Political Status Preference of Puerto Ricans who reside in the United States and Its Relationship with Assimilation, Acculturation and Ethnic Resistance

Abstract

This thesis is an effort to explain the relation between social psychological change in social group identity and political preference. There are many types of group identity and I have chosen to work specifically with ethnic identity of Puerto Ricans who live in the United States and its effects on their political preference as the status or self-determination issue of Puerto Rico. Specifically, this study takes a look at this issue by focusing on the relationship between three types of social psychological adaptations; Assimilation, Acculturation and Ethnic Resilience; and the preference for the three traditional political status options for Puerto Rico: Statehood, Independence and Commonwealth. The option of Free Association, which is currently gaining popularity, was not included in this study because it was not available in the data set.