Gender Roles and Substance Use Among Mexican American Adolescents: A Relationship Moderated by Acculturation?

This research assesses the effects of adaptive/ maladaptive gender roles and acculturation in predicting substance use in a 2007 sample of 1466 Mexican American seventh-grade adolescents from Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Multiple regression analyses found significant effects for both adaptive and maladaptive gender roles, as well as several gender-specific interactions between gender roles and linguistic acculturation that predicted substance use. Limitations of the research are noted, as well as implications for understanding the impact of acculturation on how gender roles differentially affect substance use in Mexican American boys versus girls.     

Acculturation and eating disorders in Asian and Caucasian Australian adolescent girls

The present study aimed to compare the attitudes and psychopathology of eating disorders between Asian and Caucasian adolescent girls; and investigate the relationship between acculturation and the attitudes and psychopathology of eating disorders in subgroups of Asian girls. Two groups of non-clinical adolescent girls in Perth, Western Australia, were compared using a survey method. There were 17 Asian and 25 Caucasian adolescent girls, aged 14-17 drawn from private high schools in Perth who were screened using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-2), and an acculturation index. The psychopathology scores for eating disorders of the Asian group were significantly higher than that of the Caucasian group in terms of total EDI-2 score, Interpersonal Distrust, Maturity Fears, Impulse Regulation and Social Insecurity subscales. Eating attitudes measured by Dieting subscale of the EAT-26 was significantly different. Within the Asian group, the less acculturated girls had higher scores on the EAT-26 and the EDI-2 than the more acculturated. Less acculturated Asian girls appeared to have unhealthier attitudes and psychopathology toward eating.     

Mother-Child Interactions Involving a Child with Epilepsy: A Comparison of Immigrant and Native-Born Mexican Americans

This study examined the mother-child interactions of immigrantand native-born Mexican American mothers with a child with epilepsy.Children with asthma and children in good physical health werealso included as controls. Mother-child pairs engaged in a structuredbeanbag toss game which was videotaped and analyzed by a bilingualcoder unaware of the medical backgrounds of the children. Incontrast to mothers with a child with asthma or in good health,mothers with a child with epilepsy used fewer verbal directionsand fewer positive responses. In addition, mothers with a childwith epilepsy used more nonverbal directions, more commands,and more physical guidance. Children with epilepsy also failedmore often on the structured beanbag toss game than childrenwith asthma and children in good health. Finally, native-bornmothers with a child with epilepsy exhibited less positive feedbackand more negative feedback than their immigrant counterpartswith a similar child. However, acculturation qualifies someof the present findings.     

Informing Cancer Prevention Strategies for African Americans: The Relationship of African American Acculturation to Fruit,Vegetable, and Fat Intake

Acculturation has been associated with health-related behaviors in African Americans. We sought to determine if there is a relationship between acculturation and dietary intake in African Americans. African Americans in the PREMIER trial completed the African American Acculturation Scale (AAAS) and 2 nonconsecutive 24-h dietary recalls (n = 238). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and canonical correlation were used to assess relationships between acculturation and dietary intakes. Canonical correlation (p = 0.05) showed that traditional African Americans had lower intakes of fruits/vegetables and milk/dairy with higher intakes of fats, meat, and nuts. This pattern was supported by differences in the ANOVA. African American acculturation is related to dietary intake. These findings have implications for the design of cancer-related public health messages targeted to African Amercans.     

Conceptualizing Sociocultural Factors within Clinical and Research Contexts

Cafri, Yamamiya, Brannick, and Thompson (this issue) reported results from a meta-analysis of relations between three sociocultural factors and body image dissatisfaction. Comparison of the effect sizes reveals that internalization of a thin ideal and perceived pressures have significantly stronger relations to body image dissatisfaction than does awareness of a thin ideal. The authors tested for and found no evidence of a moderating relationship involving age or ethnicity. The findings raise implications for advancing the study of body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders. In this commentary, I consider some of the challenges of studying sociocultural factors within the contexts of clinical research and practice. Specifically, I consider how cultural influences may arise and describe the utility of ecological frameworks for conceptualizing and assessing the impact of sociocultural factors within a treatment context.     

