Bicuriousities: Latino Teens Are Happier When Raised Biculturally

A study conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Latino Acculturation and Health Project shows that young Latinos are most well-adjusted and happy when they are in touch with their cultural roots while having family members who are interested and involved in U.S. culture (which we suppose can also be heavily influenced by Latino culture depending on where you live). In this case, the young people who participated in the study were all from North Carolina and Arizona. 

Explained Paul Smokowski, Ph.D, an associate professor at the UNC School of Social Work:

We found teens who maintain strong ties to their Latino cultures perform better academically and adjust more easily socially.When we repeated the survey a year later, for every 1-point increase in involvement in their Latino cultures, we saw a 13 percent rise in self-esteem and a 12 to 13 percent decrease in hopelessness, social problems and aggressive behavior. 

Also, the study showed parents who develop a strong bicultural perspective have teen children who are less likely to feel anxiety and face fewer social problems. 

Ain’t that the truth. That’s a reality we’ve noticed for ourselves, too. Our grandparents, especially on our mom’s side, were often too concerned with their own work and worries and obligations to really become immersed in American culture at the time or to make an attempt to understand what life for their children was like. Part of this may have also had to do with the belief that they wouldn’t have to stick around in this country for very long, so it wasn’t worth it to investigate the wide, weird, gringo world outside of Westchester, Miami. 

Our own parents, having grown up here, understand American society and pop culture but view it through the filter of their own Cuban values and upbringing. And we like it that way. We did experience a culture shock when we went from the being the “least Latina” among Latinos to the “least white” among white people. Nevermind that these categories are fairly silly to begin with - this is how people viewed us. But we had a support system in place that reached across two very different culture to create something new that fit us very well.

So we no longer think of biculturalism as a bridge over a divide. We don’t have to live between two things - we have our own, new thing. And we think that makes us fairly well-adjusted. Despite Guanabee commenters referring to us as a coconut. Sweet and delicious underneath beneath a rough exterior? Sure, we’ll take it. 

UNC study: Latino teens happier, healthier if families embrace biculturalism [UNC]