Cultural differences in social support seeking: The mediating role of empathic concern

Prior research has found that East Asians are less willing than Westerners to seek social support in times of need. What factors account for this cultural difference? Whereas previous research has examined the mediating effect of relational concern, we predicted that empathic concern, which refers to feeling sympathy and concern for people in need and varies by individuals from different cultures, would promote support seeking. We tested the prediction in two studies. In Study 1, European Canadians reported higher empathic concern and a higher frequency of support seeking, compared to the Japanese participants. As predicted, cultural differences in social support seeking were influenced by empathic concern. In Study 2, both empathic concern and relational concern mediated cultural differences in support seeking. Japanese with lower empathic concern but higher relational concern were more reluctant than European Americans to seek social support during stressful times. Finally, loneliness, which was more prevalent among the Japanese than among the European Americans, was partially explained by social support seeking.

Population-specific diversity of the immunoglobulin constant heavy G chain (IGHG) genes

Human immunoglobulin G (IgG) molecules, IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3, exhibit substantial inter-individual variation in their constant heavy chain regions, as discovered by serological methods. This polymorphism is encoded by the IGHG1, IGHG2, and IGHG3 genes and may influence antibody function. We sequenced the coding fragments of these genes in 95 European Americans, 94 African Americans, and 94 Black South Africans. Striking differences were observed between the population groups, including extremely low amino acid sequence variation in IGHG1 among South Africans, and higher IGHG2 and IGHG3 diversity in individuals of African descent compared to individuals of European descent. Molecular definition of the loci illustrates a greater level of allelic polymorphism than previously described, including the presence of common IGHG2 and IGHG3 variants that were indistinguishable serologically. Comparison of our data with the 1000 Genome Project sequences indicates overall agreement between the datasets, although some inaccuracies in the 1000 Genomes Project are likely. These data represent the most comprehensive analysis of IGHG polymorphisms across major populations, which can now be applied to deciphering their functional impact.

Racial Differences in Functional and Sleep Outcomes with Positive Airway Pressure Treatment

It is unclear if the response to positive airway pressure (PAP) treatment is different between African American (AA) and European Americans (EA). We examined whether race modifies the effects of PAP on sleep and daytime function. We assessed Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire, Psychomotor Vigilance Task and actigraphy in 185 participants with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea before and 3–4 months after PAP treatment. The participants were middle-aged (mean, 55.1 years), 83.8% men and 60.5% AA. Linear regression models were used to examine the effect of race on outcomes. The AA had smaller reductions in ESS (mean change (95% confidence interval, CI) AA, −2.30 [−3.35, −1.25] vs. EA, −4.16 [−5.48, −2.84] and frequency of awakenings (AA, −0.73 [−4.92, 3.47] vs. EA, −9.35 [−15.20, −3.51]). A race × PAP usage interaction term was added to the model to examine if the change in outcomes per 1 h increase in PAP usage differed by race. AA exhibited greater improvement in wake after sleep onset (β (95% CI) AA, −8.89[−16.40, −1.37] vs. EA, 2.49 [−4.15, 9.12]) and frequency of awakening (β (95% CI) AA, −2.59 [−4.44, −0.75] vs. EA, 1.71 [−1.08, 4.50]). The results indicate the importance of race in evaluating outcomes following PAP treatment.

Diurnal Cortisol Slope and Nighttime Blood Pressure: A Study in European Americans and African Americans

Objectives: African Americans (AAs) have higher nighttime blood pressure (BP) than European Americans (EAs). Stress has been suggested to play a role in this difference, but the mechanism is not well-understood. Flatter diurnal cortisol slope (DCS) is a well-known biological marker of stress. The objectives of this study were to: 1) examine ethnic differences in DCS; 2) evaluate the association between DCS and nighttime BP; and 3) determine the extent to which ethnic differences in nighttime BP can be explained by ethnic differences in DCS.Methods: A total of 510 participants (age range: 14-35 years; 49.6% AAs, 54.5% females) provided four salivary cortisol samples at bedtime, wakeup, 30-minutes post-wakeup, and 60-minutes post-wakeup. Additionally, participants wore an ambula­tory BP monitor for 24 hours. DCS was cal­culated as the average of the three morning samples minus the bedtime measurement.Results: After adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and smoking, AAs had blunted DCS (P=.018) and higher nighttime systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) (Ps<.001) compared with EAs. The DCS was inversely related to nighttime SBP and this relation­ship did not depend on ethnicity. The ethnic difference of nighttime SBP was significantly attenuated upon addition of DCS to the model. Mediation test showed that 9.5% of ethnic difference in nighttime SBP could be explained by DCS (P=.039).Conclusion: This study confirms ethnic differences in DCS and nighttime BP and further demonstrates that the ethnic differ­ences in DCS can, at least partially, explain the ethnic differences found in night­time BP. Ethn Dis. 2021;31(4):481-488; doi:10.18865/ed.31.4.481

