It is clear that Latinos exhibit a diverse “profile,” along the lines of nativity, language use, degree of assimilation, and sense of own group identity (or identities), not to mention the usual sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., class, educational attainment, income levels). At the same time, Latinos are clustered together as both members of national origin groups and as members of a pan-ethnic confederation. This section of the book looks at this complex group to explore the extent of commonalities and contrasts among this growing and diverse set of Latino respondents in the Latino National Survey. In addition, we explore Latinos’ perceptions and experiences of living in the United States, as well as the nature and extent of intergroup connections with other groups (e.g., whites, African Americans and Asian Americans). In doing so, we can examine how much nativity and citizenship status affects Latinos views, attitudes, and experiences.

We begin the focus with the LNS respondents’ views about their life chances and opportunities in America, their experiences with discriminatory treatment in a variety of settings, and their perceptions about intergroup relations. The “outside” groups identified are whites (or Anglos), African Americans, and Asian Americans. As Latinos represent a pan-ethnic grouping (i.e., transcending national origin identities), we also examine intragroup relations and attitudes about the various Latinos subgroups. These types of queries can provide us with a benchmark view of how Latinos are fitting in our sociopolitical system and can allow us to compare views among key subgroup distinctions under the “Latino” umbrella.