Research

A growing number of Latino consumers in San Diego County own computers and connect to the Internet, and the majority absorb media and advertising in a half-and-half mix of English and Spanish, according to a survey of Latinos in 18 ZIP codes in the county.

However, home ownership in the region’s still-costly real estate market remained out of reach for many respondents.

The San Diego “Ask Hispanics” survey was conducted this spring by Meneses Research & Associates, a San Diego-based firm that does market research in cities with large Latino populations. The firm conducted similar studies in San Diego in 2006 and 2004.”*

A two-year study released Tuesday shows older Arkansans, the young and Hispanics making up larger parts of the state population 12 years from now.

The Arkansas 2020 study, released by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, projects demographic changes over a 20-year period, including shifts in age, gender, race, ethnic, rural and urban populations.

Click here (Word doc) to see a summary of the study. Click here (PDF) to see the full study.”*

Immigrants are assimilating faster today than in generations past and whether they speak English may not be the key to how well they integrate into the U.S. economy and civic life, according to a study published Tuesday.

Jacob Vigdor, an associate professor of public policy at Duke University, comprised an index to measure the degree to which immigrants mirrored U.S.-born residents’ labor trends, cultural habits and civic participation. What he found was that immigrants have been assimilating more quickly since 1990 than in years past despite higher levels of immigration to the United States.

“The fact that assimilation is occurring rapidly, what that’s saying is these immigrants are making up the difference,” Vigdor said, adding that an economic boom over the last 25 years and improved communications have made more opportunities available to immigrants.”*

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So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

There are 30.1 million Hispanic adults in the United States and 14.4 million of them–or 48%–are women, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates. This fact sheet describes the demographic, employment and income characteristics of Hispanic women in the U.S. using data from the 2007 Current Population Survey and the 2006 American Community Survey. The findings reveal striking differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, and native-born and immigrant Hispanic women from different countries of origin. “*

A new book published by the nonprofit University of Arizona Press puts the spotlight on poor, mostly Hispanic neighborhoods in the Tucson area and near the Mexican border.

“Colonias in Arizona and New Mexico: Border Poverty and Community Development Solutions” by Adrian X. Esparza and Angela J. Donelson will be published May 24 and available at booksellers. The 208-page book will sell for $19.95.”*

A major survey released by the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) today gauged Mexican attitudes on the impact of remittances sent by their co- nationals living in the U.S. Remittances are defined as moneys earned and sent back to family or other organizations.

The TRPI study revealed how positively these remittances from the U.S. to Mexico are perceived. In this groundbreaking study, a nationally representative sample (N = 1000, error margin +/-3.1%) of Mexican nationals were interviewed to determine the impact of immigrant remittances.

Findings:

• Remittances are part of the fabric of everyday life for many families in Mexico: 32% of the respondents have received one to two remittances in the past year; 35% have received three to five remittances; and 33% have received six or more.
• In the past, Mexican immigrants were sending remittances to family members on a person to person basis. Responses from the study show a trend toward remittance money benefiting beyond familial support. Remittances include support for economic, social and health programs as well as funding for economic development and non- governmental organizations.
• Around one-third of respondents are aware of groups and programs working to extend the productive impact of remittances. 34% indicate some awareness of U.S. based immigrant and Mexican hometown associations that send money back to communities.
• Concerns surrounding the remittance industry are evolving. 51% of respondents said that the most important factor when receiving money from the U.S. is that it arrives securely. For 17%, the most important factor is that the monies arrive on time while 16% stated that collecting the money easily was a factor. Thirteen percent (13%) cited the cost of the transaction and only 4% mentioned the exchange rate.
• 95% said that there are more choices now than five years ago regarding the number of companies available to receive a remittance.

“Mexicans in remittance receiving communities recognize the value of monies sent by their co- nationals in the U.S. in improving the qualities of Mexican life,” said Rudy de La Garza, Ph.D., Vice-President of research for TRPI.

The World Bank estimates that over 24 billion dollars are received by Mexico, accounting for 3% of the country’s GDP.

“The amount of monies these remittances represent is enormous,” said Harry P. Pachon, President of TRPI. “For most countries in Latin America, remittances exceed U.S. foreign aid.”

If you have questions about the survey and the study’s findings, please contact Dr. Rudy de La Garza via phone at (212) 854-2292 or Dr. Harry P. Pachon at (213) 821- 5615.