Making Diversity Work for Everybody? The Double-Edged Sword of All-Inclusive Diversity

Three experiments investigated how framing diversity as all-inclusive affects recognition of racial injustice. Among Whites, viewing a company mission statement that specifically included Whites/European Americans when defining diversity or made no mention of diversity led to increased recognition of unfair treatment of racial minorities relative to viewing a standard multicultural diversity statement (Experiment 1). Decreased concern about losing out on resources to racial minorities mediated these effects. Among racial minorities, viewing a company statement that included Whites/European Americans or made no mention of diversity similarly increased recognition of unfair treatment of racial minorities, an effect mediated by minorities’ reduced feelings of inclusion (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 replicated these effects using a more subtle manipulation of the all-inclusive diversity statement. These studies suggest defining diversity as inclusive of Whites/European Americans increases Whites’ sensitivity to racial injustice against minorities but simultaneously increases racial minority Americans’ concerns about exclusion and unfair treatment.

Differential Expression of Non-Coding RNA Signatures in Thyroid Cancer between Two Ethnic Groups

Filipino Americans show higher thyroid cancer recurrence rates compared to European Americans. Although they are likely to die of this malignancy, the molecular mechanism has not yet been determined. Recent studies demonstrated that small non-coding RNAs could be utilized to assess thyroid cancer prognosis in tumor models. The goal of this study is to determine whether microRNA (miRNA) signatures are differentially expressed in thyroid cancer in two different ethnic groups. We also determined whether these miRNA signatures are related to cancer staging. This is a retrospective study of archival samples from patients with thyroid cancer (both sexes) in the pathology division from the last ten years at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, California. Deidentified patient demographics were extracted from the patient chart. Discarded formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues were collected post-surgeries. We determined the differential expressions of microRNA in archival samples from Filipino Americans compared to European Americans using the state-of-the-art technique, HiSeq4000. By ingenuity pathway analysis, we determined miRNA targets and the pathways that those targets are involved in. We validated their expressions by real-time quantitative PCR and correlated them with the clinicopathological status in a larger cohort of miRNA samples from both ethnicities. We identified the differentially upregulated/downregulated miRNA clusters in Filipino Americans compared to European Americans. Some of these miRNA clusters are known to target genes that are linked to cancer invasion and metastasis. In univariate analysis, ethnicity and tumor staging were significant factors predicting miR-4633-5p upregulation. When including these factors in a multivariate logistic regression model, ethnicity and tumor staging remained significant independent predictors of miRNA upregulation, whereas the interaction of ethnicity and tumor staging was not significant. In contrast, ethnicity remained an independent predictor of significantly downregulated miR-491-5p and let-7 family. We provide evidence that Filipino Americans showed differentially expressed tumor-tissue-derived microRNA clusters. The functional implications of these miRNAs are under investigation.

Boundaries of American Identity: Relations between Ethnic Group Prototypicality and Policy Attitudes

We sought to document that the extent to which different ethnic groups are perceived as embodying the American identity is more strongly linked to anti-minority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies among majority group members (European Americans) than among minority group members (Asian Americans or Latino/as). Participants rated 13 attributes of the American identity as they pertain to different ethnic groups, and reported their endorsement of policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. We found a relative consensus across ethnic groups regarding defining components of the American identity. However, European Americans were perceived as more prototypical of this American identity than ethnic minorities, especially by European American raters. Moreover, for European Americans but not for ethnic minorities, relative ingroup prototypicality was related to anti-minority policy attitudes and acculturation ideologies. These findings suggest that for European Americans, perceptions of ethnic group prototypicality fulfill an instrumental function linked to preserving their group interests and limiting the rights afforded to ethnic minorities.