"They're my kryptonite but they also empower me": The double-edged sword of familismo

The objective of this study is to examine the relations of familismo to academic functioning and mental health among non-citizen Latina/o college students. The study utilizes both quantitative self-report surveys to explore attitudinal family obligations, and qualitative interviews to explore behavioral family obligations. One hundred and eighty citizen students (M = 21.30, SD = 2.92) and 84 non-citizen students (M = 21.13, SD = 2.98) completed surveys. Correlational analyses found that family obligation attitudes were linked to academic emotional engagement for non-citizen students only (r = .305, p = .005, n = 84). Cluster analyses revealed risk, resilience, and protected clusters from stress and family obligation groupings. Twenty-one non-citizen students also completed interviews. Narrative analysis of the interviews revealed that family obligation behaviors may be linked to motivation and stress. Overall, this study illustrates the complex nature of family obligations and achievement in the lives of non-citizen Latina/o college students.

A Social Cognitive Approach to Coping with Acculturative Stress in International Students

The present study employed a cross-sectional design to test a model of coping with acculturative stress in an international student sample. Drawing from Lent’s (2004) social cognitive model of restorative well-being, several direct and mediated paths were hypothesized to predict (negatively) acculturative stress and (positively) life satisfaction. Behavioral acculturation and behavioral enculturation (Kim & Omizo, 2006) were also examined as predictors of coping with acculturative stress among international students. Using a self-report survey, participants’ ratings of acculturative stress, life satisfaction, social support, behavioral acculturation, behavioral enculturation, and coping self-efficacy were assessed. The results revealed that the variables of the model explained 16% of the variance in acculturative stress and 27% of the variance in life satisfaction. A final model, including the use of modification indices, provided good fit to the data. Findings also suggested that coping self-efficacy was a direct predictor of acculturative stress, and that behavioral acculturation and coping self-efficacy were direct predictors of students’ life satisfaction. Limitations, future research, and practical implications are discussed.