ABSTRACT
Hispanics in the United States are a very diverse group of people who are descendants of individuals from Central or South America. They tend to share a common language (Spanish) and religion (Roman Catholic), although Brazilians speak Portuguese and some Hispanics practice other religions. According to Marin and Marin (1991), Hispanics share cultural values that “remain strong and personally significant across generations” (p. 2). Marin and Marin also noted that the label Hispanic is one that is not universally adopted by those to whom it applies, and that the term connotes an ethnic group rather than a racial group. This latter point is of importance because Hispanics actually comprise many racial groups, particularly White, African American, and indigenous Native American, and the use of the term Hispanic in research studies or census/demographic data is sometimes confused with that of a racial group rather than an ethnic group. This needs to be considered when working with Hispanic Americans as well as when interpreting conclusions based on data collected on them.
