Support networks among college enrolled Latinas/os: Using ego networks to examine gender differences in network language use and experiences of discrimination

The growth of the Latina/o population has been met with a backlash that has increased experiences of discrimination. Differences in gender, education, and acculturation often result in experiences of discrimination. Despite the importance of acculturation, few attempts have been made to understand the structural environment surrounding those experiences (i.e., social networks). Using ego network data, the current study examines the relationship between enculturation (a traditional indicator of acculturation), network language use, acculturative pressures, structural social support characteristics, and experiences of discrimination among a college-enrolled sample of Latinas/os (N = 139). Over half of respondents were female (61 %) with ages ranging from 18 to 63 and reported largely first (43 %) and second generational status (27 %). Findings indicate that pressure to acculturate was the strongest variable associated with experiences of discrimination. Network language use moderated by gender emerged over enculturation as more closely related to experiences of discrimination. The interaction term between gender and network language use revealed potentially different risk and protective factors for Latinas/os related to experiences of discrimination. Structural support variables associated with respondents' social networks appear to provide some protective value but do not attenuate the relationship between pressure to acculturate and experiences of discrimination. In the current study, ego networks proved useful in identifying factors related to experiences of discrimination. Future research should continue to explore the importance of a person's immediate social structure (i.e., ego networks) in protecting and exposing Latinas/os to harmful and health benefiting experiences.