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Eating concerns in East Asian immigrants: relationships between acculturation, self-construal, ethnic identity, gender, psychological functioning and eating concerns.

OBJECTIVE: Eating concerns in East Asian immigrants were assessed and their association with acculturation status, self-construal, ethnic identity, gender and psychological functioning was examined. METHOD: One-hundred and fifty non-clinical East Asian immigrants (75 males, 75 females) were administered a battery of psychometrically established measures with satisfactory reliability and validity. RESULTS: Females were more prone to eating concerns and these were positively related to symptoms of psychological distress. Acculturation, self-construal, ethnic identity and psychological functioning were not related to desire to be thinner, feeling guilt after eating, fear of being overweight nor preoccupation with the thought of having fat on one's body. Collective self-esteem and symptoms of psychological distress were positively related to feeling discomfort after eating sweets, while interdependent self-construal and assimilation were negatively related. DISCUSSION: Culturally relevant variables, namely acculturation, self-construal and ethnic identity, were related to only certain facets of eating concerns. The findings suggest the importance of assessing discrete, psychologically-relevant facets of culture rather than more global constructs such as westernization when examining eating concerns in immigrant populations.

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Acculturation and changes in health among Navajo boarding school students.

This paper describes the relationship between cultural background and illness experience among Navajo students during their first year at a reservation boarding school. Sixty Navajo children were enrolled in a 9-month, prospective study in which three descriptors of change in health status were assessed: (a) number of dormitory aide contacts initiated by the child for an illness complaint; (b) number of clinic visits for an illness judged by the aide to require medical attention; and (c) number of psychosocial problems referred to the clinic or to the boarding school administration. Two measures of cultural background were developed to estimate the location of each child along a continuum of acculturation, ranging from a traditional Navajo cultural orientation to full assimilation into modern Anglo-American society. First, the home communities for all children in the study population were ranked by eleven Navajo informants on an equal-interval scale reflecting community differences in cultural identity. Second, a questionnaire assessing acculturative dimensions of family life style was administered to each child by a Navajo assistant. In addition, each student was assigned a score for cultural incongruity, defined as the degree of absolute difference between community and family measures of cultural background. The reliability and validity of each index of acculturation were confirmed using a variety of psychometric approaches. Controlling for the confounding effects of age, sex and family size, a significant positive association was found between the number of clinic visits and the degree of cultural incongruity. Boarding school students from families and communities which conflicted in cultural orientation experienced higher rates of clinic visits for illnesses requiring medical attention. This result is discussed in the context of current understandings of the epidemiological consequences of cultural change.

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Respiratory health indicators and acculturation among the Inuit and Cree of northern Quebec: a regional approach using geographic seriation analysis.

The goal of the research reported on is the analysis of the geo-statistical relationships observed between three indicators of respiratory health (acute and chronic bronchitis; pulmonary function) and an index of acculturation. Data used in this work were obtained by means of a field survey that was conducted in the north of Quebec over a 24-month period (1982-1984). With regard to acculturation, a very elusive concept, a Bertin-type geographic seriation technique is used to characterize the levels of modernity of each of the 21 villages involved in this study. Notwithstanding difficulties of measurement, it can be concluded from this analysis that better levels of respiratory health are positively associated, to a degree, with acculturation. This is a very significant result in that it would demonstrate the opposite of what has been tentatively noted in some other studies of the health status of Aboriginal populations.

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Acculturation and stress in Chinese-American parents of infants cared for in the intensive care unit.

PURPOSE: To describe the stressful experiences of Chinese-American parents who have an infant in the intensive care unit (ICU), and to assess the influence of acculturation, parents' characteristics, and social supports on parental stress. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study. SAMPLE/SETTING: A convenience sample of 30 Chinese-American families (30 mothers, 25 fathers) who had an infant hospitalized in 3 ICU sites in the San Francisco area. METHODOLOGY: Measures included: (1) Infant's health data from the medical records and parents' demographic data, and (2) Parental Stressor Scale: Infant Hospitalization, Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale, and Family Support Scale. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The dependent variable was mothers' and fathers' stress levels. Independent variables included personal/family characteristics, acculturation, uncertainty regarding infants' illness, and social supports. PRINCIPAL RESULTS: The ICU stressors were ranked by both mothers and fathers in the following order: infant's appearance, parental role alteration, staff communication and behaviors, and ICU environment. The combined effects of uncertainty about their infant's illness and its future impact, a strong belief in Asian family values, and lack of support from healthcare providers accounted for 26% and 55% of the variance in parental stress for mothers and fathers, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study suggest implications for the education of both families and the ICU staffs.