About TRPIFounded in 1985, the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) advances informed policy on key issues affecting Latino communities through objective and timely research contributing to the betterment of the nation. TRPI is an affiliated research unit of the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning, and Development and is associated with the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University.”*

Terra, the largest original digital content producer for U.S. Hispanics, released today the top line results of a new research study conducted by comScore for Terra, revealing important information about the diverse Hispanic digital market. The study was conducted between January 31 and February 28 of 2008 and a total of 3,513 consumers 12+ completed the survey, making it the most comprehensive to date with 1.65% margin of error.

“We are committed to helping our clients and marketers better understand the fast growing, fast changing Hispanic online market. This study provides key information that will allow them to target specific segments and thus improve their return on online advertising investment,” said Fernando Rodríguez CEO of Terra Networks U.S.A.

Online Hispanics embrace technology. Internet usage outpaces television.

In general, online Hispanics, independent of their language preferences and acculturation levels, are heavily engaged in technology with 66% reporting that they keep up with the latest developments and influence family members and friends in their purchase decisions for new technology. Internet usage now outpaces television with 56% reporting to spend at least one hour per day online vs. 50% that reported spending one hour per day watching television. 72% have computers and televisions in the same room and 75% of these multi-task use the Internet and television together always or very frequently. Of the multi-taskers, 44% send e-mail or instant messages about the show they are watching and 40% report researching for products advertised on television, while 35% go to the website about the show being watched.

94% of online Hispanics own a cell phone and use it as their primary line. 93% use the voice mail feature and 86% report sending text messages. 6 in 10 online Hispanics own four or more electronic devices with 68% of these owning a Palm Pilot or Blackberry and 12% owning a portable PC.

Offline Activities
Online Hispanics are actively engaged in their community with
40% saying they have voted in an election, 34% saying they attend church regularly, 24% have participated in fundraising efforts and 13% have participated in environmental causes.

Dinning Out, shopping and movies top the list of preferred leisure activities by Online Hispanics with 55% percent saying they have participated in these at least 10 times in the last six months and 86% reporting to have participated at least 5 times.

– 77% Went out to dinner
– 76% Went to the movies
– 73% Went shopping
– 44% Cooked
– 43% Visited a bar or a club
– 39% Went to a concert
– 33% Played the lottery
– 32% Went/belong to a gym or health club
– 27% Went dancing or to a dance club

When asked about technology and entertainment 73% regularly rent movies, 69% bought CD’s, 68% purchased a movie, 40% downloaded music and 35% a ring tone.

Online Engagement Segments
The study also breaks new ground in helping understand online Hispanics by dividing them according to online engagement segments (OES), ethnic pride and language usage and providing specific data about the New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago markets. The results indicate that Heavy OES tend to be male, young and live in large cities. They tend to speak Spanish at home, be foreign born and report a high level of ethnic pride. Medium OES respondents are also skewed towards the younger age groups, but have an even gender split. They are more likely to live in Los Angeles or New York vs. Miami, were born in the US, and speak a mix of English and Spanish at home. Light OES respondents are skewed female and are the oldest of the three segments with a median age of 33 years. Compared with the other two groups, they are more likely to speak English exclusively at home, to live outside the five urban Hispanic markets, and have the lowest level of Hispanic pride. They also report the lowest median household income levels.

The study further reveals strong ethnic pride and conservative family values with 84% saying they respect their elders, 73% saying they are very family oriented and 40% saying that religion plays a big role in their families.

“Terra commissioned comScore to conduct data mining and segmentations with respect to the engagement, language preference, and cultural identity of the US online Latino population. The study revealed previously unknown correlations involving relationships between Latino identity and Internet use. Neither one of us knew what would emerge, but the results speak for themselves,” added Josh Chasin, Chief Research Officer for comScore.

Methodology:

– Survey responses were collected online in English and Spanish by comScore. A total of 3,513 surveys were completed between January 31 and February 28, 2008.

– The margin of error for a sample of this size is +/- 1.65 percentage points (19 times out of 20).

– All participants reside in the USA, are aged 12+ years, and are Hispanic.

– The sample was designed to be nationally representative, yet ensuring the ability to focus on 5 specific DMAs: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and Houston.

