Determinants of Host Society Acculturation and Its Relationship with Health Behaviors and Outcomes: A New Research and Intervention Framework

Abstract

Host society acculturation (or reverse acculturation) is a complex, multifactorial process reflecting the attitude- and behavior-level impact of immigrants on the host society. However, this phenomenon has rarely been the subject of systematic research in the area of public health. Using qualitative and quantitative findings from different health behavior domains, we strove to identify potential individual- and environment-level determinants of host society acculturation. Next, we developed a context-driven multilevel public health research and intervention framework for the study of the relationship between host society acculturation and health practices and outcomes. The framework posits a number of associations to be evaluated by future multidisciplinary research nationally and internationally.

Brief Report: Recruitment and Retention of Minority Children for Autism Research

“…However, Latinos whose primary language was Spanish were less likely than English-speaking families to give blood compared to saliva. Although not specifically studied, participants who primarily speak Spanish are likely to have lower acculturation and education level than English-speaking participants (Andreeva and Unger 2014). Previous research has found that educational level and knowledge about biospecimens influence willingness to donate blood (McDonald et al 2012;Dash et al 2014).…”

Segmentation of Mexican-Heritage Immigrants: Acculturation Typology and Language Preference in Health Information Seeking

“…When aiming the immigrants as the target audience for a public health campaign, researchers need to take into consideration Mexican immigrant families’ transition to the United States and acculturation to the mainstream of American culture [3, 12]. During the process of acculturation, immigrants are highly likely to encounter a great deal of social, cultural, and institutional challenges and to face negative health consequences [2, 13, 14]. Effects of acculturation on health outcomes vary depending on numerous factors such as the country of origin, race/ethnicity, age, and gender [15–17].…”

Acculturation Theory as an Explanatory Theoretical Base for Tourism Induced Cultural Change

“…Tersine kültürleşme çalışmaları ise daha sınırlıdır. Kültürleşme çalışmaları içerisinde yer alan tersine kültürleşme (yerli halkın kültürel etkileşimden etkilenmesi) çalışmalarında, bu tür bir kültürleşmenin çok yönlü bir süreci kapsayabileceği ve (Andreeva ve Unger, 2015: 1420 ancak seyahat sırasında gerçekleşen etkileşim dolayısıyla destinasyonlardaki yerli halk için geçerli olacağı (Dominguez ve Maya-Jariego, 2008: 309-310) iddia edilmiştir. Zira, turistler için eğlenme alanı olarak görülen bir destinasyon, yerli halkın hayatını idame ettirdiği bölgedir.…”

“…Yerli halkın kültürleşme sürecinde ise kavramsal tartışmaların devam ettiği söylenebilir. Zira, yerli halkın kültürleşme sürecinin geçici kültürleşme (MacLahen vd., 2004) ve tersine kültürleşme (reverse acculturation) (Kim ve Park, 2009; Andreeva ve Unger, 2015) terimleri ile ifade edildiği görülmüştür. Literatürde tersine kültürleşme kavramının, çoğunluk grubun kültürleşmesi şeklinde açıklandığı (Riesz ve Walker, 1986: 46) tespit edilmiştir.…”