Dialogue between Cornel West and Jorge Klor de Alva explores the question of black-brown alliances, those between African Americans and Hispanic Americans. If minority groups can put aside the difference of skin color and join to combat economic and social racism, they can have far-reaching and meaningful impacts on society. (SLD)

Examined African American and Hispanic seventh graders (N=1,815) to study ethnic identity's moderating effect on psychosocial risk and drug use. Results based on cross-sectional analyses and longitudinal analyses indicate that low levels of ethnic identity were associated with both low risk and low use. Other results are reported. (RJM)

Reports on the first national conference of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library Services to the Spanish Speaking. Discusses REFORMA's activist history and describes conference programs geared toward promoting cultural awareness to help libraries build relationships with Hispanic and Latino communities. Attendees shared concerns…

Identifies two conceptual and methodological limitations to current treatments of cultural diversity in social science research: the tendency to treat race, ethnicity, culture, and social class as fixed categories and the tendency to focus on single levels of analysis. Proposes strategic guidelines for mitigating these limitations, illustrating…

A study examined the psychometric properties of the Social Anxiety Scale for Children--Revised (SASC-R) in a sample of 159 predominantly Dominican and Puerto Rican fifth- and sixth-grade students from New York City. Findings provided initial support for SASC-R reliability and validity in Hispanic children. Convergent validity was supported by…

Examined Youth Risk Behavior Survey data to investigate changes in cigarette smoking among white, black, and Hispanic high school students from 1991-01. Overall, the prevalence of lifetime smoking decreased significantly. The prevalence of current smoking increased, then decreased. For females, the prevalence of current smoking peaked during…

Drawing on human capital, social capital, and acculturation theories, gender differences in income were examined among 7,760 self-employed Hispanic Americans in California, using 1990 census data. Hispanic self-employed women earned less than Hispanic self-employed men and were more likely to be in service occupations. Having less than a high…

Telephone interviews of 2,854 southern Californians examined beliefs about causes of poverty: individual characteristics, labor market conditions, failure of schools, discrimination, or luck. Contrary to previous findings, structuralist explanations of poverty were rated higher overall than individualistic explanations, and blacks and Latinos…

Newly arrived Hispanic families have needs differing from established families. School staff should recognize that immigrant children may be highly motivated, families may be uncomfortable with English, and parent-school partnerships are unusual in Hispanic cultures. Schools should encourage parents to work with children in their native language,…

Explores the resilience of three gifted Latino high school students who live in the inner city. The sources of their resilience are examined. Implications for resilience in gifted youth are discussed and recommendations are made for nurturing resilience in urban teenagers to ensure greater success in life. (Author/CR)

Interviews with 1,435 urban, low-income African American and Hispanic youth about sexual experiences and behaviors revealed that interviewer age affected the reporting of sensitive behaviors. The strongest effects were observed for Hispanic women, who reported more sexual activity to younger interviewers. (Author/SV)

Depression among 148 Latina women who have children with mental retardation was examined. Results showed that their depressive symptomatology was elevated, with almost half reporting excessive negative experiences. Family problems, health problems, and negative feelings about parenting their child with mental retardation were factors contributing…

To help recruit African American and Hispanic teachers, Southwest Texas State University started a program in 1992 called Enhancing Diversity in Teaching. Funded by a foundation and the Texas Education Association, the program provides university scholarships for paraprofessionals working with bilingual, Chapter 1, migrant, or special-education…

Documents the multicultural children's literature preferences of low-ability African and Hispanic American fifth graders. Finds that while the African American students showed a strong preference for culturally conscious (authentic) literature, the Hispanic American students rated these books less favorably. (RS)

Examines the effects of English language proficiency and levels of reasoning skills of Hispanic English language learners and native English language speaking students on their acquisition of science content knowledge as measured by a state-wide standardized science test. Suggests that the levels of English language proficiency appear to influence…