The Specificity Principle in Acculturation Science

Values and National Identification in Minority and Majority Youth: Longitudinal Multi-Study Findings

Collective identification is vital for adolescents, fostering well-being and connection, but scant attention has been given to drivers of national identification and their contextual variations in youth. To address this, two longitudinal studies examined how values, as guiding goals defining what individuals consider important in their lives, relate to the trajectory of national identification in majority and minority youth. Study 1 (N = 568; Mage = 16.24, SD = 0.71) and Study 2 (N = 678; Mage = 13.78, SD = 0.73) focused on majority youth (Jewish-Israelis), while Study 2 also included minority (Arab citizens of Israel). The findings highlight values as important motivators of national identification over time. Conservation values, emphasizing the preservation of the status quo and a preference for stability, were prominent motivators for the majority of adolescents. In contrast, power values, which center around climbing the social ladder and accumulating wealth, held greater significance among their minority counterparts; however, both sets of values correlated with increased national identification. The discussion touches on motivations underlying national identification, their contextual diversity, and implications for future studies.

"It's all about cultural understanding": A reflexive thematic analysis of women's experiences at a dedicated refugee midwifery group practice service

BACKGROUND

Inequitable maternity care provision in high-income countries contributes to ongoing poor outcomes for women of refugee backgrounds. To address barriers to quality maternity care and improve health equity, a co-designed maternity service incorporating community-based group antenatal care, onsite social worker and interpreters, continuity of midwifery carer through a caseload design with 24/7 phone access was implemented for women of refugee background.

OBJECTIVE

To explore and describe women's experiences and perceptions of care from a dedicated Refugee Midwifery Group Practice service.

DESIGN

Qualitative exploratory descriptive study using focus group discussions and interpreters.

SETTING

The study was conducted at a community-based Refugee Midwifery Group Practice service in a tertiary maternity hospital in Brisbane, Australia.

METHODS

We conducted three focus group discussions (June - December 2020) with 16 women, born in six different countries, in three language groups: Sudanese Arabic, Somali, and English. We used reflexive thematic analysis to interpret women's perspectives and generate informed meanings of experiences of care.

RESULTS

We generated four themes 1) accessibility of care, 2) women feeling accepted, 3) value of relationality, and 4), service expansion and promotion. Results demonstrate positive experiences and acceptability due to easy access, strong woman-midwife relationships, and culturally safe care.

CONCLUSION

The service addressed concerns raised in an early evaluation and provides evidence that redesigning maternity services to meet the needs of women with a refugee background speaking multiple languages from many countries is possible and promotes access, use, and satisfaction with care, contributing to improved health equity and perinatal outcomes.

Cross-Cultural Contact and Norwegian Language Skills Among Ethnic Minority Women in Norway, and Relationship with Physical Activity in Pregnancy and Postpartum: The STORK-Groruddalen Cohort Study

There are few studies of the migration context factors and physical activity (PA) level among minority ethnic women in Europe. We investigated the association between migration context factors and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among minority ethnic women. Objectively recorded MVPA were obtained from 487 minority ethnic women included in the STORK-Groruddalen Cohort Study at three time points in pregnancy/postpartum. We investigated the associations between (a) contact with ethnic Norwegians and (b) Norwegian language skills and. No associations were observed in pregnancy. Postpartum, women who reported contact with ethnic Norwegians accumulated 17 MVPA min/day (95% CI: -.60, 34.54) more than women with no contact. In complete case analyses, this difference was significant (27 MVPA min/day (95% CI: 8.60, 44.54)). In early postpartum women with contact with ethnic Norwegians seems to be more physically active than women without contact. No associations were observed in pregnancy.

Risk and protective processes in the link between racial discrimination and Chinese American mothers' psychologically controlling parenting

OBJECTIVES

Racial-ethnic minority parents' experiences with racial discrimination may function as a contextual stressor that negatively impacts psychological functioning to shape less effective parenting practices, including the use of more psychological control. Moreover, various factors can enhance or diminish psychological functioning in the face of racial discrimination. Accordingly, we examined the associations between Chinese American mothers' experiences of racial discrimination and three subdimensions of psychologically controlling parenting by considering the mediating roles of negative (depressive symptoms) and positive (psychological well-being) psychological functioning and the moderating role of maternal acculturation toward the mainstream culture (AMC) as a protective factor.

