Global Contexts, Social Capital, and Acculturative Stress: Experiences of Indian Immigrant Men in New York City

Abstract

Immigrants depend on within-group social networks for social support during the acculturation process. Within-group social networks are linked to higher mutual concern and reciprocity, lower acculturative stress, and lower depression among immigrants Studies are limited, however, about immigrants' social support in the contexts of global connectedness and transnational connectivity. Grounded in social capital approach and immigrant health framework, this qualitative, community-based study examined the social networks of immigrant men from India to New York City. Drawing upon the participants' narratives, the author illustrates the ways that social capital influences social networking and acculturative stress in post-immigration sociocultural contexts along with its implications for community-based interventions.

Duration of US Residence Is Associated With Overweight Risk in Filipino Immigrants Living in New York Metro Area

“…Within an urban context such as NYC, neighborhood crime, unfamiliarity with the physical surroundings, acculturation and chronic stress, and lack of time may also discourage immigrants from maintaining an active lifestyle. 69–71 Future studies should examine these and the diet-related factors as potential mediators or moderators of the causal relationship between assimilation and obesity risk.…”

Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health

“…The cultural framework is used in relation to topics and outcomes such as acculturation (e.g., 31,76,132,145), mental health (e.g., 9, 33), chronic disease (11,38,122), health care access (e.g., 31), maternal and child health (26,104,145), substance use (132), physical activity and obesity (76), and social capital (3,15,14). Most outcomes within this framework are captured as individuallevel behaviors.…”

“…Thus, the studies in the cultural framework share many assumptions with the studies in the behavioral framework discussed above. Some studies within this framework acknowledge social factors such as social networks, ties, or social capital (e.g., 15,14) and the health effects of stress or allostatic load (e.g., 101). Within this framework, although the data imply political, economic, and historical realities related to race and ethnicity, the primary focus remains on how race and ethnicitythrough culture-affect individual health-related behaviors.…”

Exploring the Predicted Effect of Social Networking Site Use on Perceived Social Capital and Psychological Well-Being of Chinese International Students in Japan

“…Therefore, SNS use is likely to be associated with users' perceived social capital, which is based on social networks and representing the accumulation of interpersonal relationships, 14 as well as the expected resources from such relationships. [15][16][17] From their social ties, individuals may get not only actual benefits but also intangible ones, 18,19 such as mutual trust and emotional support. Identified by Putnam,20 social capital at the individual level can be categorized into two types: bonding social capital and bridging social capital.…”