ABSTRACT
This chapter examines four aspects of the respondents’ lives that are particularly important in explaining the development and maintenance of their political and social attitudes and behaviors: psychological orientations; cultural characteristics; linguistic patterns; and social networks and social distance. Regardless of national origin, approximately 45 percent of respondents believed that their financial status had improved in the twelve months prior to being interviewed, 1988–1989. Spanish dominance or exclusivity was somewhat more common for home language use, the pattern follows the general patterns of overall language ability. At home, 15 percent of Mexican US citizen families used Spanish more than English. The preferred identification of most respondents was a national-origin-based term. Approximately three-quarters of Puerto Ricans and two-thirds of Cubans and Mexicans preferred a national-origin-based identification term. The national-origin terms for Mexicans are Mexican, Mexicano(a), Mexican American, Chicano(a), and Raza.
