| A 1999 report by the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations identified Latinas as the largest minority group of girls in the country. At the same time, this report also pointed out that young Latinas have less access to prevention and treatment services than young women in any other racial or ethnic group. Latinas y Que is one program that exists to meet the pressing needs of this historically neglected population.;The findings of the study do not demonstrate that the program significantly affected participants scores in self esteem or ethnic identity. However, this study can be seen as an example of the struggles in the field of program evaluation in measuring the effects of a small community program in a "real world" setting. Issues such as attrition, sample size, and other limitations inherent in using standard experimental design have lead researchers in the field of program evaluation to call for changes in the way these evaluations are approached.;The qualitative part of the study involved interviews with six alumni of the program. These interviews demonstrated that participating in Latinas y Que was a very powerful, positive experience for all of them. The aspects that they describe, such as the support of the group coordinator who is a bi-lingual Latina and, access to educational and other opportunities, fit with the literature about successful intervention programs for urban minority adolescents. These findings suggest that Latinas y Que could be used as a model program for similar intervention efforts across the country.;This study was both a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of Latinas y Que. Both research methods were utilized to measure the efficacy of the program in meeting one of its main goals: increasing ethnic identity and cultural awareness among participants. Participants in the study filled out three measures according to a pre test/post test schedule. The three measures were a demographic questionnaire, the Multi Ethnic Identity Measure and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Inventory. |