METHOD

Participants comprised 226 Chinese American mothers of preschoolers (Mage = 37.65; SDage = 4.39). Two separate moderated-mediation models with depressive symptoms or psychological well-being as mediators were tested using maximum-likelihood estimation.

RESULTS

Findings revealed significant direct positive associations between racial discrimination and all three subdimensions of psychological control (love withdrawal, guilt induction, and shaming practices), as well as indirect associations through depressive symptoms but not psychological well-being. Importantly, the indirect associations were further moderated by maternal AMC.

CONCLUSIONS

Results illustrate the importance of incorporating the contextual stressor of perceived racial discrimination in parenting determinant models and examining specific and nuanced processes in understanding the role of psychological adjustment. Support for Chinese American mothers' engagement in and access to various resources in the mainstream cultural context may help alleviate the adverse impact of racial discrimination on mothers' psychological health and ultimately on their negative parenting behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Mechanistic or Relational Worldview for Talent Identification Research in Sport Science? Both-But With a Preference!

This paper situates talent identification research in sport science within the broader context of developmental science, offering a conceptual framework informed by two (meta-)theoretical worldviews: the Cartesian-split-mechanistic and processual-relational worldviews. Although these worldviews are not explicitly named in the field of talent identification research, we demonstrate their implicit adoption through theoretical and methodological discourse. After comparing applications, benefits, and limitations of each worldview, we briefly discuss whether their bodies of knowledge are incompatible, competitive, or complementary. We suggest each worldview provides complementary insights with a penchant for generating nomothetic and group-specific and type-specific and idiographic knowledge, respectively.

Cultural immersion, acculturation strategies, and depressive symptoms among first-generation Vietnamese migrants in Germany

BACKGROUND

Worldwide migration represents a major challenge of the 21st century. Despite the strong association between acculturation and mental health, research findings on underlining mechanisms remain inconsistent. Prior research urges to investigate sample characteristics in a more structured manner.

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to systematically investigate factors impacting acculturation and depressive symptoms in a large, not exclusively clinical, sample of Vietnamese migrants in Germany.

METHOD

This study investigated, with multiple regressions, factors (age at arrival, gender, education, religiousness, language skills, residence status, economic status, occupational status, migration motivation, duration of stay, and depressive symptoms) impacting the two dimensions of acculturation, dominant society immersion (DSI) and ethnic society immersion (ESI), in a not exclusively clinical sample (n = 582) of first-generation Vietnamese migrants in Germany. Further, this study examined the relationship between depressive symptoms, DSI and ESI with correlations and acculturation strategies with an ANOVA.

RESULTS

Integration (72.5%) was the most common acculturation strategy, followed by separation (26.8%). In contrast, assimilation (0.5%) and marginalization (0.2%) were very rare acculturation strategies. As predictive factors for DSI lower depressive symptoms scores, male gender, higher education, and better German language skills were found significant. For ESI, less German language skills and older age at arrival were found to be significant. Higher ESI and DSI were correlated to lower depressive symptom scores. Compared to the three other acculturation strategies, integration was linked to the lowest depressive symptoms scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study identified crucial factors in the acculturation process, such as depressive symptoms, language skills, education, gender, and age at arrival. Our findings emphasize that immersion into both the dominant and the ethnic culture plays an essential supportive role in the mental health of migrants.

Mere religiosity is not enough! Spirituality strengthens the relations between religiosity and positive youth development

Although prior research shows that either religiosity or spirituality facilitates well-being, the interaction of both constructs in predicting positive youth development (PYD) in collectivistic contexts remains unknown. This study examined the moderating role of spirituality on the link between religiosity and PYD, including each of its Cs (i.e., competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring) among 1116 Filipino adolescents. Results demonstrate that both religiosity and spirituality are positively correlated with PYD and its dimensions. Furthermore, there is a significant interaction between religiosity and spirituality for the overall PYD construct and the socio-emotional Cs (i.e., connection, character, and caring). This study highlights the importance of young people's sense of connection with something beyond than themselves (i.e., spirituality) in promoting adolescent thriving.

