Skin Color and Its Relationship to Hispanics' Acculturation
Open Access
- Author:
- Senices, Julissa
- Graduate Program:
- Counseling Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- December 03, 2004
- Committee Members:
- Robert B Slaney, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Keith B Wilson, Committee Member
Beverly Vandiver, Committee Member
Edgar Paul Yoder, Committee Member - Keywords:
- skin color
acculturation - Abstract:
- The current study sought to examine Hispanics experience in the United States by investigating how skin color relates with Hispanics’ acculturation process. More specifically, this study attempted to illustrate whether skin color better explains Hispanics’ acculturation process when compared to other variables, such as SES, nationality, and the person’s experience with discrimination. This study used both a self-perceived measure of skin color and an objective measure of skin color (determined by a spectrometer) to determine which one better predicts the acculturation process. Two hundred students from the University of Miami and Miami-Dade Community College participated in the study, representing various Hispanic countries such as, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Nicaragua. Participants filled out packets that included questionnaires and scales related to income, education, nationality, acculturation using the SMAS, discrimination using the Generalized Ethnic Discrimination Scale, and a subjective measure of skin color using a Skin Color Scale. Participants skin color was measured by using a spectrometer and it was later recorded on the DermaSpectrometer Reading sheet. Correlational analyses were used to determine if relationships existed between: the Skin Color Scale (subjective measure of skin color) and the dermaspectrometer reading (objective measure of skin color); the dermaspectrometer reading (objective measure of skin color) and acculturation; the dermaspectrometer reading and three measures of social class: income, education, and occupation; acculturation and the three measures of social class: income, education, and occupation; and dermaspectrometer reading and the participants’ experience with discrimination. Finally, simultaneous regression analyses were used to determine the amount of variance the dermaspectrometer reading accounted for in predicting acculturation when compared to other predictor variables, such as nationality, self-perceived skin color, and SES measures. In addition, when compared to other variables, such as self-perceived skin color, nationality, and SES, actual skin color was expected to account for the majority of the variance regarding discrimination. The results of the present study were unconvincing. Many of the research questions resulted in non-significant results. Gender differences seemed to influence the general findings. For many of the research questions males and females differed significantly in their responses, reducing the likelihood of finding overall significance. The present finding did find some support for the use of subjective measures of skin color, allowing for the investigation of skin color to continue.