Alcohol Use Severity Among Hispanic Emerging Adults in Higher Education: Understanding the Effect of Cultural Congruity

Background: Identifying and understanding determinants of alcohol use behavior among Hispanic college students is an increasingly important public health issue, particularly during emerging adulthood. Studies examining ethnocultural determinants of alcohol use behavior among Hispanic college students have focused on direct associations with cultural orientation (e.g., acculturation and enculturation); yet there is a need for research that accounts for the complex interplay of other culturally relevant sociocultural factors. Objectives: This study examined associations of behavioral acculturation, behavioral enculturation, and cultural congruity (perception of cultural fit between the values of the academic environment and the student's personal values) with alcohol use severity (AUS); and tested if gender moderated those associations. Methods: A hierarchical linear regression and moderation analysis were conducted on a sample of 167 Hispanic emerging adults (ages 18–25) enrolled in college. Results: All predictor variables entered in the regression model accounted for 20.9% of the variance in AUS. After controlling for demographic variables and depressive symptoms, behavioral acculturation and enculturation did not have a statistically significant association with AUS. Further, gender did not moderate either of these associations. Conversely, greater cultural congruity was associated with lower reports of AUS. A moderation analysis suggested that cultural congruity predicted lower reports of AUS among men, but not among women. Conclusions: This was the first known study to examine the association of cultural congruity with alcohol use. Findings highlight the value of examining contextual factors of culture and moving beyond reductive measures of cultural orientation.     

“It’s Sort Of,Like, in My Family’s Blood”: Exploring Latino Pre-adolescent Children and Their Parents’ Perceived Cultural Influences on Food Practices

ABSTRACT

This study examined the perceived connections between culture and food practices among Latino pre-adolescents (n = 17) and their parents (n = 15) through semi-structured interviews. Results show that pre-adolescents have formed perceptions concerning the association between their eating behaviors and cultural background that coincide with their parent’s notions. Participants associated culture to both healthy and unhealthy food practices. Latin American food environments were described as healthier than in the US. The interviews revealed conflict between traditional foods preferences and perceptions of health, underscoring the need for better approaches to help Latino families navigate US food environments, while also preserving healthful traditional food practices.     

Acculturation,collectivist orientation and organisational commitment among Asian nurses working in the US healthcare system

liou s.-r., tsai h.-m. & cheng c.-y. (2013) Journal of Nursing Management  21 , 614–623 Acculturation, collectivist orientation and organisational commitment among Asian nurses working in the US healthcare system Aim To examine the relationships between acculturation, collectivist orientation and organisational commitment among Asian nurses in US hospitals. Background Few studies have explored these three variables together in the same study and examined their statuses and mutual relationship among Asian nurses in Western hospitals. Method The study was a cross-sectional design using snowball sampling. A total of 195 Asian nurses participated. The collectivist orientation scale, organisational commitment questionnaire and acculturation factors were used to collect data. Pearson correlation, anova and regression were used to analyse the data. Results Most participants were female Filipinos with a mean age of 39.92 and a bachelor’s degree and stayed in the USA for 13.35 years. They used and preferred to use both their mother language and English, identified themselves as Oriental or Asian and culturally, viewed themselves as very or mostly Asian. Participants scored high on collectivism and commitment. Collectivism was significantly correlated with commitment but did not mediate acculturation factors and commitment. Conclusion To increase Asian nurses’ commitment, it is important that administrators understand their cultural values and provide them with a cultural competent and sensitive environment. Implications for nursing management Healthcare administrators can increase Asian nurses’ commitment through understanding their needs and attitudes toward their job and organisation.     

Exploring differences in self-rated health among Blacks,Whites, Mexicans,and Puerto Ricans

Objectives. Self-rated health (SRH) is a robust predictor of subsequent health and mortality. Although age, gender, and race differences in SRH have been explored, less work has examined ethnic differences, particularly in the US.

Design. The current study uses representative data from six Chicago communities to compare levels and determinants of fair–poor health for Blacks, Whites, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans (n=1311).

Results. Mexicans and Puerto Ricans were at least three times more likely to report fair or poor health than Whites, while African-Americans were over twice as likely. In adjusted logistic regression models, only Mexicans remain significantly more likely to report fair–poor health than Whites (OR = 4.3, CI = 1.8–9.8). However, this effect disappears when controlling for acculturation. No variable predicted poor subjective health for all groups, though depression was associated with poor health for most.

Conclusion. Together, these analyses suggest that the single item measure of SRH might not be appropriate for comparing health status across members of different race/ethnic groups. More research is needed to understand what factors influence how an individual perceives his or her health.     

Diet during pregnancy: Influence of social characteristics and migration in the ELFE cohort

Better adherence to dietary guidelines during pregnancy is supposed to result in healthier perinatal outcomes. We aim to characterize the diets of pregnant women by hypothesis‐driven and exploratory approaches and describe potential social determinants. Analyses included 12 048 mothers from the French nationwide ELFE birth cohort. Dietary intake over the last three months of the pregnancy was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire. Two hypothesis‐driven scores (the Diet Quality score, based on benchmarks derived from the National Health and Nutrition Program Guidelines, and the PANDiet score, based on nutrient intake) were calculated. Exploratory dietary patterns were also identified by principal component analysis. Multiple linear regressions were used to assess associations of maternal social characteristics with dietary patterns, accounting for the possible effect modification by their migration status. Five dietary patterns were identified: the Western, Balanced, Bread and toppings, Processed products, and Milk and breakfast cereals. Younger maternal age, single motherhood, unemployment and the presence of older children in the household were related to a suboptimal diet during pregnancy. The less acculturated the women were, the healthier and less processed their diets were, independent of their socio‐economic position. Several social determinants of the quality of women''s diets were however moderated by their migration status. These findings shed light on the relations between indicators of social vulnerability, such as single motherhood and unemployment, and poorer diet quality. Given the reduced diet quality that accompanies the acculturation process, it is of paramount importance to identify the specific factors or obstacles that affect migrant women in maintaining their diet quality advantage over the majority population.