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Hispanic acculturation and utilization of colorectal cancer screening in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Despite the evidence on the effectiveness of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening procedures, its use remains low, especially among Hispanics. Social-cultural factors may play a role in the underutilization of cancer screening. This study aimed to examine whether low acculturation was a risk factor for the underutilization of colorectal cancer screening in the Hispanic population. METHODS: The subjects were adults aged 50-80 years who identified themselves as Hispanic and never were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer screening utilization was assessed based on the use of at-home Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) and the use of endoscopies (sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, or proctoscopy). Respondents who underwent a test for diagnostic purposes were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Our data showed that colorectal screening was underused in Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic Whites. There was a trend that acculturation level was inversely correlated with having an endoscopy in the past 5 years. This trend was also seen with having a FOBT in the past year or an endoscopy in the past 5 years. However, the association disappeared after adjusting for factors pertaining to utilizing other health care services. Additionally, after stratifying by gender, the association between the two variables was diluted. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show that low acculturation was associated with the underutilization of endoscopic colorectal cancer screening. This association may be related to lower utilization of health care services and/or language barriers that may contribute to the lower utilization.

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Depression and help-seeking in a western sample of 'highly acculturated' Chinese and controls.

BACKGROUND: It is commonly reported that "the Chinese" have low rates of depression, partially reflecting a greater tendency to somatize and to be less likely to seek help. OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of acculturation on depression reporting and help-seeking patterns. METHOD: We compared 50 highly acculturated Chinese with age and gender-matched non-Chinese control subjects in a western region on measures of state and lifetime depression, attributional interpretation of somatic cues and help-seeking. RESULTS: The highly acculturated Chinese did not differ in state depression rates or tendency to 'somatize'. There were trends for the Chinese to be less likely to view any depressive episode as a 'disorder' and to seek help for a psychological problem. CONCLUSION: Differences held to exist in the Chinese in acknowledging, reporting and seeking help for depression appear strongly culturally determined.

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Dietary pattern change and acculturation of Chinese Americans in Pennsylvania.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain information about dietary pattern change of Chinese Americans in Pennsylvania and its relationship with demographic characteristics and acculturation indicators. DESIGN: A cross-sectional self-administered survey. SUBJECTS: A convenience sample of 399 Chinese Americans. Statistical analyses performed t Tests, analysis of variance with Tukey post-hoc tests, Spearman rank correlation, and chi(2) test. RESULTS: After immigration, Chinese Americans increased consumption frequency of all seven food groups (grains, vegetables, fruits, meat/meat alternatives, dairy products, fats/sweets, and beverages) and Western foods while consumption frequency of traditional Chinese foods decreased. Dietary variety also increased after immigration. Higher education and higher income levels were associated with a larger increase in consumption frequency of grains, vegetables, and fruits. Persons who resided in the United States for a longer period of time shared a greater increase in their consumption frequencies of vegetables, fats/sweets, and beverages. Persons with better English proficiency had a greater increase in their consumption frequency of grains, fruits, meat/meat alternatives, and fats/sweets. CONCLUSIONS: This study can help nutrition educators design appropriate educational programs for first-generation Chinese Americans that can facilitate the adoption of more healthful dietary practices. Nutrition educators should consider the dietary changes of Chinese-American participants, such as skipping breakfast and increased consumption frequency of fats, sweets, and soft drinks, which were observed in this study. For example, acculturated first-generation Chinese Americans should be encouraged to decrease fats, sweets, and soft-drink consumption. Less-acculturated persons should be encouraged to maintain their healthful dietary pattern and increase consumption of vegetables and fruits.

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Acculturation and well-being among Arab-European mixed-ethnic adolescents in Israel.