How acculturation contributes to a rise of diabetes in Hmong Americans

ABSTRACT

This article explores the reasons for the high prevalence of diabetes among Hmong Americans, who are at greater risk for diabetes compared with non-Hispanic White patients and have a higher prevalence of diabetes than other Asian Americans and other races. Knowledge of this issue may allow medical practitioners to identify, screen, and treat Hmong Americans more frequently and at earlier ages. Although better integration of healthcare services, access, and education are needed, earlier screening may help start the diabetes education process sooner; reduce hospital, ED, and office visits; reduce costs; and prevent end-organ damage.

Research hotspots and frontiers of ethnic cultural identity--based on analysis of "web of science" database

Cultural identity is of great significance to the formation of group consensus and the establishment of cultural self-confidence. In order to understand the history, current situation and trend, and provide theoretical support for future research, this paper makes a quantitative analysis of knowledge map including annual publication volume, trend, distribution of authors and institutions, co-occurrence, clustering and timeline of keywords as well as emergent keywords on the literature concerning ethnic cultural identity published in "Web of Science" database for a period from 2012 to 2022, with CiteSpace software as a tool. The results show an overall upward trend with diversified ethnic and regional characteristics; major institutions including universities of the U.S., the U.K., Australia, China and other countries and regions engage in their research from different disciplines such as psychology, sociology, ethnology and education; the researchers have not formed a core group of authors despite their accumulating number; research hotspots are indicated by keywords such as national identity, identity, ethnic identity and attitude; specifically, keyword clusters fall into three categories: emotional perception, multicultural identity process and ethnic cultural adaptability; researchers probe into various issues at different stages with direct relation to international situations and regional cultures. This study has positive implications for understanding and mastering the current research hotspots and development trends of ethnic cultural identity in the world.

Acculturation Timing among Newcomer and more Experienced Immigrant Youth: The Role of Language Use in Ethnic Friendship Homophily

The usage of the new language is a crucial aspect in immigrant youth adaptation. However, despite substantial inter- and intraindividual variability and dynamic changes, language usage has been studied primarily with a focus on static interindividual differences. This study utilized a recently introduced Temporal Model of Acculturative Change to test associations between language acquisition and friendship homophily. More specifically, three concepts were tested: pace (individual rate of change), relative timing (the deviation from peers with similar length of residence), and transition timing (preparedness for the relocation). Data comprised a three-wave-longitudinal sample of 820 ethnic German adolescents from Eastern European States who immigrated to Germany (Mage = 16.1, 57% girls). Results revealed, particularly among recent immigrant adolescents, that transition timing predicted earlier relative acculturation timing in language usage and that early relative timing in language usage predicted levels and change rates in friendship homophily (over and above acculturation pace and the actual level of language usage). Findings highlight the need to better understand the dynamics in acculturation processes of immigrant youth.

Acculturation and daily cigarette use among Mexican-origin youth: The moderating role of executive functions

INTRODUCTION

Acculturation and enculturation have been conceptualized, respectively, as risk and protective factors for cigarette use. Although acculturation/enculturation orientations are often studied as stable characteristics, they represent a dynamic process influenced by individuals' social environments and can fluctuate across time. Therefore, investigating how youth actively navigate their acculturation and enculturation beliefs and behaviors on a day-to-day basis can advance scientific understanding of factors related to cigarette use. Executive functions, including inhibitory control, shifting, and working memory, are robust predictors of smoking (e.g., cigarette use). However, we know little about the protective role of executive functions on the daily level associations between acculturation/enculturation and cigarette use among Mexican-origin youth.

OBJECTIVES

In a low-income Mexican-origin youth sample (M = 16.94, SD = 1.01; 52 % female), this study examined within-person associations between daily acculturation/enculturation and daily cigarette use and the moderating role of individual-level executive functions.

METHOD

We captured the daily fluctuations of acculturation/enculturation and smoking by utilizing data from a 4-day daily diary. The study assessed inhibitory control, shifting, and working memory using behavioral paradigms.