About Terra
Terra is the largest original digital content producer for U.S. Hispanics. Its portal Terra.com includes 29 channels in Spanish featuring News, Music, Entertainment, Sports and Terra TV, as well as community areas, blogs and services, reaching the broadest audience in the U.S. Hispanic market according to comScore Media Metrix and Nielsen/Net Ratings. Terra is part of Terra Networks S.A., a leading global Internet group operating portals in the U.S., Latin America and Spain and the #1 Internet access provider in Latin America and Spain.”*

The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) today released a new report: Latina and Latino Nurses: Why are there so few? The report identifies current and projected shortages in U.S. nursing professionals as a growing concern threatening the integrity of the health care system. Further exacerbating this shortage is a lack of diversity and the increasing average age among nurses. The new TRPI study also provides recommendations for policies and interventions most likely to increase Latina and Latino participation in the nursing workforce.

Barriers for Hispanic nurses and assistant nurses:

• Lack of time to study due to family obligations.
• Difficulty getting admitted to nursing school due to limited seating availability.
• Lack of financial support for nursing school.
• Lack of academic preparation and training.

Barriers for Hispanic non-nurses:

• Lack of knowledge about the nursing profession.
• Lack of a role model in the field.
• Nursing is considered too stressful and demanding.

Recommendations:

• Improvements in educational access in terms of better academic preparation during high school, more financial aid for higher education, more awareness and information about nursing degree programs, and greater cultural sensitivity in the teaching and treatment of nurses.
• An overall improvement in working conditions faced by nurses in terms of understaffing, administrative support and job-related stress.

To view the full report, please click here.

The report was prepared by Rainbow Vogt, Ph.D., and Maria Teresa V. Taningco, Ph.D. If you have questions about this report and the study’s findings, please contact Dr. Vogt via phone at (213) 821 5615.

TRPI would like to extend a special thanks to the California Wellness Foundation who made this project possible.

The number of Hispanics in the United States grew to 45.5 million last year, and the country’s largest minority group now makes up more than 15 percent of the U.S. population, the U.S. Census Bureau reported on Thursday.

Hispanics surpassed blacks as the largest U.S. minority in 2003 and continued to widen the gap by growing at nearly three times the pace of the black population, Census Bureau figures showed.

The Hispanic population grew by 1.4 million in the year ending July 1, 2007, while the black population grew by 540,000 to reach a total of 40.7 million, the agency said in a report on minority populations in the United States.”*

More than three million Latin American immigrants in the United States, responding to the economic downturn and new uncertainties about their future, have stopped sending money home to their families in the last two years, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington.

…

The drop in the number of people sending remittances, as the money transfers are known, is a sign of pressures on Latino immigrants as a result of the slump in the low-wage job market and of the Bush administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the survey shows. Of the immigrants interviewed, 47 percent said they did not have legal status. The others were American citizens and legal immigrants.”*

Young African-American and Latina girls treat their mothers with greater deference than do whites but their mothers take it harder when tempers flare, according to a new University of Florida study.

“Within African-American and Latino families, children follow a cultural tradition that places a high value on respecting, obeying and learning from elders, and in our study they did indeed show more respect for parental authority,” said Julia Graber, a UF psychology professor.

However, when African-American and Latina girls do act up, their mothers consider the arguments more intense than those reported by white mothers who clash with their daughters, said Graber, whose study is published in the February issue of the Journal of Family Psychology.

Hispanic and black mothers, who value strong family connections, a deep sense of family loyalty and the importance of extended family and social support networks, seemed to be much more upset if daughters fell short of cultural, good girl expectations, Graber said. “It may be just the kind of issue that pushes their buttons more, thinking of their daughter as no longer being the good, respectful daughter,” she said.

For all girls, discipline was the only factor that influenced how much conflict they perceived in the relationship. The stricter and harsher mothers were, the less conflict their daughters reported, Graber said. However, as girls get older, stricter discipline may lead to greater conflict if girls try to disagree, she said.

The study differs from other research on mother-daughter conflict in that instead of looking at adolescence, it examines girls in middle to late childhood, at an average age of 8½, Graber said. The teenage years are naturally turbulent times for families, but understanding what happens immediately preceding them sets the stage for a smoother or rockier transition, she said.

Teen conflict is a risk for other behavior-related problems, Graber said. “It does seem that when there are higher levels of conflict, those daughters are more likely to have adjustment problems in terms of feeling more depression, sadness, anxiety and those problems,” she said.

The intensity of the conflicts aside, the study found that mothers’ and daughters’ reports of the frequency of conflict were similar, Graber said. The study, which Graber did with Sara Villanueva Dixon, a St. Edward’s University psychology professor, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, a Columbia University child development professor, involved 45 African-American, 23 Latina and 65 white girls recruited through fliers while in the third grade and their mothers. The girls and their families were from racially integrated, working and middle-class communities in a large metropolitan area.

