Uses of Mass Media for Adaptation Purposes: A Quantitative Study of Brazilian Immigrants in Los Angeles
Abstract
This research project used a survey to assess the impact of English- and Portuguese-language mass media on how Brazilian immigrants in the Los Angeles area adapt to their new environment. In addition to mass media use, the survey also took into account cultural preferences, language fluency, and demographics as possible predictors of cultural adaptation for Brazilian immigrants in a large and multicultural metropolitan area of the United States. Hypotheses were tested by using bivariate correlations to determine the relationships between the independent (language, media use, demographics) and dependent (cultural adaptation) variables. In addition, a discussion of intercultural communication and some characteristics of the Brazilian community are provided.
Full text article
References
Becker, C.B. (1993). A Communication-Based Theory of Cultural Reproduction and Transformation: Information and Attitude Change Among Brazilian Immigrants in Japan. Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo.
Berry, J.W., Kim, U., & Boski, P. (1987). Psychological Acculturation of Immigrants. International and Intercultural Communication Annual, 11, 62-89.
Berry, J.W. (1989). Acculturation Attitudes in Plural Societies. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 38 (2), 185-206.
Beserra, B. (2000). Brazilians in Los Angeles: Imperialism, Immigration, and Social Class (Doctoral dissertation, University of California Riverside, 2000).
Choi, J., & Tamborini, R. (1988). Communication-Acculturation and the Cultivation Hypothesis: A Comparative Study Between Two Korean Communities in the U.S. The Howard Journal of Communication, 1 (1), 57-74.
Cuellar, I., Harris, L., & Jasso, R. (1980). An Acculturation Scale for Mexican American Normal and Clinical Populations. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 2, 199-217.
Felix-Ortiz de la Garza, M., Newcomb, M.D., & Myers, H.F. (1995). A Multidimensional Measure of Cultural Identity for Latino and Latina Adolescents. In A.M. Padilla (Ed.), Hispanic Psychology: Critical Issues in Theory and Research (pp. 26-42). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Greenberg, B.S., Burgoon, M., Burgoon, J., and Korzenny, F. (1983). Mexican Americans and the Mass Media. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Hwang, B., & He, Z. (1999). Media Uses and Acculturation Among Chinese Immigrants in the USA. Gazette: International Journal for Communication Studies, 61 (1), 5-22.
Kim, C., Laroche, M., & Tomiuk, M. (2001). A Measure of Acculturation for Italian Canadians: Scale Development and Construct Validation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25, 607-637.
Kim, J. (1980). Explaining Acculturation in a Communication Framework. Communication Monographs, 57, 10-17.
Kim, Y.Y. (1977). Communication Patterns of Foreign Immigrants in the Process of Acculturation. Human Communication Research, 4 (1), 60-77.
Kim, Y.Y. (1984). Searching for Creative Integration. In Gudykunst, W., & Kim, Y.Y. (Eds.), Methods for Intercultural Communication Research (pp. 13-30). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Kim, Y.Y. (2001). Becoming Intercultural. Thousand Oaks, CA.Korzenny, F., & Korzenny, B.A. (1984). Quantitative Approaches: An Overview. In Gudykunst, W., & Kim, Y.Y. (Eds.), Methods for Intercultural Communication Research (pp. 85-94). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Marin, G., Sabogal, F., Marin, B.V., Otero-Sabogal, R., & Perez-Stable, E.J. (1987). Development of a Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9, 183-205.
Mariño, R., Stuart, G., & Minas, I.H. (2000, April). Acculturation of Values and Behavior: A Study of Vietnamese Immigrants. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 33, 21-41.
Ministério das Relações Exteriores. (2009). Brasileiros no Mundo: Estimativas. 2nd ed. Brasília, Brasil, Sept. 2009.
Szapocznik, J., Kurtines, W.M., & Fernandez, T. (1980). Bicultural Involvement and Adjustment in Hispanic-American Youth. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 4, 353-365.
U.S. Census Bureau (2000). Fact Sheet: Los Angeles County, California. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://factfinder.census.gov" http://factfinder.census.gov on 01/27/10.
U.S. Census Bureau (2000). Fact Sheet: Orange County, California. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://factfinder.census.gov" http://factfinder.census.gov on 01/27/10.
Walker, D. (1999). The Media’s Role in Immigrant Adaptation: How First-Year Haitians in Miami Use the Media. Journalism & Communication Mongraphs, 1 (3), 159-196.
Authors
Copyright (c) 2010 Raul Reis

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal provides immediate and free open access to all its content and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This means readers are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, as long as proper attribution is given. This policy is consistent with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of open access.