Grijalva, J. A. (2024). From Binary to Multidimensional: Reframing Latino Acculturation in Political Science. University of Notre Dame. Includes Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7274/26308765.v1 

My dissertation challenges the pervasive use of binary acculturation frameworks in political science, which oversimplify the experiences of immigrant-origin groups by framing cultural retention and mainstream adoption as mutually exclusive, thus perpetuating exclusionary narratives. Through a multi-faceted approach, I develop and test the Dynamic Acculturation Model (DAM), a bidirectional framework that treats these dimensions as independent, capturing the hybridity and agency of U.S. Latinos across psychological, social, and political contexts. A key component, published in the APSR, leverages the 2006 Latino National Survey (n=4,785) and an innovative Comparative Cluster Analysis to reveal that over 75% of respondents exhibit hybrid identities—spanning bicultural (68.4%), demicultural (7.9%), culture-affirming (9.0%), and assimilationist (14.7%) orientations. This finding, including the novel demicultural orientation, underscores the prevalence of hybridized belonging, refuting binary models’ reductive assumptions and advocating for a pluralistic understanding of acculturation that informs democratic inclusion and identity research. DAM offers a transformative tool for measuring and studying acculturation across the social sciences. 

Grijalva, J. A. "Rethinking Acculturation: Introducing a New Theoretical Model and Measure." Under Review, May 2025.

This paper introduces the Dynamic Acculturation Model (DAM), a bidirectional framework that reconceptualizes acculturation by treating cultural retention and adoption as independent dimensions, capturing the hybridity and agency of immigrant-origin populations. Using the 2006 Latino National Survey (n=4,785) as a case study, the research employs an innovative Comparative Cluster Analysis (CCA) to identify four distinct orientations—bicultural (68.4%), culture-affirming (9.0%), assimilationist (14.7%), and a novel demicultural (7.9%)—with over 75% of respondents exhibiting hybrid identities. CCA’s multi-algorithm approach ensures robust, data-driven patterns, revealing the prevalence of hybridized belonging. By centering psychological dimensions (intercultural identity, aspirational attitudes), DAM offers a transformative tool for social science research, reflecting the plurality of cultural experiences across diverse groups. These findings challenge binary acculturation models, advocating for a nuanced understanding of belonging.

Grijalva, J. A. (2025). Navigating Cross-Pressures: How Acculturation Shapes Latino Political Behavior. Paper presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, April 2025, Chicago, IL.

This paper applies validated acculturation orientations—bicultural, demicultural, assimilationist, and culture-affirming—to analyze their influence on Latino political behavior, with a specific focus on party identification, ideology, and cross-pressure issues such as immigration. This work contributes to broader discussions about how cultural integration, identity, and racial/ethnic experiences intersect to drive political heterogeneity in the Latino electorate.

Supplementary Materials and Replication Data
 
The analytical scripts, data analyses, supplementary reports, and conference presentations related to my research on Latino political behavior and acculturation are available at:

Grijalva, J. A. "A Meta-Analysis of Acculturation and Political Behavior: Challenging the Binary Framework in Political Science." Manuscript in preparation for submission to Political Science Research and Methods. 

This project critically examines how acculturation is conceptualized and operationalized in political science research, focusing on its influence on political behavior among migrant-origin populations in the United States. Through a meta-analysis of 23 peer-reviewed studies published between 1995 and 2023, this study identifies a dominant reliance on binary acculturation models, which often conflate acculturation with assimilation. These models tend to prioritize observable demographic and behavioral indicators while neglecting psychological and socioeconomic dimensions of acculturation. By highlighting these methodological limitations, the meta-analysis advocates for a shift toward more inclusive, multidimensional frameworks that better capture the complexity of acculturation processes and their diverse impacts on political engagement and attitudes. 

Grijalva, J. A., & Fraga, L. R. (2025). "Latino support for Trump in 2024: Trends and insights from an empirical analysis." Political Science Now, APSA's 2024 Post-Election Reflection Series. Retrieved from https://politicalsciencenow.com/2024-post-election-reflection-series-latino-support-for-trump-in-2024-trends-and-insights-from-an-empirical-analysis/

This study introduces a rigorous, hybrid methodological framework to examine the growing support for Donald Trump among Latino voters in the 2024 election. Employing both CART (Classification and Regression Trees) decision-tree analyses and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), we uncover complex interactions between gender, identity, ideological orientations, and voting behavior. This integrated methodological approach reveals nuanced patterns of political alignment that traditional voter models overlook, providing valuable insights into Latino electoral dynamics and their strategic implications for future political coalitions. 