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between two ethnic dimensions (Arab and European), and between a modified version of Berry's four acculturation styles (integration, assimilation into the Arab heritage, assimilation into the European heritage, and marginalization) and measures of psychological well-being among adolescents born to European mothers and Israeli Arab fathers. METHODS: A total of 127 Arab-European adolescents (aged 13 to 18 years; 64 males and 63 females) in Israel completed ethnic identification and well-being measures. RESULTS: Arab and European ethnic identifications emerged as being uncorrelated among the participants, providing a basis to use four acculturation styles to describe participants' variations in ethnic identification. The study found that integration and assimilation into the Arab heritage were connected with higher levels of desirable well-being correlates (self-esteem and positive relations with others) and with lower levels of undesirable correlates (depression and anxiety). The study also found that although assimilation into the European heritage was linked with high levels of self-esteem and low levels of depression, this style was linked with high levels of anxiety and low levels of positive relations with others. The marginalization style was consistently positively associated with high levels of poor mental health. CONCLUSIONS: The underlying assumption of Berry's four-fold model, notably the independence of ethnic identifications, tends to be borne out among mixed-ethnic individuals. On the basis of this independence the study revealed that a modified version of Berry's four acculturation styles could prevail among Arab-European individuals over the period of adolescence and that these styles play a predictive role in well-being measures of the individuals. Specifically, integration and assimilation into the Arab heritage emerged to be the best options for individuals' well-being; individuals' assimilation into their European heritage seemed to be simultaneously connected with high and low well-being outcomes; and ethnic marginalization of individuals was consistently correlated with poor well-being.

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Intake and food sources of macronutrients among older Hispanic adults: association with ethnicity, acculturation, and length of residence in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the food intake and food sources of macronutrients in diets of older Hispanic adults in the Northeastern United States and to explore relationships between acculturation, years in the United States, and macronutrient intake. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study using a representative sample of older Hispanic adults and a comparison group of non-Hispanic whites. SUBJECTS/SETTING: Hispanic (n = 711) and non-Hispanic white (n = 226) persons, aged 60 years and older, residing in Massachusetts. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Macronutrient intakes, collected by 24-hour dietary recall, were compared across ethnic groups by means of the general linear models procedure (with Bonferroni adjustments). Associations between macronutrient intake and predictor variables were tested with Pearson correlations and linear regression. The contribution of foods to total intake of macronutrients was determined by use of a rank procedure. RESULTS: Hispanic elderly subjects consumed significantly less saturated fat and simple sugars and more complex carbohydrates than did non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics residing in the United States for a longer time tended to have macronutrient profiles more similar to those of the non-Hispanic whites. Rice for Hispanic and bread for non-Hispanics were the major contributors of energy. More acculturated Hispanic elders consumed fewer ethnic foods and more foods related to the non-Hispanic-white eating patterns than those less acculturated. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to promote better diets among Hispanic elders need to emphasize maintenance or adoption of healthful dietary patterns based on ethnic and modern foods that will satisfy their biological, emotional, and social needs. Dietitians and other dietetics practitioners can use the information presented here in studying nutrition-related chronic diseases, in public health planning, and in nutrition education and promotion efforts directed to ethnic-specific, elderly Hispanic groups.

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Acculturation to Canadian Foods by Chinese immigrant boys: changes in the perceived flavor, health value and prestige of foods.

Acculturation changes in the perceived qualities of foods was demonstrated in a group of first and second generation Chinese adolescent immigrants. The type and degree of change in perceived flavor, health value and prestige ratings varied for individual foods. The second generation subjects and those with more accultured patterns of language use, gave higher hedonic flavor and prestige ratings to dessert, snack and fast foods. This same group exhibited better discrimination between nutrient rich and poor foods as assessed by changes in perception of health value. Food perceptions of the more accultured second generation Chinese group were also found to approach those of an age and sex matched group of Canadian Anglophones. The results suggest that on immigration diet westernization may have nutritionally undesirable effects.

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Acculturation and reacculturation influence: multilayer contexts in therapy.

Clients who live within a minority culture while being influenced by a dominant culture usually bring to therapy the impact of their multilayered cultural experience. Migration literature point to separation and marginalization processes during the acculturation process as the main cause of relocators' psychosocial problems. In contrast to other studies that appreciate assimilation and integration within the dominant culture, this study shows that these processes often lead to disharmony and disintegration within the home culture, especially among those who remigrate back home or those who continue to live simultaneously within the sending culture and the receiving culture. Additionally, this study emphasizes that acculturation often happens as a multilinear and multidimensional process within the host culture and the sending culture. Therapists may help clients when they become aware of the complexity of the multidirectional process of acculturation and its various levels, such as the interfamilial, the intrafamilial, and the social. Three case studies will illustrate the theoretical framework.

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Acculturation stress, social support, and self-rated health among Latinos in California.