Acculturation and Its Relationship to Smoking and Breast Self-Examination Frequency in African American Women

The concept of acculturation has been used to understand differences in health behaviors between and within a variety of racial and ethnic immigrant groups. Few studies, however, have examined the potential impact of acculturation on health behaviors among African Americans. The present study has two goals: 1) to reconfirm relations between acculturation and cigarette smoking; 2) to investigate the impact of acculturation on another type of health behavior, cancer screening and specifically breast self-examination (BSE). African American women (N = 66) attending an inner-city cancer-screening clinic completed study questionnaires. Results reconfirmed psychometric properties of the African American Acculturation Scale (AAAS); replicated the negative association between acculturation and lifetime smoking status; and found relations between acculturation and womens adherence to BSE frequency guidelines. Findings from this study raise the possibility that specific aspects of acculturation may better explain specific health behaviors.The present study was done as part of a dissertation submitted by the first author to The City University of New York     

Moderating Role of Acculturation in a Mediation Model of Work–Family Conflict among Chinese Immigrants in New Zealand

This study examined the antecedents of work–family conflict (WFC) and the mediation effects of WFC on well‐being consequences among Chinese immigrants to New Zealand, along with the moderating role of acculturation. Four types of WFC were explored: time‐based and strain‐based work interference with family, and time‐based and strain‐based family interference with work. Data were collected from 577 Chinese immigrants in New Zealand, who had full‐time or part‐time work and lived with family members in New Zealand. The four types of WFC were differentially related to the antecedents and well‐being consequences, providing some evidence that both Chinese and New Zealand cultures may exert influences on Chinese immigrants' experiences of WFC. Both directions of WFC (work interference with family, and family interference with work) were related to job satisfaction and family satisfaction, and strain‐based WFC influenced their well‐being more than time‐based WFC. Most importantly, we found immigrants who were proficient in English perceived greater WFC and psychological strain. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus,migration and westernisation: The Tokelau Island Migrant study

Summary The migration of Tokelauans from a traditional atoll in the Pacific to urban New Zealand is associated with an increased prevalence and incidence of Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus over the period 1968–1982. During the same period, a lesser but definite increase is seen among non-migrants in Tokelau. The age standardised prevalence rates rose from 7.5 and 11.7 to 10.8 and 19.9 per 100 respectively in the male and female migrants compared with an increase from 3.0 and 8.7 to 7.0 and 14.3 per 100 in the nonmigrant males and females respectively. The incidence of diabetes is shown to be consistently higher in the migrants compared to the non-migrants giving relative risks of 1.5 in males and 1.9 in females. The factors most likely contributing to this difference, are changes to a higher calorie, high protein diet, higher alcohol consumption, a greater weight gain and altered levels of physical activity in the migrants. A number of populations in the Pacific have been shown to have a low rate of diabetes in their traditional setting, but may have a genetic predisposition for diabetes which responds to factors in the urban industrialised environment and life-style. The social and economic changes taking place in Tokelau are also clearly increasing the risk of diabetes. To reverse these trends and prevent the development of complications of Type 2 diabetes, it will be important to institute preventive programmes and to follow up the population in both environments for long-term outcomes, including mortality.     

“I Don't Make the Soups Anymore”: Pre- to Post-Migration Dietary and Lifestyle Changes Among Latinos Living in West-Central Florida

Eighteen Latino adults living in the U.S. for less than 2.5 years were surveyed and interviewed about their pre- and post-migration diets and lifestyles. While this mostly female sample reported that their primary language was Spanish, many had some limited skills in written and spoken English. Two thirds were from Colombia, married, and had between 1 and 4 children, and more than half had post-secondary education. Percent change in diet, food habits, and activities associated with lifestyle, regardless of the direction, ranged from a low of 27.8% of the sample for alcohol consumption to a high of 100% for both physical activity and sedentary behavior. In most cases, post-immigration food types and behaviors represented unhealthy changes, including weight gain, a lack of physical activity, and a corresponding increase in television viewing time and in the consumption of fast food, processed food, soda, and, to a lesser extent, artificial juices. Ten participants were interviewed about daily life in their native countries (pre-migration) and since coming to the U.S. (post-migration). Six primary themes emerged with regard to post-migration lifestyle changes: pace of life, family interaction, social integration, socioeconomic status, physical security, and control over children's eating patterns. All of these themes were related to decision-making regarding food choices and food habits, and in many cases such decisions were detrimental to health.     

Acculturation and functional impairment among older Chinese and Vietnamese in San Diego County,California

Level of acculturation and the relationship to functional impairment was examined among a group of Chinese (n = 50) and Vietnamese (n = 50) 45 years and older in San Diego County, California. Prevalence of functional impairment and level of acculturation, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlations were utilized to examine differences between ethnicity, gender and age groups, as well as significant relationships between various dimensions of impairment and levels of acculturation. Findings indicated that lack of English language skills and lack of use and exposure to English were associated with social and economic resource impairment, mental and physical health impairment, and ADL impairment, as measured by a modified OARS instrument. Data suggested that the visibility and extensiveness of the Vietnamese community may serve to buffer the negative effects associated with the acculturation process for the Vietnamese.