The Relationship Between Acculturative Stress Components and Body Image for Latina College Students at Predominately White and Hispanic Serving Institutions

Abstract

Latina college students may encounter several adjustments while attending colleges and universities in the United States which could adversely affect their mental health, including coping with certain facets of acculturative stress and the emergence of body image disturbances. As such, the present study focused on investigating the relationships between four components of acculturative stress – Pressure to Acculturate, Pressure Against Acculturation, English Competency Pressure, Spanish Competency Pressure – and two components of body image: Body Self-Esteem and Body Appearance Anxiety. The study also sought to analyze whether institution type – Predominately White Institutions and Hispanic Serving Institutions – plays a role in how acculturative stress components impact body image. Data for the study was collected as part of the Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture (MUSIC), a national collaborative research project including 31 U.S. colleges and universities. The MUSIC study included measures on body image and acculturative stress.

Results showed no statistically significant correlations between Body Self-Esteem and the acculturative stress variables for participants at PWIs; however, there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between Body Self-Esteem and Spanish Competency Pressure for participants at HSIs. For Body Appearance Anxiety, results showed statistically significant positive correlations with Spanish Competency Pressure and Pressure Against Acculturation for participants at PWIs. At HSIs, there were statistically significant positive correlations between Body Appearance Anxiety and all four acculturative stress variables. In addition, neither institution was found to moderate the relationship between acculturative stress components and the body image variables.