The impact of acculturation on the public policy attitudes of Latinos

Political pundits often view Latinos as a monolithic group pursuing a unified political agenda, with homogeneous policy preferences. Such an oversimplified view of Latino voters overlooks the various policy differences that exist within this group along lines of geographical location, country of ancestry, ideology, and generational status. Most noteworthy, acculturation has proven to be a significant factor in determining the diversity of policy attitudes among Latinos. This dissertation attempts to answer whether increased acculturation (structural and cultural) results in more conservative policy views among Latino voters. Though few will disagree with the growing impact of Latino voters, the research investigating the diversity of policy preferences among Latinos is limited. Specifically, the bulk of literature examining the policy preferences of Latinos focuses on Latino attitudes toward immigration policy. Immigration policy is undeniably salient to the Latino community. However, the past and projected future growth of Latino voters merits further investigation into the diversity of general policy attitudes among this voting group. As both Democrats and Republicans position themselves to incorporate Latino voters into their electoral base, it is imperative that both parties gain a greater understanding of the policy views of this electoral group beyond issues that relate to immigration policy.;Factor analysis, along with both logit and ordered logit analysis are employed to determine the influence of acculturation on Latino policy preferences. The analysis finds that increased structural and cultural acculturation result in more economically conservative policy views among Latinos. However, the impact of acculturation on race and social policy is varied depending on the component of acculturation at play, as well as an individual's sense of identity.