Semantic Differential as a Method for Studying Attitudes to the Native and Russian Languages in Context of Psychological Acculturation

The relevance of research on the factors of acculturation is constantly increasing in current globalizing and rapidly changing world. The proficiency the language of the host country is one of the most important preconditions for ones successful entry into a new culture, but until recently there were practically no studies on attitudes towards the language as a factor of the acculturation in the international students. The purposes of the pilot empirical study presented in the article were to identify and compare: (1) attitudes towards the native and Russian languages in the groups of Azerbaijani and Chinese university students, and (2) the correlations between attitudes towards the Russian language and the level of acculturation to Russia in these groups of the international students. The study involved 93 (58% - females) Chinese students and 62 (60% - females) Azerbaijani students studying in bachelors and masters degrees at various Russian universities. To diagnose attitudes towards the native and Russian languages, the author's version of the semantic differential (SD) of 10 bipolar scales was used. To measure the level of acculturation The Acculturation Scale to Russia by A. Ardila et al. was applied. The results of the research show that the similarity prevails in attitudes towards the native and Russian languages on most of the SD scales in both groups, (excluding differences in the assessing of the understandableness of the Russian language, and the popularity of the native language). In contrast, there are much more intercultural differences in the factor structures of the SD scales, especially when assessing the Russian language. In turn, assessments of the Russian language on most SD scales are positively associated with the level of acculturation in the international students, but these correlations are more pronounced in the group of Chinese students. The findings of the study can be used both by the Russian language teachers for international student, and by researchers of the acculturation process with the aim of further improving methods for diagnosing its factors and predictors.

Sources of Intergenerational Conflict in Chinese Immigrant Families in the United States

Studies of family relations have not kept pace with the acceleration of international migration. To address this gap, this study relied on a survey of 545 Chinese immigrants in Chicago who reported information of 869 older parents to examine the sources of intergenerational conflict in five domains: norms/values, relationship itself, money, health, and parenting. The results of logistic regression showed that maintaining one’s traditional culture, in the form of endorsing a sense of filial obligation, was a significant protective factor against all types of conflict. Immigrants with a higher level of acculturation were more likely to report conflict regarding norms/values and relationship itself, but not more so regarding practical issues such as health, money, and parenting. Helping parents with ADLs, not IADLs, was associated with more conflict regarding monetary and health issues. Immigrants’ greater sense of mastery was associated with a lower chance of reporting norm/value-related intergenerational conflict.

Level of Acculturation and Acculturative Stress Perceived by Asian Immigrant Women Married to South Korean Men

Introduction: Married immigrant women experience cultural conflicts due to different values, and customs. This study examined the factors associated with the acculturation and acculturative stress of Asian immigrant women in South Korea. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed. A total of 142 participants were recruited from Incheon Multicultural Centers in 2016 using a convenience sampling method. Acculturation and acculturative stress were measured by Suinn–Lew Self-Identity Acculturation Scale and Social Attitudinal Familial Environment. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. Results: Time since immigration was negatively associated with the level of acculturation, while alcohol consumption ( p < .050). Some demographic variables (age, religion, anxiety, and time since immigration) were associated with acculturative stress ( p < .050). Discussion: These findings can help health care providers to increase their awareness and be more sensitive when providing services to these women.

Unmet Information Needs Among Hispanic Women With Thyroid Cancer

Background: Despite thyroid cancer being the second most common cancer in Hispanic women, little is known about access to and utilization of medical information resources by Hispanic women with thyroid cancer. Methods: Hispanic women who had diagnoses of thyroid cancer reported to the Los Angeles Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry in 2014-2015, and who had previously completed our thyroid cancer survey in 2017-2018, were offered follow-up surveys in both English and Spanish (N=273; 80% response rate). Acculturation, which is the process by which individuals adopt the language, values, attitudes, and behaviors of a different culture, was assessed with the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (SASH). Health literacy was assessed with the validated single-item question of “How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?” with response categories based on a five-point Likert scale from “extremely” to “not at all”. Patients were also asked about their internet access, information resources used, and ability to access medical information about thyroid cancer in their preferred language. We generated descriptive statistics for all categorical variables and used Rao-Scott adjusted chi-square tests to test for a relationship between level of acculturation and the following variables: health literacy, internet access, information resources used, and ability to access information. Results: Participants’ median age at diagnosis was 47 years (range 20-79); 49% were low-acculturated, 25% had low health literacy, and 14% reported no internet access at home. Low-acculturated Hispanic women reported using information resources in both English and Spanish whereas high-acculturated women used resources in English only. Hispanic women were more likely to report the ability to access medical information about thyroid cancer all of the time if they preferred information in English compared to if they preferred it in Spanish (89% vs 37%, P&lt;0.001). Low-acculturated (vs high-acculturated) Hispanic women were more likely to have low health literacy (47% vs 5%, P&lt;0.001) and to report use of in-person support groups (42% vs 23%, P=0.006). Depending on their level of acculturation, Hispanic women accessed the internet differently (P&lt;0.001) such that low-acculturated women were more likely to use only a smartphone (34% vs 14%) or have no internet access (26% vs 1%), and less likely to use both a smartphone and home computer/tablet (28% vs 58%) or use only a home computer/tablet (10% vs 21%). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that low-acculturated Hispanic women with thyroid cancer have greater unmet information needs and access information differently compared to high-acculturated Hispanic women. This study emphasizes the importance of a patient-focused tailored approach to providing medical information to this understudied population.