The girls’ respect for authority was observed during a series of videotaped interactions with their mothers. Daughters were scored on their listening behaviors, which included attending to their mothers when their mothers were speaking, acknowledging their mothers’ comments and not interrupting their mothers. They also were evaluated for defiant behaviors, such as disobeying their mothers’ requests, being unwilling to cooperate with their mothers and ignoring their mothers during the interaction.

Not only do children need to be more aware of the expectations their parents have for them, but mothers may also want to reassess their feelings about particular issues, she said.

“The challenge for African-American and Latina mothers is they are in an environment where their children are potentially getting messages at school, on television and elsewhere about what normal childhood behavior is like that may conflict with their own expectations for these behaviors,” Graber said.

“In the higher conflict families where mothers and daughters are arguing much more often there seems to be less productive resolution going on and less learning of those skills,” she said. “Everybody feels mad afterwards rather than feeling the potential of moving forward.”

“This is a fascinating study that enhances our understanding of ethnic and racial differences in parent-child relationships,” said Judi Smetana, a University of Rochester psychologist. “One of its strengths is that it examines in a very careful and detailed way how different cultural values are expressed in mother-daughter interactions and how those values influence the quality of family relationships.””*

Houstonians are increasingly concerned about immigration and its effects on the region, according to the latest annual Houston-Area Survey. This finding comes, however, as the same survey finds Latino immigrants are quickly assimilating into U.S. society.

The results of the 2008 survey, designed and directed by Rice University sociology Professor Stephen Klineberg and his students, was conducted by the Center for Public Policy at the University of Houston between Feb. 15 and March 5.

The number of respondents who described the arrival of large numbers of illegal immigrants as a “very serious” problem for Houston rose from 43 percent in 2006 to 61 percent this year. By far the most frequently cited reason for this concern was the perceived strain on public services caused by illegal immigrants. The negative attitudes have spread beyond undocumented immigrants: The proportion of area residents who favor taking action to reduce the number of new immigrants (legal and otherwise) who are coming to America grew from 48 percent in 2004 to 63 percent today.

A majority still backs granting illegal immigrants a path to legal citizenship, if they speak English and have no criminal record, but that majority has slipped to 56 percent from 68 percent in just the last 12 months.

“No matter how you ask the question,” Klineberg said, “every measure shows growing anti-immigrant sentiment.” The public seems increasingly to believe that the nation is being swamped by a rising tide of unassimilable foreigners that it cannot absorb.

The data on the actual experiences of Latino immigrants in Houston, meanwhile, reveal a steady and rapid assimilation into the American mainstream. The proportion of the immigrants who report household incomes above $35,000, for example, grows from 16 percent for those who have lived in the U.S. for nine years or less, to 22 percent and to 42 percent among the immigrants who have been in America for more than nine and more than 19 years; the numbers rise to 52 percent in the second generation (U.S.-born Latinos with immigrant parents) and to 57 percent in the third generation.

Similarly, the proportion of the Latino respondents who conducted the interviews in English rather than Spanish grows from 17 percent among the most recent immigrants to 49 percent of those who have lived in the U.S. for 20 years or more, and to 98 percent of the third-generation Latinos. Similarly, the proportions who think of themselves as “primarily Hispanic” drop progressively from 85 percent among the most recent immigrants to 17 percent in the third generation.

Perhaps the most interesting of the findings with regard to Latino attitudes was their perspectives on future immigration. Thirty-nine percent of the Latino immigrants who have been in the United States for fewer than 10 years said the U.S. should admit more immigrants. That number drops to 29 percent among those who have lived in America for 20 or more years, to 25 percent among second-generation Latino immigrants and to just 14 percent in the third generation.

The Houston-Area Survey has been measuring relations among ethnic groups since its inception in 1982, and the data revealed a significant negative trend in the last two years. This year’s survey found a mild reversal of that trend. The percentage of Anglos, blacks and Latinos who rated “the relations among ethnic groups in the Houston area” as “excellent” or “good” rose over the past year after dropping sharply between 2005 and 2007. Moreover, a solid majority (65 percent) of the survey respondents now agrees with the statement, “The increasing ethnic diversity in Houston will eventually become a source of great strength for the city,” up from 60 percent in 2006.