RESULTS

A multilevel logistic moderation model revealed statistically significant interactions between acculturation (but not enculturation) and all executive function skills predicting cigarette use. Higher daily acculturation levels were related to greater odds of daily cigarette use only for youth with lower levels of executive function skills.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that interventions aimed at improving executive functions may protect Mexican-origin youth from the possible adverse effect of acculturation on cigarette use.

Predictors of problematic adult alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use: A longitudinal study of two samples

This study examined whether a key set of adolescent and early adulthood risk factors predicts problematic alcohol, cannabis, and other substance use in established adulthood. Two independent samples from the Child Development Project (CDP; n = 585; 48% girls; 81% White, 17% Black, 2% other race/ethnicity) and Fast Track (FT; n = 463; 45% girls; 52% White, 43% Black, 5% other race/ethnicity) were recruited in childhood and followed through age 34 (CDP) or 32 (FT). Predictors of substance use were assessed in adolescence based on adolescent and parent reports and in early adulthood based on adult self-reports. Adults reported their own problematic substance use in established adulthood. In both samples, more risk factors from adolescence and early adulthood predicted problematic alcohol use in established adulthood (compared to problematic cannabis use and other substance use). Externalizing behaviors and prior substance use in early adulthood were consistent predictors of problematic alcohol and cannabis misuse in established adulthood across samples; other predictors were specific to the sample and type of substance misuse. Prevention efforts might benefit from tailoring to address risk factors for specific substances, but prioritizing prevention of externalizing behaviors holds promise for preventing both alcohol and cannabis misuse in established adulthood.

Parental Stress and Chinese American Preschoolers' Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Parenting

Family contexts, such as parental stress and parenting practices, play critical roles in preschoolers' adjustment. However, these processes have been understudied in Chinese American families. The present study examined the associations between Chinese American mothers' experiences of two types of stress (i.e., general/contextual stress and parenting stress) and their preschoolers' socio-emotional and behavioral adjustment problems; in addition, the mediating roles of maternal psychologically controlling parenting and maternal warmth in these associations were assessed. Participants included 207 first-generation Chinese American mothers (Mage = 37.78 years, SDage = 4.36) and their 3- to 6-year-old children (Mage = 4.50 years, SDage = 0.90; 52% boys). Mothers reported on their levels of stress, psychologically controlling parenting, and warmth practices; teachers reported on child adjustment in the school setting. The results revealed that higher levels of general/contextual stress and parenting stress were each uniquely associated with more maternal psychologically controlling parenting practices, which in turn was associated with fewer socio-emotional and behavioral adjustment problems in children. Our findings can inform parenting intervention programs designed to improve Chinese American preschoolers' adjustment.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Maladaptive Parenting and its Impact on Child Mental Health: Examining Cross-Cultural Mediating Pathways and Moderating Protective Factors

Using a sample of 1338 families from 12 cultural groups in 9 nations, we examined whether retrospectively remembered Generation 1 (G1) parent rejecting behaviors were passed to Generation 2 (G2 parents), whether such intergenerational transmission led to higher Generation 3 (G3 child) externalizing and internalizing behavior at age 13, and whether such intergenerational transmission could be interrupted by parent participation in parenting programs or family income increases of > 5%. Utilizing structural equation modeling, we found that the intergenerational transmission of parent rejection that is linked with higher child externalizing and internalizing problems occurs across cultural contexts. However, the magnitude of transmission is greater in cultures with higher normative levels of parent rejection. Parenting program participation broke this intergenerational cycle in fathers from cultures high in normative parent rejection. Income increases appear to break this intergenerational cycle in mothers from most cultures, regardless of normative levels of parent rejection. These results tentatively suggest that bolstering protective factors such as parenting program participation, income supplementation, and (in cultures high in normative parent rejection) legislative changes and other population-wide positive parenting information campaigns aimed at changing cultural parenting norms may be effective in breaking intergenerational cycles of maladaptive parenting and improving child mental health across multiple generations.

Acculturation and Psychopathology

Acculturation and psychopathology are linked in integrated, interactional, intersectional, and dynamic ways that span different types of intercultural contact, levels of analysis, timescales, and contexts. A developmental psychopathology approach can be useful to explain why, how, and what about psychological acculturation results in later adaptation or maladaptation for acculturating youth and adults. This review applies a conceptual model of acculturation and developmental psychopathology to a widely used framework of acculturation variables producing an Integrated Process Framework of Acculturation Variables (IP-FAV). This new comprehensive framework depicts major predisposing acculturation conditions (why) as well as acculturation orientations and processes (how) that result in adaptation and maladaptation across the life span (what). The IP-FAV is unique in that it integrates both proximal and remote acculturation variables and explicates key acculturation processes to inform research, practice, and policy.