Intragroup differences in COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among Black Americans

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Black Americans threatens to further magnify racial inequities in COVID-19 related health outcomes that emerged in the earliest stages of the pandemic. Here we shed new light on attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines by considering intragroup variation. Rather than analyzing Blacks as a homogenous group, we examine the relationship between COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and the extent to which participants are aligned with African American versus White culture (i.e., level of “acculturation”). In a sample of N=997 Black Americans, we find that stronger alignment with African American culture predicts substantially more negative attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination, above and beyond variation explained by age, gender, education, and socioeconomic status. This relationship was substantially attenuated when controlling for suspicion of the healthcare system, but not perceptions that healthcare system treats Blacks unfairly, science knowledge, or cognitive reflection. The intragroup differences among Blacks in COVID-19 vaccine perceptions uncovered here provide insights into designing interventions that provide health information that targets the relevant factors for vaccine hesitancy in differing subgroups.

Weight Stigmatization and Binge Eating in Asian Americans with Overweight and Obesity

Weight stigma and binge eating have been found to be associated in Western populations; however, this relationship is understudied among Asian Americans. The aims of the study were to (1) investigate the prevalence of binge eating and its relationship with experienced weight stigma in higher-weight Asian Americans, and (2) examine whether the level of acculturation moderates this relationship. Data were collected from a cross-sectional study with 166 higher-weight Asian American adults living in North Carolina, United States. Demographic data, the frequency of experiencing weight stigma, the severity of binge eating, the levels of acculturation, the perceived racism against Asians, and perceived stress were assessed via self-reported questionnaires. The results indicated that experienced weight stigma was a significant independent predictor over and above the effects of other stressors, such as racism and general stress. The level of acculturation did not influence the relationship between the experienced weight stigma and binge eating after adjusting for relevant covariates. Our findings contribute to the limited literature examining weight stigma and binge eating among Asian American populations, highlighting that higher levels of experienced weight stigma are associated with a greater degree of binge eating.

How Do Acculturation, Maternal Connectedness, and Mother-Daughter Sexual Communication Affect Asian American Daughters’ Sexual Initiation

Purpose: There was a growth of approximately ten million Asian American individuals in the United States between 2000 and 2015. Asian Americans have conservative values surrounding sexual health and sexual communication is a cultural taboo. Researchers have shown discrepancies on whether the level of acculturation influences Asian mother-daughter sexual communication. In other minority populations there is evidence that a connected mother–daughter relationship increases sexual communication and delays sexual initiation. The purpose of this study was to examine whether motherdaughter connectedness and level of acculturation predict sexual communication in turn affecting the age of female Asian emerging adult’s sexual initiation. Methods: This was a longitudinal, secondary analysis of AddHealth examining whether mother-daughter connectedness and level of acculturation predict sexual communication. There were 243 Asian American mother-daughter dyads in Wave I with linked data in Wave III who were included in the study. Acculturation, connectedness, and sexual communication were all measured using interval level data. Results: Connectedness did not significantly contribute to the relationship between any of the concepts. Although it was predicted that sexual communication would delay initiation, the opposite was found. Also, communication mediated the relationship between acculturation and initiation. Conclusions: Further studies are needed to explore how connectedness is defined by Asian American mother-daughter dyads. In addition, more detailed operational definitions of acculturation and communication are needed, specifically the timing of sexual communication.

Acculturation Scale to Russia (ASR) for International Students: Development and Psychometric Verification

The growing number of migrants makes it relevant to study the problem of acculturation to a new culture and to develop adequate methodological tools for assessing acculturation. Acculturation scales are a common tool for studying the adaptation of international citizens; in Russia, however, there is a shortage of them. The purpose of this study was to develop a short, easy to use, and not requiring translation into the mother tongue scale, aimed at determining the level of acculturation. When developing the methodology, we relied on the analysis of the available acculturation scales and on the recommendations proposed by van de Vijver et al. This study included the following stages: development of the initial version of the scale, testing and analysis of comprehensibility of the scale questions, psychometric analysis, repeated testing and psychometric verification, and finally, determining external validity. At the various stages, the study covered 445 international students (42% female) from 71 countries. For psychometric analysis, descriptive statistics methods, Cronbach α and MacDonald ω coefficients, bifactor analysis were used. To check the external validity, the method of expert evaluations (16 experts are teachers of the Russian language, basic disciplines, tutors on educational work) and correlation analyses were used. As a result, the proposed Acculturation Scale to Russia (ASR) has a high consistency (α = 0,89, ω = 0,91), three-factor structure (3 subscales were identified), and its satisfactory external validity. This scale can be used to assess the level of acculturation of international students in Russia.