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.

An extensive survey - more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 - conducted by The Associated Press and MTV explored the nature of happiness among America's young people. Spending time with family was the top answer. Next was spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant other. And nearly three-quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy. "They're my foundation," said Kristiana St. John, 17, a high-school student from Queens in New York. "My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she's still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed." While most young people are happy overall with the way their lives are going, there are racial differences: the poll shows whites to be happier, across economic categories, than blacks and Hispanics. While 72 percent of whites say they're happy with life in general, just 56 percent of blacks and 51 percent of Hispanics say that. When asked to name their heroes, Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to name their mothers.
Source: Associated Press, "Happiness For America's Young People Often Means Family Ties, Faith, Belonging," by Jocelyn Noveck and Trevor Tompson, www.AP.org, August 19, 2007

Cost and location, not academic prestige, tend to be the most important factors for Latino students when choosing which college to attend, according to a report released by Excelencia in Education. Researchers said that to improve recruitment, colleges and universities should use current Latino students as information resources for high school students; better explain to families what students can expect in college; and ensure that high school guidance counselors are giving quality information to all students. 

According to the study, about half of Hispanic students nationwide are concentrated at colleges and universities in urban areas, mostly community colleges or less-selective four-year public and private institutions. Hispanic-serving institutions were lower in cost and more accessible with open admissions policies and located in communities with large Latino populations. The "sticker price" of a school can be a major concern for Hispanic students, many of whom are first-generation college students. They might not be well-informed about financial aid packages and hesitate to take on heavy loans. Many want to live near their families.

Source: Excelencia in Education report, "Choosing Hispanic-Serving Institutions: A Closer Look at Latino Students' College Choices," www.edexcelencia.org/hsi, August 18, 2007. 

A National Hispanic Medical Association poll has found that many Hispanic heart attack survivors consider their heart attack a “wake-up call” and fear having another one more than dying. The poll also found that one-third of the survivors have had more than one heart attack. This is significant because too few are taking the steps necessary to prevent another heart attack, such as exercise and healthy eating. The survey also concluded that, along with the fear of having another heart attack, Hispanic heart attack survivors were concerned about high blood pressure. While many feel they know how to manage their health, 59 percent said they wanted additional information about risk factors for another heart attack.

Source: National Hispanic Medical Association, news release, http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.asp?docID=603324, March 26, 2007

The Latino Nutrition Council has produced a dietary guide titled Camino Mágico: The Path to a Healthier Life. The guide provides visual and easy-to-understand dietary guidelines and recommends certain product brands that belong to members of the coalition, such as Mission Foods and the US Potato Board. “Latinos have a certain genetic predisposition towards health – for example, they are twice as likely to develop diabetes, so they must adapt their diet with this in mind,” according to LNC’s Liz Mintz. “But there’s no point in having a pyramid if nobody understands it or uses it. That’s why we’re developing educational material to back up the pyramid.” The guidelines, developed in collaboration with the Harvard School of Health, promote foods that are traditionally part of the Latino diet. Compared to the USDA’s pyramid, the LNC’s dietary guidelines recommend less sweet goods and more foods like corn, potatoes and beans, tomatoes, onions and chili peppers. “There is a lot more Latino pride today than 25 years ago. People are going back to their roots and they are proud to do so,” Mintz said. 

Source: Heller, Lorraine, “Hispanic dietary guide set to enter grocery stores.” http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com. The dietary guide is on the LNC Web site, http://www.latinonutrition.org/CaminoMagico.html

Foreign-born Latino workers made notable progress between 1995 and 2005 when ranked by hourly wage, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center. . Newly arrived Hispanic workers also were much less likely to be low-wage earners in 2005 than in 1995, in part because they were older, better educated and more likely to be employed in construction than in agriculture. Yet, many foreign-born Latinos remain low-wage earners. Foreign-born workers in general did well during that time period, though there were significant differences among them. While Latino workers moved out of the low end of the wage distribution and into the middle, Asians significantly boosted their presence in the high-wage workforce. The share of foreign-born workers in the labor force grew from 7% in 1980 to 15% in 2005. Latinos, who also represent the largest share of foreign-born workers, accounted for 13% of the overall labor force in 2005, up from 6% in 1980.

Source: Pew Hispanic Center, "1995 – 2005: Foreign-Born Latinos Make Progress on Wages," August 21, 2007, http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=78

A recent study conducted by Yahoo! Telemundo and Experian Simmons reveals that Hispanic-American Internet users consume more media and spend more time with technology than the general U.S. population. Television, Internet and radio are among the different types of media that are consumed by Hispanics, with 90 percent of them contracting with a mobile phone carrier. The survey also found that, since 80 percent of Hispanics use broadband, there is significant potential for online advertising. The study notes that online campaigns targeting the demographic should take note of the vast growth within the bilingual and Spanish-language population, noting the need for ads generated in the user’s language of choice.

Source: eMarketer.com, http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=100475, April 2, 2007