans. Nevertheless, differences revealed possibilities for misunderstandings with mainland and migrant Puerto Ricans in their interactions with both continental Americans and island Puerto Ricans. Areas identified with the potential for sociopragmatic failure included obligations to strangers, the categorization of truth and lies, the use of time in caring for others, approaches to conflict resolution, and balancing social responsibilities

In Their Words

ABSTRACT In a grounded-theory study of poetry by mainland Puerto Ricans, a vivid picture of their identity emerges, an identity proudly ethnocultural yet oppressed. This paper presents the method of grounded theory, and the findings of that study, and argues that similar analysis of the literatures of all ethnocultural groups is a valid and powerful means for extending social work knowledge.

Normative Beliefs about Marriage and Cohabitation: A Comparison of Non-Latino Whites, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans

Contemporary research on union formation in the United States largely focuses on how economic deprivation impinges upon union formation decisions by race. Union formation among specific Latino subgroups, particularly Mexican Americans, is relatively understudied. Mexican Americans are of special interest because they exhibit marriage behavior similar to that of non-Latino Whites, and have relatively precarious economic existence. This directs attention to the normative foundations of marriage. Using the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households, this research examines nonnative beliefs about marriage and cohabitation among non-Latino Whites, Mexican Americans, and mainland Puerto Ricans. The results indicate that Mexican Americans tend to be more pronuptial than non-Latino Whites. They evaluate marriage more positively relative to singlehood, and marriage intentions significantly boost their approval of cohabitation. The former is particularly evident among the foreign born. Such differences cannot be explained fully by socioeconomic background or beliefs about nonmarital sex and childbearing. Puerto Ricans are least disapproving of cohabitation in the absence of plans to marry, primarily because of their beliefs about nonmarital sex and childbearing. Profound transformations in family formation processes have swept the United States during the latter half of the 20th century. Among the best documented are the decline in fertility, and increases in premarital coitus, age at marriage, out-of-wedlock childbearing, and marital dissolution. Collectively, these trends reflect fundamental changes in union formation norms. In recent years, there has been a dramatic and pervasive weakening of the normative imperative to marry, to remain married, to have children. ... That is, the power of the socially shared beliefs that individuals 'ought to' or 'should' follow these particular family patterns has been diminished (Thornton, 1989, p. 873; but see Oppenheimer, 1994, for different conclusion). The weakened normative imperative to marry is particularly evident in the growth of nonmarital cohabitation as common experience during the life course (Bumpass, 1990; Bumpass & Sweet, 1989). Moreover, the recency of these trends has contributed to confusion about the meaning of cohabitation. Cohabitation may be phase of courtship, stage of marriage, or simply relationship that is an end in itself. In short, marriage is allegedly losing its lustre with changes in norms regarding nonmarital sexual activity, childbearing, and cohabitation. Although these changes are broad, it is premature to conclude that they are reflected equally in the diverse groups that compose the U.S. social landscape. Studies of marriage behavior suggest considerable variation in marriage norms across racial groups (Bennett, Bloom, & Craig, 1989; Espenshade, 1985; Schoen & Klugel, 1988) due to inequalities in access to economic opportunities (see Lichter, McLaughlin, Kephart, & Landry, 1992; South & Lloyd, 1992; Wilson, 1987), and due to cultural traditions (Cherlin, 1992). However, Mexican Americans and non-Latino Whites have similar marriage patterns despite dissimilar socioeconomic profiles (Bean & Tienda, 1987). In the 1990 U.S. Census (5% Public Use Microdata Sample), approximately 65% of non-Latino, White, 25-year-old women (47% of non-Latino, White men) were ever married, versus 67% of their Mexican American counterparts (49% of Mexican American men). Mainland Puerto Rican men and women have the lowest chances of marrying by age 25 among all Latino subgroups. Approximately 56% of Puerto Rican women aged 25 are ever married (44% for men). This is consistent with their status as the most economically deprived Latino subgroup (Bean B Tienda, 1987). Thus, comparison of non-Latino Whites and Mexican Americans reveals paradox of nuptiality -- high rates of marriage under relatively poor socioeconomic conditions for the latter group. …

Migration and Union Dissolution among Puerto Rican Women

The aim was to examine the impact of migration on family formation and dissolution among mainland Puerto Ricans at the individual level. Aggregate data have shown significant effects of residential mobility and migration on divorce but operational mechanisms have not been identified. Data for this study were obtained from pooled life history data on Puerto Rican women aged 15-49 years in the US and Puerto Rico available from the 1982 Puerto Rican Fertility and Family Planning Assessment and the 1985 New York Fertility Employment and Migration Survey. Retrospective event histories provided data on cohabitation marriage fertility education employment and migration. Migration is taken to be time varying: nonmigrants return migrants first generation US migrants second generation US residents and US-born return migrants. Union dissolution behavior is analyzed for each status group in multivariate models. The assumption was that differences among status groups in divorce may be due to factors other than migration. Religion number of siblings and mothers age at first birth were included as background variables. Other factors at the start of the union were womans age preunion births union type education and employment experience. Time varying respondent attributes were union type employment and number and ages of children born within the union. The results support prior individual level theories. Puerto Rican women who had early union formation were pregnant at the start of coresidence and had a preunion birth were more likely to have disruption. Employment was also a contributing factor if the woman did not work prior to union formation. Social integration and support also affected union stability. Life tables showed that nonmigrants had the lowest proportion experiencing disruption and disruption rose with exposure to the US. Logistic regressions confirmed the differences between migrants and nonmigrants. The rate of disruption was 50% lower among women who entered legal marriage and the presence of young children <6 years reduced the likelihood of union disruption. The rate of disruption was 57% more likely among women who migrated during the previous year and particularly high among recent migrants in informal unions.

Migration and the Latino Family: The Union Formation Behavior of Puerto Rican Women

This study examines the transition to first union among Puerto Rican women. I argue that understanding the behavior of mainland Puerto Ricans requires attention to family patterns in Puerto Rico and to the dynamics of migration between Puerto Rico and the United States. The study therefore is based on pooled data from comparable surveys undertaken in the two settings. These data allow for event history analyses that compare the union formation behavior of migrants with that of nonmigrants, and consider the role of migration in producing the observed union patterns. Multivariate models show that migrants are more likely than nonmigrants to form unions early and to enter informal unions. Additional analyses show that selective migration plays a role in producing this pattern. Overall the findings demonstrate the importance of using data from both origin and destination locales for understanding the behavior of migrant groups.

Alcoholism in Peru.

Alcoholism is a problem of worldwide concern. Full appreciation of this international problem requires that adequate diagnostic measures be constructed and that comparable measures for different cultures be available so that valid differences in prevalence across cultures can be detected. A Spanish-language version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) has been used for epidemiologic studies of alcohol abuse and dependence in Los Angeles Mexican-Americans and mainland Puerto Ricans, and the authors used the same instrument to conduct a similar study in Peru. A population sample (N = 815) from the Independencia district of Lima, Peru, was chosen for interviews with a revised form of the Spanish translation of the DIS. Lifetime prevalence rates of alcoholism and other DSM-III diagnoses were determined. The prevalence of alcohol abuse or dependence was higher among the men (34.80%) than among the women (2.46%), but the onset for women was earlier. Alcoholism was strongly associated with antisocial personality disorder and with drug abuse or dependence. The prevalence of alcoholism for the Peruvian men is higher than prevalences for men in U.S. studies, but the prevalence among the Peruvian women is one of the lowest reported. The high prevalence among men is likely due to cultural mores but may also be linked to the stresses found in impoverished societies undergoing rapid social, cultural, and economic change.