title: Violated expectations and acculturative stress among U.S. Hispanic immigrants.
abstract: Expectancy violation theory (EVT) was tested with 112 Hispanic immigrants living in the United States by determining whether discrepancies between their retrospectively recalled pre-migration expectations about life in the United States and their post-migration (actual) experiences in the United States would predict their levels of acculturative stress. Discrepancies were assessed in 4 domains (ability to communicate with English speakers, perceiving their communities and the United States as safe, obtaining adequate employment, and experiencing racism). Overall, the results indicated that discrepancies between pre-migration expectations and post-migration experiences were associated significantly with acculturative stress, although some of the findings were counter to EVT. Also, on the basis of a hierarchical regression analysis, the discrepancies significantly, albeit modestly, contributed to the prediction of acculturative stress beyond the predictive ability of general demographic variables and post-migration experiences. Implications for clinical interventions and research opportunities with EVT and Hispanic immigrants are discussed.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA. cnegy@mail.ucf.edu
authors: Charles
authors: C
authors: Negy
authors: Shari
authors: S
authors: Schwartz
authors: Abilio
authors: A
authors: Reig-Ferrer
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019303:Multilingualism; D011287:Prejudice; D012931:Social Environment; D012938:Social Perception; D055815:Young Adult