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Latino Families in the United States

           The Latino population has been growing in the United States since the birth of the nation. Latinos, a term used to describe people from any of the 20 countries in the Americas that are united by their Spanish language and heritage, have always lived and been a part of the United States. They are currently the largest minority population in the United States and also have the youngest average age, 27, compared to other ethnic or racial groups (Malave, 2014, 4). They also have one of the longest life expectancy when compared to other ethnic groups in the United Staes (Malave, 2014, 81). Contrary to popular opinion though, about 2/3 of the Latino population are not recent immigrants, but born citizens (some for generations) of the United States (Malave, 2014, 1). A large percentage of Latinos are bilingual, but others are only proficient in English, some only proficient in Spanish. About 60% of Latino adults and 90% of Latino children are proficient in English (Malave, 2014, 3). Latinos in the United States tend to live in urban, diverse neighborhoods, with about 2/3 concentrating in the urban populations of the states of California, New York, Florida, Texas, and Illinois (Malave, 2014, 7). Despite having the largest, youngest minority and the longest life expectancy, Latinos have the lowest rates of access to medical care (Malave, 2014, 80). . There are a number of factors for this, there are language, financial, and accessibility problems that Latinos face in trying to access health care. For the 1/3 of the Latino population that are undocumented immigrants, they do not qualify for an medical insurance and that financial burden means little access to preventative and emergency medical care.
            The term Latino does not define a particular race as the majority of Latinos are of mixed racial heritage. The complex mixture means that Latinos have diverse appearances highlighting the Afro, Amerindian, and European peoples. Family plays one of the most important roles in the Latino’s life, second only to maybe religion. In Latino families, the family includes not only the immediate family members (which often include multigenerational family groups) but also extended relatives, in-laws, godparents and close friends who all play an important social and supportive role in the family (Maldanado, 1994, 21). In traditional Hispanic families the elderly and the parents are regarded as authority figures, especially the males. Gender roles can vary depending on the country and family of origin. For some, the male in the family may be the complete authority and the females are supposed to subservient to him (Acosta, 1990, 35). On the other hand, many Latino families tend to be more matriarchal with the abuelita the center of the family in terms of respect, rules and order (Acosta, 1990, 35). One of the most mentioned pastime for Latinos, even for Millennials, is spending time with family, second on the list is cooking and eating with family (Malave, 2014, 65). Religion and religious identity is important in Latin America (Acosta, 1990, 36). With the arrival of the Spanish and Portuguese settlers, they also brought Catholicism, which became the official religion for all of Latin America. The majority of Latinos, over 53% identify as Catholic (Malave, 2014, 63). On the other hand, Pentecostalism is growing steadily in Latin America and the growth is coming from new converts who did not grow up Pentecostal (Malave, 2014, 64). Because of the strong influence of religion, Latinos tend to have conservative social values. In addition, there are often indigenous and African spiritual practices and beliefs mixed in with the Catholic or even Pentecostal religion beliefs and practices (Acosta, 1990, 36).            
 
Acosta, S., Groh, L. S., Hernandez, G., & Rathbone, B. (1990). Counseling Hispanics in the United States. The Journal of Pastoral Care, 44(1), 33–41.
 
Malavé, I., & Giordani, E. (2014). Latino Stats : American Hispanics by the Numbers. New York: The New Press.
 
Maldonado, J. (1994). My Basic Assumptions in Pastoral Counseling of Hispanic Families. The Covenant Quarterly, 52(2), 19–28. 
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