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A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Individual-Level Cultural Factors and Use of Survey Response Styles among Latino Survey Respondents
Rachel E Davis1, Sunghee Lee2, Timothy P Johnson3
1Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 915 Greene Street, Room 529, Columbia, SC 29208.
Abstract:
Acquiescent (ARS) and extreme response styles (ERS) can have detrimental effects on survey data and, for unknown reasons, are more frequently used by Latino than non-Latino white respondents. This exploratory study examined the influence of culture on these response styles by investigating their associations with individual-level cultural factors and ARS and ERS among 1,296 Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American telephone survey respondents. Principal components representing stronger endorsement of marianismo/machismo and social attentiveness (simpatía, personalismo, respect for elders, value for sincerity, collectivism, individualism) were associated with higher ARS and ERS, while higher trust in strangers and more limited health literacy were associated with lower ERS. Findings from this study will enable survey designers to better anticipate ARS and ERS in surveys with Latino populations and, in turn, guide the selection of data collection and analysis methods to mitigate measurement error in the presence of these response styles.
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