Cultural Competency in Evaluation for Hispanics

1. Cultural Competency in Evaluation for Hispanics AIA Web Conference on Culturally Competent Evaluation October 13, 2009 Richard C. Cervantes, Ph.D. Behavioral Assessment, Inc.

2. Hispanic or Latino? • What is an “ethnic identification”?* • Ethnic identifiers are widely used in evaluation • Ethnic identifiers have significant meaning within cultural groups • Knowledge of the meaning and symbolism of ethnic identifiers can influence participation in evaluation studies and in the interpretation of findings *see definition worksheet

3. Hispanic or Latino? • Commonly used ethnic identifiers for this cultural group include: • HISPANIC • LATINO • CHICANO • MEXICAN • MEXICANO • MEXICAN AMERICAN • PUERTO RICAN • CUBAN/ CUBAN AMERICAN • OTHERS?

4. What about Race • How is race different from ethnicity? • Hispanics are considered by the US census to be “white” in terms of race • Hispanics from most Latin American countries also have high proportion of racially black populations • Mixed race also prominent among Hispanic populations

5. Commonalities There are commonalities among many Hispanic groups • Language • Religion • Customs and Practices • Family and other cultural values • Ties to country of origin, especially among immigrant groups

6. Acculturation? • Despite immigration status, Hispanic groups vary in terms of the degree to which traditional cultural values are retained AND the degree to which current cultural values and practices are assumed • Acculturation is not uni-directional, but can vary along culture of origin AND host culture at the same time • Within group and within family variation in acculturation is common, yet not well understood in terms of risk/protective factors

7. How should we operationalize race and culture? • Local community context and definitions first need to be understood before designing measurement tools • Immigration policy and enforcement needs to be considered in data collection methods (e.g. emphasis on anonymity, law enforcement presence) • Focus groups, key informant interviews can provide valuable information • How do community participants describe themselves?

8. Demographic Assessment • Key demographic ethnic and racial identifiers must be included in evaluation protocols • Specific detailed data on participant ethnic and racial identity will assist in interpretation of findings • Identifiers need to be understood and sometime explained by evaluators • Ethnic identifiers need to be broad and should relate to country of origin, as well as, US Census categories. • Specific categories can later be collapsed or aggregated, while identifiers that are too general may not be useful in data analysis phase

9. Demographic Assessment (cont’d) • Country of origin item and length of residence will allow for richer description of participants • Primary language(s) spoken at home also provide information on family acculturation • “Other” response categories for both race and ethnic identifiers is highly recommended • “Other” write in identifiers can later be aggregated by qualified evaluator/researches if necessary • Spanish language forms should always be available

10. Analysis and reporting • Aggregate findings using simple racial or ethic identifiers may not be appropriate • Reliability checks on outcome measures for use with distinct ethnic groups should always be conducted • Sub-group analysis should be conducted wherever sample size allow • Data needs to be reported out in terms of program effects for distinct racial, ethnic and gender groups

11. Fact Sheet • Ethnicity • “Identity with or membership in a particular racial, national, or cultural group and observance of that group's customs, beliefs, and language.” • Use of the word ethnicity for Hispanicity only is considerably more restricted than its conventional meaning, which covers other distinctions, some of which are covered by the "race" and "ancestry" questions. The distinct questions accommodate the possibility of Hispanic and Latino Americans' also declaring various racial identities (see also White Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Latinos, and Black Hispanic and Latino Americans). • Race • In the United States since its early history, Native Americans, African-Americans and European-Americans were classified as belonging to different races. For nearly three centuries, the criteria for membership in these groups were similar, comprising a person’s appearance, his fraction of known non-White ancestry, and his social circle. • But the difference between how Native American and Black identities are defined today (blood quantum versus one-drop) has demanded explanation. According to anthropologists such as Gerald Sider, the goal of such racial designations was to concentrate power, wealth, privilege and land in the hands of Whites in a society of White hegemony and privilege (Sider 1996; see also Fields 1990). The differences have little to do with biology and far more to do with the history of racism and specific forms of White supremacy (the social, geopolitical and economic agendas of dominant Whites vis-à-vis subordinate Blacks and Native Americans) especially the different roles Blacks and Amerindians occupied in White-dominated 19th century America.

12. Race Fact Sheet • Racial Definitions: • The following definitions apply to the 2000 census only.[9] • "White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as 'White' or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish."[9] • "Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as 'Black, African Am., or Negro,' or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian."[9] • "American Indian and Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment."[9] • "Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes 'Asian Indian,' 'Chinese,' 'Filipino,' 'Korean,' 'Japanese,' 'Vietnamese,' and 'Other Asian.'"[9] • 'Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as 'Native Hawaiian', 'Guamanian or Chamorro', 'Samoan', and 'Other Pacific Islander'."[9] • "Some other race. Includes all other responses not included in the 'White', 'Black or African American', 'American Indian and Alaska Native', 'Asian' and 'Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander' race categories described above. Respondents providing write-in entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, or a Hispanic/Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) in the 'Some other race' category are included here."[9] • "Two or more races. People may have chosen to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses."[9]