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Segmentation of Mexican-Heritage Immigrants: Acculturation Typology and Language Preference in Health Information Seeking

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Abstract

With the fast growing number of Mexican immigrants in the United States, more attention is needed to understand the relationship between acculturation and language preference in health information seeking. Latent class analysis provides one useful approach to understanding the diversity in sample of Mexican immigrants (N = 238). Based on 13 linguistic, psychological and behavioral indicators for acculturation, four discrete subgroups were characterized: (1) Less acculturated, (2) Moderately acculturated, (3) Highly acculturated, (4) Selectively bicultural. A Chi-square test revealed that three sub-groups were significantly different in language preference when seeking health information. Less acculturated and moderately acculturated groups sought health information in Spanish, whereas the highly acculturated group preferred English for health information. Selectively bicultural group preferred bilingual health information. Implications for health campaign strategies using audience segmentation are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

Grant support for this research was provided by NIDCR grant DE022096-01A1 and by two Project Development Teams within the Indiana University Center for Urban Health and ICTSI NIH/NCRR Grant Numbers RR025761 and UL1TR001108. Data collection and processing by Odette Zero (Indiana University School of Dentistry), Anita Ohmit, and Siqi Dai (Indiana Minority Health Coalition) are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Department of Communication Studies, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 425 University Blvd., Cavanaugh Hall 309, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    YoungJu Shin

  2. School of Dentistry, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Gerardo Maupome

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Correspondence to YoungJu Shin.

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Shin, Y., Maupome, G. Segmentation of Mexican-Heritage Immigrants: Acculturation Typology and Language Preference in Health Information Seeking. J Immigrant Minority Health 19, 1163–1173 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0401-7

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