Responsiveness in mother-infant social interactions among immigrant and nonmigrant families: Japanese, South Korean, South American, and European American

A culture learning perspective motivated the present study of the acculturation of responsiveness in mother-infant interactions. Several conceptual and analytic features of responsiveness in mother-infant social interactions were examined: Temporal contingency, mean differences in responsiveness among and within dyads, attunement of mother and infant responsiveness withing dyads, and the influence of acculturation on individual responsiveness. Methodologically, acculturation was assessed at group and individual levels in immigrant Japanese, South Korean, and South American dyads in comparison with nonmigrant dyads in their respective cultures of origin (Japan, South Korea, and South America) and their single common culture of destination (United States). In total, 408 mothers and their 5½-month-old infants were observed in the naturalistic setting of the home, and observations were coded for mothers' speech to infant, social play, and encouraging her infant to look at her, and infants' looking at mother and nondistress vocalizations. Odds ratios were then generated for mother and infant responsiveness in four types of social interactions: Mother speaks to infant and infant looks at mother (Mother Speak/Infant Attend), mother plays with infant and infant looks at mother (Mother Play/Infant Attend), mother plays with infant and infant vocalizes (Mother Play/Infant Vocalize), and mother encourages infant to look at her and infant vocalizes (Mother Encourage/Infant Vocalize). Five key findings emerged. Specifically, mother and infant responsiveness in Mother Speak/Infant Attend interactions were temporally contingent in all cultures. Mean differences in responsiveness among cultures emerged, and within dyads infants were more responsive than their mothers in Mother Speak/Infant Attend interactions. Mother and infant responsiveness in Mother Speak/Infant Attend interactions were attuned in all cultures. Responsiveness in Mother Play/Infant Vocalize interactions showed acculturation effects at the individual level. Implications of these findings for understanding the development of responsiveness in social interactions and acculturation in immigrant families are discussed.

Parenting measurement, normativeness, and associations with child outcomes: Comparing evidence from four non-Western cultures

This study compared parenting across four non-Western cultures to test cross-cultural commonality and specificity principles in three aspects: measurement properties, parenting normativeness, and their associations with child outcomes. Both mothers and fathers (N = 1509 dyads) with preschool-aged children (M = 5.00 years; 48% girls) from urban areas of four countries (Malaysia, N = 372; China, N = 441; Turkey, N = 402; and Japan, N = 294) reported on four parenting constructs (authoritative, authoritarian, group harmony socialization, and intrusive control) and their sub-dimensions using modified culturally relevant measures. Teachers reported on children's internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors. The commonality principle was supported by two sets of findings: (1) full measurement invariance was established for most parenting constructs and sub-dimensions, except that intrusive control only reached partial scalar invariance, and (2) no variations were found in associations between parenting and any child outcomes across cultures or parent gender at the construct level for all four parenting constructs and at the sub-dimensional level for authoritarian and intrusive control sub-dimensions. The specificity principle was supported by the other two sets of findings: (1) cross-cultural differences in parenting normativeness did not follow the pattern of economic development but yielded culture-specific patterns, and (2) at the sub-dimensional level, the authoritative parenting and group harmony socialization sub-dimensions were differently associated with child outcomes across cultures and/or parent gender. The findings suggested that examining specific dimensions rather than broad parenting constructs is necessary to reflect cultural specificities and nuances. Our study provided a culturally-invariant instrument and a three-step guide for future parenting research to examine cross-cultural commonalities/specificities. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This is the first study to use an instrument with measurement invariance across multiple non-Western cultures to examine the commonality and specificity principles in parenting. Measurement invariance was achieved across cultures for authoritative and authoritarian parenting, group harmony socialization, intrusive control, and their sub-dimensions, supporting the commonality principle. Cross-cultural differences in parenting normativeness did not follow the pattern of economic development but yielded culture-specific patterns, supporting the specificity principle. Both commonalities and specificities were manifested in associations between parenting and child outcomes across cultures.

