Acculturation and its effects on self-esteem among immigrant Latina women

Relationships in the stress-process model, examining level of acculturation, social support, marital status, religion, education, and ethnicity associated with self-esteem in 491 immigrant women from Latin America at baseline and 1 year later were studied. The mediating/moderating effects of social support, marital status, religion, and education on the relation between level of acculturation and self-esteem were analyzed. Findings, based on correlations and various multiple regression analyses, showed that the Latina immigrant women experienced increases in both level of acculturation and self-esteem over the 1-year period. When baseline self-esteem was controlled for, only ethnicity and change in level of acculturation were significantly related to follow-up self-esteem; no significant mediators or moderators of acculturation change were found. Differences between Mexican and other Central American participants were noted.