Date of Award

8-2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Samuel T. Beasley, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Mary Z. Anderson, Ph.D.

Fourth Advisor

Shannon Chavez-Korell, Ph.D.

Abstract

The United States (U.S.) has often been described as a nation of immigrants. Among the 40 million immigrants in the U.S., Mexican-descent individuals comprise 25% of the overall immigrant population, positioning them as the largest immigrant group in the country. Additionally, Mexican Americans constitute 63% of the Latinx population, making them the largest minoritized ethnic group in the U.S. Considering that Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans have a significant presence in the country, scholars have called for additional research on attitudes towards Mexican immigrants (Byrne & Dixon, 2016; Flores et al., 2022). However, much of the existing literature on attitudes towards immigrants has focused on White individuals’ attitudes towards immigrants and other studies examined Hispanic/Latinx individuals’ attitudes towards Hispanic/Latinx immigrants broadly (Berg, 2009; Diaz et al., 2011; Ochoa, 2000). This approach provides limited insight on intragroup attitudes towards Mexican immigrants; thus, the purpose of this study was to examine attitudes of Mexican Americans toward Mexican immigrants and whether acculturation and ethnic identity influences these attitudes towards Mexican immigrants.

This quantitative study sought to examine if there was a correlation between attitudes toward Mexican immigrants, ethnic identity, and acculturation. This study also wanted to examine if attitudes towards Mexican immigrants, acculturation, and ethnic identity was moderated by socio-economic status (SES). The study’s diverse sample included 308 Mexican Americans recruited from across the U.S. using a Qualtrics research participants’ panel. A two-sample t-test was used to assess the group difference between this study and the norming sample in the Diaz et al. (2011) study, in addition to a Pearson correlation analysis to assess the relationship between attitudes of Mexican Americans toward Mexican immigrants, acculturation, and ethnic identity. Moderation analyses using Hayes PROCESS model was also used to examine if attitudes of Mexican Americans toward Mexican immigrants, acculturation, and ethnic identity was moderated by SES.

Overall, results in this study indicated that Mexican Americans have negative attitudes toward Mexican immigrants compared to a national sample of Latinx individuals and that there is a correlation between attitudes towards Mexican immigrants, ethnic identity, and acculturation. It was also found that ethnic identity, acculturation, and attitudes were not moderated by SES. These findings are significant since the study provides valuable insights on attitudes of Mexican Americans toward Mexican immigrants and may complicate our understanding of how ethnic identity and multiple dimensions of acculturation can influence intragroup attitudes among Mexican Americans, an area that requires additional exploration in the future. Research findings and limitations are further discussed, along with a discussion of implications for research, clinical practice, policy, and advocacy with Mexican descent individuals.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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