- Author: MarketingCharts.com
Perhaps as a result, the national issue that respondents are most concerned with regards creating more jobs and fixing the economy, with 23% selecting this as their top issue from a list of 12. Immigration reform and deportations (18%) is Latinos' second-largest concern, followed by gun violence/gun control/crime/public safety (12%) and education/schools (9%).
The following provides some quick highlights from the various themes covered in the report.
Economy and Finances
- 51% of respondents feel that their personal finances have gotten a lot better (11%) or somewhat better (40%) during the past 5 years, but almost 4 in 10 feel they've gotten either somewhat (22%) or a lot (17%) worse. Those most likely to report better finances included respondents with income of at least $75k (73%), those aged 18-39 (60%), and men (54%).
- 73% are very (28%) or somewhat (45%) optimistic about the future of their finances and the opportunities that may lie ahead. Optimism is again highest among those aged 18-39 (81%) and with income of at least $75k (81%).
- 49% are very (26%) or somewhat (23%) worried that they or someone in their household might lose their job and become unemployed in the next year or so.
- 63% feel that childcare issues do not make their work situation difficult, although 29% do.
Health
- Almost one-third describe their own health as excellent (11%) or very good (20%), with another 32% describing it as good.
- 49% visit a health provider regularly, and an additional 10% somewhat regularly.
- If they feel ill or sick, respondents are most likely to usually go to a doctor's office or private clinic (53%), while 25% usually go to seek healthcare at a community health center or clinic.
- 8 in 10 have a healthcare provider that speaks Spanish or has a translator available.
- Asked how familiar they are with the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, fewer than half reported being very (15%) or somewhat (29%) familiar, and one-third say they're not familiar at all with it.
- Three-quarters have health insurance.
The Latino Experience
- 54% feel that local police, border patrol and other law enforcement authorities usually (26%) or sometimes (28%) treat Latinos fairly, while 37% feel they're usually treated unfairly.
- Two-thirds worry that police, border patrol or other law enforcement authorities will use excessive force against Latinos.
- 35% are very (7%) or somewhat (28%) satisfied with the federal government's performance on immigration policy, outweighed by the 57% who are not very (25%) or not at all (32%) satisfied.
- Respondents are more likely to believe that English language media portrays Latinos in a generally negative (27%) rather than generally positive (15%) light. By comparison, they're more likely to believe that Spanish-language media portrays them in a generally positive (38%) rather than generally negative (10%) light.
About the Data: Between September 19th and October 15, 2014, Latino Decisions interviewed one thousand Latino adults who reside in the United States. Respondents were evenly split by gender and by country of birth (US versus foreign-born). 7 in 10 are US citizens and 51% are 1st generation in the US. A majority 55% cited their country of origin as Mexico.
Source: Published originally on MarketingCharts.com as Key Stats About Latinos' Outlook and Attitudes,November 17, 2014.
- Author: KPBS.org
That majority-minority status is expected to continue for the next 50 years or so — except for one major change. The percentage of whites and Latinos in the population switch, with Latinos making up 48 percent of the population.
KPBS and San Diego Magazine recently commissioned a survey of Latinos living in San Diego to discover the attitudes and ideologies that may shape the community and our city in future years.
UC San Diego researcher Tom Wong wrote the survey. He said it looks at a number of issues including immigration and demographic change.
"We can think about increased diversity as the new normal," Wong said. "Part of the new normal is how society responds."
Wong is among a group of researchers who are interested in understanding how different racial and ethnic groups are faring within American society.
"Historically we've seen trends where communities have responded to immigration very negatively," Wong said. "We need to know, not from the perspective of an outsider looking in, how they feel. We need to hear from individuals themselves."
Wong said knowing how San Diego's Latino population feels will help the broader community have an open, honest dialogue.
Survey Results
All of the 400 survey respondents self-reported that they were Hispanic or Latino.
When asked whether life in San Diego would be better if the city's diverse communities were more integrated, an overwhelming majority, 70 percent, responded yes.
Only about 12 percent of respondents said they felt San Diego is already one of the most diverse and integrated places in the United States.
The majority of respondents, 89 percent, said they had experienced “a little” to “a great deal” of discrimination.
In regards to language, 52.5 percent responded they can speak English and Spanish equally, or speak English and a little or no Spanish
The majority, 58 percent, of survey respondents reported no preference when using the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" to describe a person of Latin American descent.
Wong said, "When asked, 'how would you describe the average Hispanic/Latino,' respondents gave 212 distinct answers. The most frequent response by far was 'hard worker,' which was mentioned 202 times."
Other commonly used descriptions include "Good, Kind, Caring," "Important," "Family Oriented," and "Determined/Never Gives Up."
"Hard worker" was also the most frequent response (108 times) to a question about how the the average San Diegan would describe the average Latino.
Source: Published originally on KPBS.org as San Diego Latinos surveyed about beliefs, experiences, by Megan Burke, Maureen Cavanaugh, Peggy Pico, November 14, 2013.
/h3>- Posted By: Myriam Grajales-Hall
- Written by: Richard Barth, HispanicMarketInfo.com
There is power in words. During Martin Luther King Jr. Day his “I had a dream” speech could be seen in text or video and either way was touching and very much relevant today.
Hispanic identity, acculturation and assimilation has a language component. As reported in HispanicMarketInfo, a July 2011 study by Horowitz Associates reveals that for many U.S. Latinos, biculturalism is key to self-identity.Eighteen percent of Hispanics identify themselves as “completely American,” 43 percent as completely Latino, and almost four in ten (39 percent) feel they are a mix of both.
Latinos in bilingual homes are more likely to be bicultural. Four in ten Hispanics in English-oriented homes (where mostly/only English is spoken) consider themselves both Latino and American, and a full 16 percent of those heads of household define themselves as “completely Latino.”
At the same time, bicultural Latinos do not necessarily only live in bilingual homes: Almost one-quarter of bicultural Latino heads of household live in Spanish-dominant homes; one-third live in English-oriented homes.
The study also found that Latinos identifying themselves as bicultural spend the majority of their TV viewing time– 72 percent — with English language TV and 28 percent with Spanish language programming.
Source: HispanicMarketInfo.com, Cultural identity and language, January 17, 2012.