http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/864879794

Political ideology : a comparative study of three Chicano youth organizations

The study investigated the political ideology of three Chicano youth groups in El Paso, Texas: Mexican American Youth Association (maya), Mexican American Political Association (mapa), and the Alianza. Purpose of the study was to identify and compare the political ideas and attitudes of the three organizations. Questionnaires were administered to a random sample selected from a list of names obtained from each organization. Eighty-four questionnaires were returned--30 from mapa, 30 from maya, and 24 from the Alianza. The questionnaire was divided into four general sections: personal information, personality, political knowledge, and political ideology. Indices were computed to indicate overall tendencies along the following categories: democratic, fascist, and communist tendencies; degree of political socialization; recognition of institutional racism; regard for authority and freedom; regard of equality; political knowledge, activity, and responsibility; anomie; authoritarian personality; racial prejudice; political liberalism; and faith in people. Some of the findings were: (1) all three groups had in general very low faith in people; (2) maya was more authoritarian than the others; (3) all three groups had a definite view of society which was predictable and stable; (4) maya had more feelings of alienation and anomie; and (5) mapa and the Alianza had more "hope" for the future while maya had less. (Nq).

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