Grijalva, J. A. "Intersectional Subgroup Analysis of Acculturation and Political Behavior Among Latinos." In the data analysis stage.

This study extends the analysis of my dissertation by applying an intersectional lens to examine how acculturation orientations vary across key subgroups within the Latino population. Focusing on gender, generational status, nationality, and birth origin, this work investigates the nuanced impacts of these factors on political behavior, identity, and attitudes. Using data from the Latino National Survey (LNS), the study identifies intersections of acculturation, race/ethnicity, and socio-demographic variables, shedding light on the heterogeneity of Latino political identities. This work contributes to the growing body of literature emphasizing intersectionality as a crucial framework for understanding political behavior in racially and ethnically diverse groups. 

Grijalva, J. A. "Measuring Latino Identity: Lessons from the 2006 LNS and Implications for Survey Research." In the data analysis stage. 

Survey design shapes how researchers understand political behavior, particularly in complex, heterogeneous populations like Latinos in the United States. While the 2006 Latino National Survey (LNS) takes a nuanced approach—measuring Latino, Hispanic, and national/ancestral identities independently and assessing the strength of each—the 2024 American National Election Study (ANES) collapses these dimensions into a single category. This simplification risks introducing bias, reducing explanatory power, and losing critical insights into how identity intersects with key political outcomes. Despite advancements in survey methodology over the past two decades, the ANES continues to rely on an outdated and overly simplistic framework, limiting its ability to capture Latino political heterogeneity. This study addresses this gap by comparing these two surveys, quantifying the information lost through simplification, and evaluating its implications for the study of Latino political behavior. 

This research employs a multilayered methodological approach to compare identity measurement frameworks in the LNS and ANES. The first layer involves a descriptive analysis to illustrate the richness and granularity of identity data in the LNS compared to the collapsed identity categories in the ANES. Next, using a predictive modeling framework, the study simulates the effects of collapsing LNS’s detailed identity measures into ANES’s simplified format, quantifying the loss of variance and diversity in the data. Finally, statistical models evaluate how each survey’s identity measures predict two key outcomes: party identification and policy preferences. This multilayered approach demonstrates the methodological and substantive consequences of oversimplified identity measures, offering a critique of prevailing survey practices and actionable recommendations for improving the design of political science surveys to better capture Latino political heterogeneity. 

Grijalva, J. A., Luis R. Fraga, and Mark A. Sanders. "Reenvisioning Multiracial Democracy: Ethnoracial Diversity in the U.S. and Abroad." Funded by the Democracy Initiative Catalyst Grant ($100,000), 2024–2026. 

Reenvisioning Multiracial Democracy: Ethnoracial Diversity in the U.S. and Abroad is a $100,000 project funded by the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative Catalyst Grant. This initiative examines the complex relationship between ethnoracial diversity and democratic institutions, focusing on why democracies struggle to incorporate diverse groups and how this struggle shapes democratic resilience or decline. The project challenges the notion that multiculturalism destabilizes democracy by exploring how institutions adapt to ensure the rights and privileges of all citizens in multiracial societies. 

The grant supports an interdisciplinary working group, a one-day conference, and an edited volume. It also includes a micro-grant program to fund research on multiracial democratic action and invites leading experts to contribute to both scholarly and community outreach activities. My role as the leading PI involves designing the project’s framework, securing funding, and overseeing all aspects of implementation, from convening the interdisciplinary working group to managing the conference and contributing to the edited volume. This initiative positions the Institute for Latino Studies and the Initiative on Race and Resilience at the forefront of advancing scholarship on democratic inclusion and resilience. 

Grijalva, J. A. ”Exploring Latino Acculturation Through Non-Parametric Cluster Analysis.” Presented at the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research (MAPOR) 2024 Annual Conference, Embassy Suites Downtown Chicago, November 23, 2024.

Grijalva, J. A. ”Navigating Cross-Pressures: How Multidimensional Acculturation Shapes Latino Political Behavior.” Accepted for presentation at the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) 82nd Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, April 5, 2025.

Grijalva, J. A. "Navigating Cross-Pressures: How Acculturation Shapes Latino Political Behavior". Presentation accepted for the Keeping the Republic Conference, Rooney Center for Democracy, University of Notre Dame, May 7, 2025.

Grijalva, J. A. "The Resilience Toolkit: Building Foundations for Professional and Personal Growth." Workshop presentation accepted for the Pathways Summit, University of Arizona, September, 2025.

Grijalva, J. A. "Beyond the Binary: Rethinking Latino Acculturation in Political Science." Academic presentation accepted for the Pathways Summit, University of Arizona, September, 2025.