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 Table of Contents  
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Year : 2014  |  Volume : 1  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 27-28

Scope of acculturation in globalization and remodeling of health and disease-related outcomes


Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Ammapettai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Date of Web Publication22-May-2014

Correspondence Address:
Saurabh R Shrivastava
3rd Floor, Department of Community Medicine, Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute, Ammapettai village, Thiruporur-Guduvancherry Main Road, Sembakkam Post, Kancheepuram - 603 108, Tamil Nadu
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/2148-7731.132968

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  Abstract 

The concept of acculturation is used to describe adjustment of a foreign-born immigrant to their new country of residence by means of the adoption of newer customs, rituals, norms, and behaviors. In today's world, amidst the globalization, various reasons, such as international trade and commerce, industrialization, propagation of religion, education opportunities, vocational openings, and conquest, have facilitated "culture contact". Acculturation tends to have an important influence on health by bringing about alterations in the levels of stress, access to the healthcare delivery system, and by remodeling the general attitude of people towards health. To conclude, acculturation has a significant impact on almost all determinants of the health and it is an important phenomenon in the process of globalization and development of society in the modern era.

Keywords: Acculturation, globalization, international travel, public health, sociology, World Health Organization


How to cite this article:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS, Ramasamy J. Scope of acculturation in globalization and remodeling of health and disease-related outcomes. Sifa Med J 2014;1:27-8

How to cite this URL:
Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava PS, Ramasamy J. Scope of acculturation in globalization and remodeling of health and disease-related outcomes. Sifa Med J [serial online] 2014 [cited 2024 Mar 29];1:27-8. Available from: https://www.imjsu.org/text.asp?2014/1/2/27/132968


  Introduction Top


The concept of acculturation is used to describe adjustment of a foreign-born immigrants to their new country of residence by means of the adoption of newer customs, rituals, norms, and behaviors. [1] In other words, acculturation deals with the process of cultural and social reorganization that usually occur following the exposure of an individual/family/community to a secondary culture other than their primary culture. [2] In contrast to the task of socialization, acculturation relates with gaining an insight about an alternative culture. [3] Acculturation tends to cast an impact on different levels in the migrant community such as individual (viz. alterations in the day to day behavior) and group level (viz. transformations in the culture, customs, food intake and dietary pattern, language, etc.). [2],[4],[5]

Determinants of acculturation

In today's world, amidst the process of impending globalization, various reasons, such as international trade and commerce, industrialization, propagation of religion, education opportunities, vocational openings, and conquest, have facilitated "culture contact". [6] In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that more than 900 million people avail the services of international travel every year. [7]

Strategies for acculturation

Overall, four different strategies have been proposed for acculturation, namely assimilation (viz. when immigrants embrace the cultural patterns of the host culture, over their indigenous culture); separation (viz. when immigrants continue to safeguard/perpetuate their cultural habits and refuse to accept that of the subsequent nation); integration (viz. when the migrated people maintain a balance and practice the cultural habits of the adopted as well as the aboriginal country); and marginalization (viz. when people refuse to acquire the cultural traditions of both the native and the adopted country). [8] However, the impact of acculturation on the immigrants differ significantly between the first and the subsequent generations of the individuals, owing to the variable extent of the influence of parents from different generations. [9]

Scope of acculturation in remodeling health - and disease-associated outcomes

Acculturation tends to have an important influence on health by bringing about alterations in the levels of stress, access to the healthcare delivery system, and by remodeling the general attitude of people towards health. [10],[11] In addition, secondary to the continuous contact between people from different countries, a significant extent, of remodeling has been observed in the food practices, preferences for music/dance/clothing, and technologies. [12] Studies have been performed to assess the impact of acculturation on individual identities of college students, regarding adoption of high risk behaviors of college students, to study the incidence of intimate partner violence or homicide among immigrants from a patriarchal type of family, and to understand and give probable explanation for the observed variation in substance-related outcomes of different sections of the community. [13],[14],[15],[16] In fact, significant association was observed between the role of acculturation in influencing the health attitudes and behaviors of women to utilize screening services for cancer, in promoting life satisfaction, and in modifying the onset of lifestyle disorders. [17],[18],[19]


  Conclusion Top


To conclude, acculturation has a significant impact on almost all determinants of the health and it is an important phenomenon in the process of globalization and development of society in the modern era.