No comparable reversal has occurred with regard to perceptions of immigration. The increasingly negative attitudes of the past two years have become more negative in this year’s survey, and the mounting concerns about the press of immigrants on public services has also affected evaluations of the Katrina evacuees.

When asked to assess “the overall impact of the Katrina evacuees on Houston,” a growing majority considers the impact to have been a “bad thing” for the city, rising from 47 percent in 2006 to 65 percent in 2007 and to 70 percent this year. Despite such concerns, however, two-thirds of area residents said the Houston community should respond to the evacuees with the same amount or more assistance if another hurricane like Katrina hit in 2008. Only 28 percent thought the community should offer less assistance.

Some part of the anti-immigrant attitudes uncovered in the survey may be related to the overall economic downturn, Klineberg suggested. Four years of an upward trend in positive ratings of local job opportunities turned south in this year’s survey. When asked to name the biggest problem facing Houstonians today, the economy crept up from 10 percent last year to 12 percent this year. On that same question, mentions of crime dropped to 24 percent from 38 percent, while the numbers citing traffic congestion jumped from 25 percent last year to the top spot at 35 percent today.

The new salience of traffic concerns may be partly due, Klineberg thought, to the public’s growing recognition that another one million people will likely be added to the Harris County population during the next 20 years. The surveys document powerful support for efforts to guide that growth in the years ahead. Fully 61 percent of the survey respondents agreed that more land-use planning would “improve the region’s quality of life and long-term prosperity.” Only 23 percent believed instead that such planning “will slow economic growth and increase the cost of housing.” And 83 percent were in favor of a “general plan to guide Houston’s future growth,” with fewer than 11 percent opposed.”*

Professor Miguel Arciniega clearly remembers the dichotomy of being a Mexican-American youth trying to learn what it means to be a man. Now he and his colleagues have developed an academic scale to define what it means to be either a gentleman or a “macho” man in the Mexican-American culture.

“This has been a lifelong thing for me, in terms of growing up in El Paso, Texas, and finding out the messages about being a man from my father and grandfather,” says Arciniega, an associate professor of counseling and counseling psychology in the Division of Psychology in Education with ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton College of Education. “On the streets, from my friends, it was a very different message.”

Arciniega says he was raised to believe that men took care of their families and respected their wives. His family raised him to be un caballero – “a gentleman” – but his peers embodied machismo, which is the stereotypical, hypermasculine image of Mexican-American men as chauvinists who drink too much and fight too much.”*

Workplace fatalities have increased sharply for Latino and immigrant workers, reports the new AFL-CIO annual study: Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect. In 2006, fatal injuries among Latino workers increased by seven percent over 2005, with 990 fatalities among this group of workers, the highest number ever reported.

The total number of fatal workplace injuries in the United States was 5,840, an increase from the year before. On average, 16 workers were fatally injured and another 11,200 workers were injured or made ill each day in 2006. These statistics do not include deaths from occupational diseases, which claim the lives of an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 more workers each year.

The fatality rate among Hispanic workers in 2006 was 25 percent higher than the fatal injury rate for all U.S. workers. Since 1992, when data was first collected in the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, the number of fatalities among Latino workers has increased by 86 percent, from 533 fatal injuries in 1992 to 990 deaths in 2006. Among foreign-born workers, job fatalities have increased by 63 percent, from 635 to 1,035 deaths.

“It’s clear that the workplace safety net has more holes than fabric, and it is costing too many American workers their lives,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “Our nation’s workplaces have gotten more dangerous, not safer, under President Bush. Congress and the next President must take real action by strengthening the OSHA Act with tougher civil and criminal penalties, addressing increasing risks for Hispanic and immigrant workers, increasing funding for OSHA, and fully implementing the provisions of the MINER Act.”

The construction sector had the largest number of fatal work injuries (1,239, up from 1,192 in 2005), followed by transportation and warehousing (860), and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (655). In the construction sector, there was a gap between Hispanic and non-Hispanic workers. In 2005, the death rate for Hispanic construction workers was 12.4/100,000 full time workers compared to 10.5/100,000 non-Hispanic construction workers.

The report also examined OSHA staffing levels, finding that to inspect each workplace once, it would take federal OSHA 133 years with its current number of inspectors. The current level of federal and state OSHA inspectors provides one inspector for every 63,913 workers. This compares to a benchmark of one labor inspector for every 10,000 workers recommended by the International Labor Organization for industrialized countries.