The home numeracy environment and children's math skills: The moderating role of parents' math anxiety

Evidence suggests that parents' math anxiety moderates the association between parents' help in mathematics homework and first graders' mathematics skills. Understanding whether similar associations are evident in younger children, in regard to the home numeracy environment (HNE) is essential, given that early math skills are strong predictors of later academic outcomes, and children's skills prior to kindergarten are fostered principally by their parents. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the association and interaction between the HNE and parents' math anxiety related to preschool children's numeracy performance. Participants were 121 parent-child dyads. Results from hierarchical multiple regression models demonstrated that parents' math anxiety and the HNE, included as separate predictors of children's math skills, were not statistically significant. However, the interaction between HNE and parents' math anxiety was statistically significant, such that the positive association between HNE and children's numeracy skills emerged when parents felt less anxious about math. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for parents' math anxiety when exploring the home influences on children's numeracy skills.

An exploration of parenting styles, cultural values, and infant development in a sample of Latin American immigrants in Canada

The objective of the current research was to investigate the relationship between parenting style, culture, and infant development in a sample of Latin American mother-infant dyads in Toronto, Canada. We examined associations between mothers' self-reported parenting style and infant cognitive and socioemotional development, which we compared to results from mothers belonging to two other Canadian immigrant populations. We further examined whether specific cultural correlates, including affiliation with traditional Latinx cultural beliefs familism and fatalism and acculturation, were associated with positive parenting behaviors in the Latin American sample. Across all three cultural groups, authoritative parenting predicted adaptive socio-emotional development , an effect which differed in magnitude across groups, providing support for the hypothesis that the effect of parenting behaviors on infant development are moderated by culture. Within the Latin American sample, affiliation with the value of familism was associated with higher scores of authoritative parenting, but familism decreased as acculturation to the host culture increased. This research adds to our understanding of factors that contribute to the well-being of Latin American families in Canada. Findings carry implications for provision of infant mental health services to Latin American immigrant families by identifying cultural variables which should be considered when providing parenting interventions to make such interventions more culturally relevant.

The Differential Impact of Parenting on Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors in the Context of Maternal Stress

The effectiveness of parenting on child outcomes may be dependent on other contextual factors. To date, few studies have focused on the potential moderating effect of maternal stress on the relationship between parenting and youth externalizing behaviors. This study extends prior work by assessing how the relationship between parenting and youth outcomes varies by the presence of maternal stress, while focusing on the developmental period of adolescence and two dimensions of parenting, parental knowledge and maternal warmth. Data were collected from 278 Mother-adolescent dyads (M_{adolescent age} = 14.05; 53.2% females; 61.9% minority) on maternal stress, maternal warmth and parental knowledge, and youth aggression and delinquency. Multi-level regression models found significant two-way interactions between parental knowledge and maternal stress on aggression and between maternal warmth and maternal stress on both outcomes. Parental knowledge was associated with lower aggression in the context of high maternal stress, but warmth only attenuated the risk of youth outcomes among low maternal stress. This study highlights the importance of considering how contextual factors impact the relationship between parenting and youth externalizing behaviors.

A Literature Review on the Role of Hope in Promoting Positive Youth Development across Non-WEIRD Contexts

Theoretical and empirical evidence has identified hope as a key adolescent strength that is linked to positive youth developmental outcomes. Although hope must be understood from a cultural lens, most of the evidence regarding adolescent hope is derived from samples of white youth from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) nations. Therefore, in order to have a more comprehensive and global understanding of the antecedents, outcomes, and processes of hope, we apply a positive youth development perspective in order to review the literature (N = 52 studies) on hope from diverse cultural and international contexts. In organizing the findings by global region, our review provides evidence of the shared function of hope in promoting positive youth developmental outcomes and the usefulness of the Child Hope Scale across contexts. Family and parental relationships were identified as key assets in promoting hope; however, there exists cultural and contextual variation in what aspects of these relationships promote hope. We conclude this review by considering the priorities for research, practice, and policy, based on these findings.

