The Interaction of Country of Origin, Acculturation, and Gender Role Ideology on Wife Abuse n Richard J. Harris, The University of Texas, San Antonio Juanita M. Firestone, The University of Texas, San Antonio William A. Vega, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Objective. Using data from the Mexican American Prevalence and Services Survey (Vega et al., 1998), this research tests whether the impact of acculturation and gender role ideology on wife abuse depends on country of origin. Methods. Two separate logistic regressions, one for U.S.-born Latinas and one for Mexican-born Latinas, are compared to test the impact of the interaction of place of origin with the other variables. Results. Our findings support earlier research indicating that power dynamics within a relationship impact the likelihood of a wife reporting she has experienced abuse. Significant differences in the influence of independent var- iables are found when comparing U.S.- and Mexican-born respondents. In par- ticular, variables related to family power dynamics operate differently. Gender role beliefs, however, have an independent influence for both groups after controlling for sociodemographic factors and power dynamics. Women with more traditional orientations are less likely to report abuse. Conclusions. Because the impact of gender role ideology is significant and in the same direction for both those born in the United States and those born in Mexico, it is unlikely that the traditional familism and gender role orientations reported among the Mexican born afford them greater protection against abuse. Hispanics have become among the most rapidly growing ethnic groups, and as a result have become more important to the nation’s economy, culture, and social structure. Thus the processes of Latino/a integration into the economy and social assimilation into the society at large have become important research issues. One important domain of research associated with Latinos/as has been the structure and social dynamics of the family. The influence of culture change on interpersonal behaviors of family mem- n Direct correspondence to Dr. Richard J. Harris, Department of Sociology, UTSA, San Antonio, TX 78249 h Richard.Harris@utsa.edu i . An earlier version of this article was pre- sented at the Southwestern Social Science Association Annual Meetings, March 18–20, 2004, Corpus Christi, TX. We thank the SSQ anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. Dr. Harris will share all data and coding information with those wishing to replicate the study. SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY, Volume 86, Number 2, June 2005 r2005 by the Southwestern Social Science Association