Feel American, Watch American, Eat American? Remote Acculturation, TV, and Nutrition Among Adolescent–Mother Dyads in Jamaica

Abstract

Globalization prompts remote acculturation toward U.S. culture in Jamaica; this study used a bioecological systems approach to examine its proximal impact on nutrition through U.S. cable TV consumption, and maternal influences in the home. Overall, 330 randomly selected adolescent-mother dyads from schools in Kingston, Jamaica (M = 13.8 years, SD = 1.8) completed questionnaires reporting American identity and behavioral preferences, daily time spent watching U.S.-produced TV programs, and frequency of eating unhealthy foods. Actor-partner interdependence models revealed that girls' American identity/behavior directly predicted their unhealthy eating, whereas girls' mothers and boys' American identity/behavior indirectly predicted unhealthy eating as mediated by their U.S. TV hours. Additionally, mothers' American identity/behavior predicted daughters' unhealthy eating as mediated by mothers' U.S. TV hours. Remote acculturation theory may facilitate more targeted research and prevention/intervention.

Shifting Practices, Shifting Selves: Negotiations of Local and Global Cultures Among Adolescents in Northern Thailand

“…The practices examined in this study are both intertwined with adolescent identities and conceptions of self, and susceptible to change as a result of globalization (Ferguson et al., ; Jensen et al., ; Nguyen & Brown, ). Examining discourses surrounding dietary and linguistic practices has thus afforded a window into the nature of adolescent conceptions of self in relation to local and global cultures, and in relation to social others.…”

“…More recently, Ferguson et al. () found that Jamaican adolescents with stronger American identity and behavioral practices ate more unhealthy food.…”

“…One study reported that 62% of the world's overweight or obese population now resides in developing countries (Ng et al., ). The reasons for increasing obesity rates in the developing world include urbanization (Mendez & Popkin, ), rising incomes (Dinsa, Goryakin, Fumagalli, & Suhrcke, ), media (Ferguson et al., ; Prentice, ), time poverty (Kelly, ), American junk food (Norris, ), and processed food exports (Jacobs & Ritchel, )—all related to globalization.…”

“…Among urban Jamaican adolescents, Ferguson and Bornstein (2012) found that one-third were remotely acculturated, endorsing both American and Jamaican identities. More recently, Ferguson et al (2017) found that Jamaican adolescents with stronger American identity and behavioral practices ate more unhealthy food.…”

Consumer exposure to food and beverage advertising out of home: An exploratory case study in Jamaica

“…Our multiple‐method research study provides evidence that promotion in outdoor spaces (e.g., billboards, transit advertising) and in places where consumers are buying or procuring food (retail, restaurants) is a tool used by the food industry, especially among low‐nutrient foods and global brands, in the city of Kingston, Jamaica; for a summary, see Table . These findings relate to the evidence that globalization, Americanization in particular, is a recent factor fuelling unhealthy eating in developing countries (Ferguson, Muzaffar, Iturbide, Chu, & Meeks Gardner, ), including Jamaica (Francis et al, ). Food advertising is thought to be a factor contributing to those trends.…”