Children's social emotional competence in Pakistan and Sweden: Factor structure and measurement invariance of the Social Competence Scale (teacher edition)

Introduction

Social emotional competence is fundamental to the positive development of children and youth. Accurately understanding and assessing children's social emotional competencies, using psychometrically sound instruments, are essential to global efforts to support children's social emotional learning, academic achievements, and health. This study examined the psychometric properties of a teacher-reported measure of young children's social emotional competence, the Social Competence Scale - Teacher edition (SCS-T), in two samples of children growing up with varied economic resources/conditions, cultural norms, and educational experiences, namely Pakistan (N = 396) and Sweden (N = 309).

Methods

Participants were aged 4-6 years old. The study design was cross-sectional.

Results and Discussion

Using structural equation modelling, bi-factor confirmatory factor analysis models implying shared variance, among all items and domain-specific shared variance, among the prosocial items, emotion regulation items, and academic skills items resulted in good fitting models in each respective sample. Invariance testing across samples revealed a subset of items from each factor structure with partial scalar invariance, whereby five items had equal thresholds and could be comparable across the two samples. Thus, results provided partial support for hypotheses 1, 2, and 3, in that the posited three factor model (H1) was not clearly supported and a bi-factor model evidenced the best fit, among tested models, for both samples. Further, partial scalar invariance (H3) was found for five items out of 25 items, concerning social competence and academic skills. In regards, to the posited research question, the results of Z-tests showed significant (p < 0.001) latent mean differences between the samples. Compared to the Swedish sample, the Pakistani sample was 1.80 units lower on social competence (z = -6.41, p < 0.001) and 1.86 units lower on academic skills (z = -7.87, p < 0.001). The implications of these findings in light of efforts to promote positive child development in diverse parts of the world are considered.

Longitudinal associations between adolescent out-of-school time and adult substance use

INTRODUCTION

Based on Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory and Bornstein's specificity principle, the purpose of this study was to examine adolescents' time in out-of-school settings as a precursor of three types of problematic substance use in adulthood (i.e., binge drinking, regular marijuana use, and use of illicit drugs).

METHOD

Adolescents (N = 978) reported the time they spent in four common out-of-school settings at ages 15 and 18: unsupervised time with peers, organized sports, other organized activities, and paid employment. At age 26, participants reported binge drinking, marijuana use, and illicit drug use.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents' time in out-of-school settings during high school predicted age 26 substance use over and above family and adolescent factors, including adolescents' substance use during high school. Adolescents' unsupervised time with peers increased the odds and frequency of binge drinking and regular marijuana use at age 26. Time in high school organized sports increased the odds of binge drinking at age 26, but not marijuana or illicit drug use. Time spent in other organized activities, such as community service and the arts, lowered the odds of illicit drug use whereas paid employment in high school was not related to age 26 substance use. Aligned with Bornstein's specificity principle, time spent in specific out-of-school settings during adolescence were differentially related to substance use problems in early adulthood, with some activities serving as a risk factor and other activities serving as a protective factor for young adults.

Citizenship deservingness justifies exclusive national boundary making: A socio-dynamic mixed-methods approach to social representations of citizenship

Naturalization policies prescribe the conditions immigrants must fulfil to be legally recognized as national citizens in a receiving country. When changes in naturalization policies are publicly debated, divergent opinions on national boundary making reveal social representations of citizenship as spaces of political contention. This research offers a socio-dynamic analysis of citizenship representations in the context of a recent referendum on a simplified naturalization procedure for third-generation immigrants in Switzerland. Automatic lexicometric techniques enriched with reflexive thematic analysis were performed on a post-vote survey (VOTO, N = 998), to examine how voters grounded their voting decisions via different citizenship representations. The results showed that ascribed criteria based on natural birthrights and cultural assimilation were mobilized in favour of more permissive access to nationality. Conversely, allegedly achievable criteria based on citizenship deservingness were mobilized against. These findings provide new evidence about citizenship deservingness as a neoliberal strategy legitimizing exclusive national boundary making.

Measuring Youth Perceptions of Being Known and Loved and Positive Youth Development: Cross-National Findings from Rwanda and El Salvador

Background

Dynamic, relational developmental systems-based models of development emphasize that developmentally-nurturant youth-adult relationships elicit in youth perceptions of being known and loved. Although such perceptions are foundations of positive youth development (PYD), such measures do not exist.

