This monthly digest is written primarily for the staff of UC Cooperative Extension. It is produced by the staff of ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS) based on news reported by mainstream news media and reputable research institutions. Inclusion in the digest does not imply endorsement, nor does SBMS assume responsibility for the veracity of the information. We invite our readers to refer to the source to read more of each particular brief; we'll try to always include a link.

CNN's The Hispanic Experience Today
What does it mean to be Hispanic in America today? Is there an "Americano Dream"? Is it being achieved? CNN takes a look at the challenges confronted by the Hispanic community and its growing influence in the realms of politics, culture and business.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/hispanic.heritage/ 
Video:What it means to be a Latino,
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/09/29/gutierrez.means.latino.cnn

A recent surge in drug use is driven primarily by minorities, mostly Latinos, according to an article on the Web site Urban.org. Author Caterina Gouvis Roman writes that the issue illustrates the need to better understand how millions of children in immigrant families in the United States are adapting to American culture. Greater levels of acculturation by Latino youth have been associated with increased rates of smoking, drinking and substance abuse, lower rates of family formation and increased rates of dependence on government assistance programs. The article said another study found that greater youth “Americanism,” compared to their parents, was linked to substance use because of family stress and less effective parenting. “The study suggested that intervention efforts targeting the acculturation process may be less effective than addressing family-related stress and parenting,” the article says.

Source: Roman, Caterina Gouvis. “Why Rise in Latino Drug Use? Latino Students Pick UP the Bad Habits of Their U.S. Peer Group,” July 2, 2007. http://www.urban.org/publications/901095.html

En boca cerrada, no entran moscas. (A closed mouth catches no flies).

According to a study by scientists representing the National Center for Latino Child and Family Research and other agencies, there are no differences in cognitive and motor competencies between Latino children and their white peers at nine months of age, when pre-existing differences in socio-economic status are taken into consideration. However, by the time they enter kindergarten, 75 percent of white students recognize letters, while only 50 percent of Latino children have learned this skill. Studies have shown that children whose parents read and talk with them more and are emotionally responsive have more developed cognitive and motor competencies. The difference in Latino vs. white school readiness may be related to the fact that Latino families are less likely to read books and share stories with their children than parents from other ethnic backgrounds, according to the study. The lower rate of book reading by Latino parents with their young children has been found in several previous studies. Researchers have suggested that Latino parents may engage in other, perhaps more culturally relevant forms of talk with their young children. However, this study joins another related study indicating that Latino families engage in fewer storytelling activities with their young children.

Source: Harvard Family Research Project, Research Digest, " Young Latino Infants and Families: Parental Involvement Implications from a Recent National Study", June 2007,   http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/digest/infants.html

A UCLA study suggests American media and cultural obsession with achieving a certain weight does little to convince couch potatoes of any size to abandon their favorite sofa cushions and get active. In fact, those messages may actually undermine motivation to adopt exercise and other healthy lifestyle habits. 

The cross-cultural study, published in the journal Obesity, finds that women are more likely to categorize themselves as overweight than men, both overall and within each ethnic group. White women of average weight are the only ethnic-gender group studied in which the proportion of sedentary individuals is not higher among those who consider themselves overweight, versus average weight. The researchers noted that in addition to cultural expectations, greater access to fitness programs, "walkable" neighborhoods, quality child and elder care, and flexible work hours all help make the choice to be active easier for white women overall than their Latina and African American counterparts. According to the researchers, all groups may benefit from messages that shift the focus away from a specific target weight and associated calorie counting, and instead promote increased physical activity and healthy eating habits.

Source: “Ethnic and Sex Variations in Overweight Self-perception: Relationship to Sedentariness”, Obesity Journal, 14:980-988 (2006), http://www.obesityresearch.org/. Also UCLA news release, http://www.ph.ucla.edu/, August 01, 2006

School-age children from Spanish-speaking households in San Diego County and throughout California are gaining English fluency at record rates, while fluency among adults – especially seniors – is slipping, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. From 2000 to 2005, San Diego County's percentage of children ages 5 to 17 from Spanish-speaking households who speak English “very well” has jumped to 71 percent from 60 percent. Meanwhile, English fluency among adult Spanish speakers dropped from 50 percent in 1990 and 2000 to 48 percent in 2005. Statewide, English fluency rates among Spanish-speakers across all age groups largely mirror those in San Diego County. Numbers on language ability, experts say, can be explained by both a big push among school districts to boost English fluency and larger, more established immigrant communities in San Diego County where adults have an increasingly easier time getting by with only basic English, or none at all. This phenomenon has demographers, community leaders and school officials at once rejoicing and wringing their hands. Fluency will give Latino youths better chances at college degrees and good-paying jobs, experts say. But their parents and grandparents, by not learning English, run the risk of becoming more isolated and stuck at the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder.
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune, " Kids' English fluency flourishes," by David Washburn and Danielle Cervantes, http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20060815-9999-1n15speak.html  August 15, 2006

Advertising in Spanish language magazines has seen 14.3 percent growth in revenue in the first quarter of 2007, compared to the same period last year, according to the research and analysis firm TNS. The popularity of magazines is understandable in light of a recent study by the Magazine Publishers of America. It found that 85 percent of Hispanics read magazines, 47 percent trust information in magazines and 43 percent trust magazine advertising. The figures give magazines a substantial advantage in perceived reliability over TV and Internet ads. Big advertisers increased their spending on Spanish-language advertising across the board in 2006. Procter & Gamble’s Spanish advertising budget grew 8.3 percent, Sears’ grew 29.2 percent.
Source: MediaPost, Media Daily News, "Hola! Spanish-Language Mags Do Big Ad," July 5, 2007, http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=63555