The release of the Death on the Job report comes in advance of the 20th Workers Memorial Day, April 28th, which commemorates workers who were killed or injured in the past year. Community and union members around the world will gather at hundreds of events to remember local workers and draw attention to the problem of unaddressed workplace hazards.

Also in conjunction with Workers Memorial Day, on Tuesday, April 29th, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will hold a hearing to investigate OSHA enforcement in cases of worker fatalities. Peg Seminario, Director of Safety and Health at the AFL-CIO, will testify before the committee, arguing that the OSHA Act is too weak to protect workers and to deter employers from violating the law. The hearing will take place in Room 430 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 10:00 a.m.

For a copy of the AFL-CIO Death on the Job report, go to http://www.aflcio.org/issues/safety/memorial/.

For the AFL-CIO report Immigrant Workers at Risk: The Urgent Need for Improved Workplace Safety and Health Policies and Programs (2005).

Go to: http://www.aflcio.org/issues/safety/upload/immigrant_risk.pdf for English,

or http://www.aflcio.org/issues/safety/upload/immigrant_risk_spanish.pdf for Spanish.”*

The UCLA professors re-interviewed about 700 of the original participants and about 800 of their children, in Los Angeles and San Antonio. Participants constituted about 60% of the original families.

Some of the findings were encouraging. For example, nearly all Mexican Americans spoke English proficiently by the second generation. And many Mexican immigrants who came to the U.S. as children — as well as the children of immigrants — showed economic and educational progress, in part because of their belief in the American dream.

But some of the conclusions — published last month in a book titled “Generations of Exclusion: Mexican Americans, Assimilation and Race” — were disappointing. “*

The Intelligence Group, publisher of the popular Cassandra Report, the industry’s foremost comprehensive lifestyle study of 14-34-year-old mainstream consumers and trendsetters, has published its third annual Latino Intelligence Report®. The lifestyle study focuses on the Hispanic youth market and provides a critical forecasting tool for marketers looking to understand the 14-34-year-old Latino consumer.

Recent reports state that the U.S. Latino population will both triple in size and account for most of the nation’s population growth from 2005 through 2050, and young Latinos have already taken notice of their role in shaping American mainstream culture. With a complex identity, young Latinos are employing different tactics than their non-Latino peers in order to find success in their daily lives. In this study, a culturally relevant lens is used to give marketers an insightful look into the identity, lifestyle, and aspirations of this unique population.

“Unlike their ancestors, young Latinos embrace technology, are predominantly bi-lingual, and are the leaders of both their families and their larger communities,” explains Jane Buckingham, President of The Intelligence Group. “It is more important than ever for marketers to find ways to communicate with this growing demographic.”

For this report, the Intelligence Group teamed with Latina magazine founder and Creative Artists Agency multi-cultural marketing expert Christy Haubegger. “Today’s young Latinos have one foot in each culture and feel very influential in both,” said Haubegger. “Marketers will have success if they embrace these notions and create campaigns geared toward culture, not language.”

Comprised of online surveys, focus groups, and in-person interviews, the annual study uncovers 10 themes marketers need to know about this group, identifies the marketers who are “doing it right,” and provides a comprehensive overview of the attitudes, behaviors and preferences of young Latinos.

Highlights from the 2008 Latino Intelligence Report®:

* The 40% Perception: Young Latinos are feeling their influence growing. When asked what percentage of the United States they believe is Hispanic, the average of all response was 40% (the actual Census figure is 15%). At the same time, 49% believe they are the group with “the greatest influence on trends” in the United States.
* Latinas Rising: In a departure from previous generations, young Latinas are feeling empowered and excited about the independence and choices they have. For example, among young Latinos, only 32% would aspire to be a stay-at-home parent, vs 42% of non-Latinos.
* Cautious Optimism: Young Latinos are largely optimistic and social: They are more likely to say they are “happy” compared to non-Latinos (63% vs. 53%) and twice as likely as non-Hispanics to prefer a “large group of friends” versus a “few close friends.”
* Social Networking: There is no digital divide for this generation: 88% of young Latinos report having a MySpace or Facebook profile, essentially the same figure as non-Latinos (87%).

Subscriptions for the Latino Intelligence Report® are now available from The Intelligence Group. For more information, please contact Liz Gray at egray@intelg.com.”*

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

Hispanic voters in the United States show a high degree of awareness and concern about environmental issues, particularly global warming, according to an unprecedented national survey on Latino opinion and the environment released here Wednesday by the Sierra Club.