This study looks at the effect of social support mechanisms as potential moderators and mediators of the relationship between stressful acculturation experiences and self-ratings of physical health. Data are from a sample of 3012 Mexican-origin adults aged 18-59 sampled under a probabilistic, stratified, cluster sampling design in Fresno County, California. While acculturation stressors (i.e., discrimination, legal status, and language conflict) all had a gross positive effect on the likelihood of rating oneself in fair/poor health, only legal status stress had a net effect. In addition, greater numbers of peers and family members in the United States, and a higher reliance on religious support mechanisms decreased the likelihood of reporting fair/poor health. However, levels of both instrumental social support and religious support seeking moderated the (nonsignificant, main) effects of discrimination on physical health. This study indicates that physical health is negatively associated with acculturation stressors and positively associated with social support; discrimination is only associated with poorer physical health among those for whom social support is lacking.

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Acculturation and mental health status among Hispanics. Convergence and new directions for research.

Acculturation, the process whereby immigrants change their behavior and attitudes toward those of the host society, is a fundamental part of migration-induced adaptations to new sociocultural environments. A rapidly expanding research literature on acculturation has accompanied the growth of international migrations. In response to the need to integrate the growing literature on acculturation and mental health status among Hispanics in the United States, and to identify points of convergence and new directions for research, 30 publications were examined. Points of convergence are identified, as are problems and limitations. The research needs new directions, proceeding from but not constricted by the assumptions and procedures in the work already done.

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Is acculturation unidimensional or bidimensional? A head-to-head comparison in the prediction of personality, self-identity, and adjustment.

The unidimensional model of acculturation posits that heritage and mainstream culture identifications have a strong inverse relation, whereas the bidimensional model posits that the 2 identifications are independent. The authors compared these models in 3 samples of ethnic Chinese (ns = 164, 150, and 204), 1 sample of non-Chinese East Asians (n = 70), and one diverse group of acculturating individuals (n = 140). Although the unidimensional measure showed a coherent pattern of external correlates, the bidimensional measure revealed independent dimensions corresponding to heritage and mainstream culture identification. These dimensions displayed patterns of noninverse correlations with personality, self-identity, and psychosocial adjustment. The authors conclude that the bidimensional model is a more valid and useful operationalization of acculturation.

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Training ethical psychologists: an acculturation model.

This article presents an approach to graduate (and professional) training that views becoming an ethical psychologist as an acculturation process. J.W. Berry's (1980, 2003) model of acculturation strategies is used as a framework for understanding ethical acculturation, a developmental process during which students can use several types of adaptation strategies. Students enter training with their own moral value traditions and concepts but are confronted with new ethical principles and rules, some of which may be inconsistent with their ethics of origin. The article explores several applications of the framework to ethics courses, practicum supervision, and other areas of training.

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Binge drinking among Latino youth: role of acculturation-related variables.

This research examined the relationship between acculturation-related variables and binge drinking behavior among nationally representative samples of Mexican American, Cuban American, and Puerto Rican youth. It explored the relationship between length of residence in the United States, type of language spoken in the home (Spanish vs. English) and binge drinking in each of these subgroups. Results suggest that Latino youths with no prior history of alcohol consumption remain largely unaffected by these acculturation-related variables. Youth with a previous history of alcohol consumption experience greater likelihood of binge drinking as a function of the acculturation-related variables, but the relationships are complex.

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Asian American multidimensional acculturation scale: development, factor analysis, reliability, and validity.

This article describes the development and psychometric properties of the Asian American Multidimensional Acculturation Scale (AAMAS). The results of 3 separate studies provide strong evidence of the instrument's reliability and validity. The principles for the development of the AAMAS were orthogonality of cultural dimensions, inclusion of a pan-ethnic Asian American dimension, and ease of use across ethnic groups. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicate that within each cultural dimension (AAMAS-Culture of Origin, AAMAS-Asian American, and AAMAS-European American) there are 4 reliable acculturation domains of cultural identity, language, cultural knowledge, and food consumption. These features of the AAMAS allow for a more complex assessment of acculturation level of Asian Americans and its relationship to psychological functioning.

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Relating ethnic identity, acculturation, and attitudes toward treating minority clients.

This study assessed the relationship among the ethnic identity, acculturation, and self-concepts of minority health care professionals and their attitudes toward treating minority clients and using alternative therapies. The sample consisted of 150 medical students of Indian descent. Strong ethnic identity and acculturation related to high self-esteem, self-clarity, the likelihood of treating more minority patients, and the use of alternative therapies. The more "Westernized" participants expressed less of a preference for serving minority patients and believed themselves to be less effective in serving minorities. Gender differences in some aspects of ethnic identity and attitudes were found. The results imply that a focus on acculturation and ethnicity in all client-clinician psychological research is critical, and especially in cases of cultural matching.

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