 
  References Top

1.Choi S, Rankin S, Stewart A, Oka R. Effects of acculturation on smoking behavior in Asian Americans: A meta-analysis. J Cardiovasc Nurs 2008;23:67-73.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.Sam DL, Berry DL, John W. Acculturation when individuals and groups of different cultural backgrounds meet. Pers Psychol Sci 2010;5:472-81.   Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.Schwartz SJ, Unger JB, Zamboanga BL, Szapocznik J. Rethinking the concept of acculturation: Implications for theory and research. Am Psychol 2010;65:239.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.Vaeth PA, Caetano R, Rodriguez LA. The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): The association between acculturation, birthplace and alcohol consumption across Hispanic national groups. Addict Behav 2012;37:1029-37.   Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.Dela Cruz FA, Lao BT, Heinlein C. Level of acculturation, food intake, dietary changes, and health status of first-generation Filipino Americans in Southern California. J Am Assoc Nurse Pract 2013;25:619-30.   Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.Park K. Medicine and social sciences. In: Park K, editor. Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine. 20 th ed. Jabalpur: Banarsidas Bhanot; 2009. p. 585.   Back to cited text no. 6
    
7.World Health Organization. International travel and health; 2012. Available from: http://www.who.int/ith/en/ [Last accessed on 2014 Jan 22].  Back to cited text no. 7
    
8.Berry JW. Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review 1997;46:5-34.  Back to cited text no. 8
    
9.Tingvold L, Middelthon AL, Allen J, Hauff E. Parents and children only? Acculturation and the influence of extended family members among Vietnamese refugees. Int J Intercult Relat 2012;36:260-70.  Back to cited text no. 9
    
10.Lara M, Gamboa C, Kahramanian MI, Morales LS, Bautista DE. Acculturation and Latino health in the United States: A review of the literature and its sociopolitical context. Annu Rev Public Health 2005;26:367-97.  Back to cited text no. 10
    
11.Berry JW. Stress perspectives on acculturation. In: Sam DL, editor. The Cambridge Handbook of Acculturation Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2006. p. 43-57.  Back to cited text no. 11
    
12.Schneider A. On 'appropriation': A critical reappraisal of the concept and its application in global art practices. Soc Anthropol 2003;11:215-29.  Back to cited text no. 12
    
13.Schwartz SJ, Kim SY, Whitbourne SK, Zamboanga BL, Weisskirch RS, Forthun LF, et al. Converging identities: Dimensions of acculturation and personal identity status among immigrant college students. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol 2013;19:155-65.  Back to cited text no. 13
    
14.Schwartz SJ, Weisskirch RS, Zamboanga BL, Castillo LG, Ham LS, Huynh QL, et al. Dimensions of acculturation: Associations with health risk behaviors among college students from immigrant families. J Couns Psychol 2011;58:27-41.  Back to cited text no. 14
    
15.Edelstein A. Culture transition, acculturation and intimate partner homicide. Springerplus 2013;2:338.   Back to cited text no. 15
[PUBMED]    
16.Rote SM, Brown RL. Gender differences in alcohol and drug use among Hispanic adults: The influence of family processes and acculturation. J Addict Dis 2013;32:354-64.  Back to cited text no. 16
    
17.Nguyen AB, Clark TT, Belgrave FZ. Gender roles and acculturation: Relationships with cancer screening among Vietnamese American women. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol 2014;20:87-97.  Back to cited text no. 17
    
18.Marsiglia FF, Booth JM, Baldwin A, Ayers S. Acculturation and life satisfaction among immigrant Mexican adults. Adv Soc Work 2013;14:49-64.  Back to cited text no. 18
[PUBMED]    
19.Levine DA, Morgenstern LB, Langa KM, Skolarus LE, Smith MA, Lisabeth LD. Does socioeconomic status or acculturation modify the association between ethnicity and hypertension treatment before stroke? Stroke 2013;44:3243-5.  Back to cited text no. 19
    




 

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