The poll, which was conducted by Bendixen & Associates, found a strong willingness by the largest and fastest-growing ethnic community to take measures to curb energy use and thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say contribute to climate change.

More than 80 percent of the 1,000 Hispannic voters interviewed in the poll said they recognised that energy usage had a substantial impact on their environment. “*

A new study from the American Cancer Society finds black and Hispanic smokers are less likely than whites to receive and use smoking cessation advice and aids. The study, published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, also finds men and those without a usual source of medical care were less likely to be screened for tobacco use and receive advice to quit.

Members of several racial and ethnic minority populations bear a disproportionate share of the adverse health consequences of tobacco use. There is strong evidence that interventions, ranging from a health care worker’s brief advice to quit to extensive counseling and the use of pharmaceutical and behavioral adjuncts, can considerably improve cessation rates in smokers. Smoking is associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and is an important contributor to inequalities in health.

For their study, American Cancer Society researchers led by Vilma Cokkinides, Ph.D., analyzed survey results from 4756 smokers (aged 18 and older) who visited a healthcare provider within the past year. All were participants in the 2005 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The analysis found that compared to white smokers, black and Hispanic smokers were less likely to have been asked about tobacco use (85 percent in whites versus 77 percent in blacks and 72 percent in Hispanics); less likely to have been advised to quit (63 percent in whites versus 55 percent in blacks and 48 percent in Hispanics); and less likely to have used tobacco-cessation aids during the past year in a quit attempt (38 percent in whites versus 24 percent in blacks and 21 percent in Hispanics).These racial/ethnic differences in the use of smoking cessation remained significant even after controlling for various other factors (for example, health insurance coverage, or socio-economics status of smokers).

“The good news is the number of smokers who are getting advice to quit is rising, from 53 percent in 2000 to 61 percent in 2005, with increases across racial and ethnic groups,” said Otis W. Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. “The bad news is the gap between races still exists. We need to ensure there is broad and consistent application of proven tobacco cessation interventions if we are to sustain the overall progress documented in this study.””*

According to a new nationwide survey commissioned by LEADS at Spelman College, Hispanic female Democrats across the country say leadership abilities, not race or gender, is the primary motivator for their selection of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee.

The first survey conducted to explore the political interests and mindsets of minority female Democrats reveals that few Hispanic female Democrats admit gender (7 percent) or race (3.3 percent) are the primary motivators for selecting the next presidential candidate. Almost nine out of 10 (89.3 percent), say they will choose the Democratic nominee based on leadership abilities.

“This survey shows that Hispanic women view leadership through the lens of experience,” said Jane E. Smith, Ed. D., executive director of LEADS at Spelman College, a leadership development center for women. “Clinton’s experience with critical issues such as immigration, jobs and health care, seems to resonate with the Hispanic population.”

Seven out of ten (72 percent) Hispanic Democrat women surveyed prefer Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama citing her experience (51 percent) and qualifications (17 percent) as their top deciding factors, supporting previous national polls indicating great Hispanic support for Clinton.

Experience Matters Most
When asked to state which leadership abilities they most desire in a presidential candidate, the study of 300 Hispanic women (of 905 total minority participants) cite experience (18.3 percent), integrity (14.3 percent) and the ability to improve the economy (14 percent) as the top three characteristics. The ability to make change (13.7 percent) and inclusiveness in his/her approach (9.7 percent) complete the top five desired leadership traits.

Survey Methodology
The LEADS at Spelman College 2008 Leadership Survey was conducted via telephone. The total sample size was 905 female respondents, who were head of household; 18 years of age or older; and who were registered Democrats planning to vote in the next presidential election. Respondents were randomly selected and each subset included African-American women (305), Hispanic women (300), and other minority women (300): Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American). There is a plus or minus 3.2 percentage point margin of error (for the overall sample).”*

*From: http://www.hispanicprwire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

A new study finds that older Puerto Ricans have higher rates of depression than other Hispanics living in the United States. Nearly 7 percent of Puerto Ricans, who make up 11 percent of the Hispanics 65 and older in the U.S., suffer from major depression, compared to Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, and Hispanics from Central and South America.

Only 2.8 percent of Mexican Americans (46.7 percent of the older Hispanic population) and 2.5 percent of Cuban Americans (13 percent) suffer from major depression.”*

*From: http://psychcentral.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish