ABSTRACT
The infants who are included within the Latino categorization are a diverse and complex group. “Latino” derives from Spanish and is preferred over the English-originated term “Hispanic” by the populace represented by this designation. Hispanic was introduced by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 1980 to represent those who have a Spanish surname, are born in a Spanish-speaking country, or are Spanish speaking. This classification and its use are often misleading, since the people originating from Mexico, Central and South America, Puerto Rico, and Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean are a heterogeneous group who share a partial heritage and language, while maintaining vastly different cultures and lives. These differences in racial and ethnic populations of Latinos include place of origin, number of years in the United States, immigrant status, levels of acculturation, levels of education, degree of English proficiency and reliance on Spanish language for communication, geographical distribution, and level of economic and political power. Research on infants must reflect this rich heterogeneity.
