Acculturation and socioeconomic factors as determinants of depression among Puerto Ricans in the United States

This paper examines the relationship between degree of acculturation and depression among Puerto Ricans in the United States, controlling for other personal and socio-economic variables. The data analyzed came from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES), 1982-84. For this study a sample of 1,519 Puerto Ricans 20 years old or older was analyzed using regression (OLS) procedures. The findings of this study did not confirm the assumption that the higher the degree of acculturation among Puerto Ricans the higher the degree of social behavioral adjustment. Rather the data showed that socioeconomic variables such as poverty status and unemployment have a much stronger impact on depression symptoms than does acculturation.