Objective

We sought to create a theoretically-predicated measure of youth perceptions of being known and loved by capitalizing on data sets in two countries (Rwanda and El Salvador) wherein a multi-national study of PYD was being conducted by Compassion International (CI).

Method

With Rwanda data (n = 1,204, M age  = 11.84, 50% CI-supported), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses enabled refining the measure for robustness and parsimony. Measures of intentional self-regulation, hopeful future expectations, transcendence, and contribution were used for validation of the known and loved measure within the nomological net of constructs proposed in the Lerner and Lerner PYD model. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the use of the model within the El Salvador data set (n = 1,205, M age  = 13.03, 51% CI-supported).

Results

Robust psychometric properties were established in both national settings. Measurement invariance was found across age, gender, urban-rural location, CI-enrollment status, and nations, and involved both mean differences and correlations among latent factors.

Conclusions

The results provide evidence for a theory-predicated measure of youth perceptions of being known and loved and that scores for this construct covary within a nomological net specified in the Lerner and Lerner model of PYD. These findings serve international development organizations seeking theory-predicated measures for use in evaluating PYD programs in low- and middle-income countries.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10566-022-09725-6.

Anti-Asian Hatred and Japanese Parents' Support of Their Children's Acculturation to the United States

This ethnographic study explores how Japanese immigrant and temporary resident parents support their children's acculturation to U.S. society. Anti-Asian hatred is a neglected social justice issue with a long history extending to hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the U.S. population includes an increasing number of Asian immigrants. Some of them, such as recent Japanese immigrants and temporary residents, are from majority groups in their countries of origin, and do not have cultural socialization practices to protect their children from racism and xenophobia. This article focuses on in-depth, individual interviews with 14 Japanese immigrant and temporary resident parents of children attending U.S. local schools. Parents described their cultural socialization as centering on developing a Japanese cultural self, for example, through participation in a Japanese supplementary school. Parents also reported experiences of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia, including social exclusion. However, they typically did not describe preparing children directly for responding to and coping with anti-Asian bias. Rather, they and their children took responsibility for bias directed against them, and avoided drawing attention to their differences. Authors discuss implications for how social workers can recognize distress in Japanese children and effectively support them and others experiencing similar acculturation challenges.

Acculturation, Physical Activity, and Metabolic Syndrome in Asian American Adults

INTRODUCTION

Asian Americans (AsAms) have a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and are one of the least physically active racial groups in America. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between MetS and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among AsAm adults and whether acculturation modifies this relationship.

METHOD

Data were from 2,259 AsAms participating in the 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Physical activity (PA) was self-reported as minutes of weekly MVPA. Acculturation included nativity, length of residency in America, and language preference. The International Diabetes Federation criteria was used to determine the presence of MetS.

RESULTS

About 64.4% of AsAms did not meet the PA recommendation (MVPA ≥150 min/week). The prevalence of MetS was 39.2%. The odds of having MetS were greater among AsAms who did not meet MVPA recommendations compared with those who did meet MVPA recommendations (odds ratio [OR] = 1.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.11, 2.07]). When stratified by acculturation, this association remained statistically significant in the groups who immigrated to America more than 15 years ago and who spoke English only.

CONCLUSION

MVPA reduces MetS risk in AsAm adults, especially among more acculturated AsAms. Culturally adapted programs are warranted to promote PA and adequate knowledge of disease prevention in this population.

Migrating Populations and Health: Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease and Metabolic Syndrome

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To summarize results of recent studies of migrants in Europe and North America and ongoing efforts to adapt strategies to provide them with inclusive sensitive health care.

RECENT FINDINGS

Major predisposing factors for developing hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome in migrating populations and refugees were identified. Susceptibility to the metabolic syndrome is predominantly due to environmental factors and psychological stress. Acculturation also contributes to the emergence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in first-generation adult immigrants. Increased risk for later development of hypertension and dyslipidemia has also been detected in adolescent immigrants. Targets for public health efforts were based on data that show important differences in CV risk factors and prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among ethnic immigrant groups. Studies in young adults focused on lifestyle and dietary behaviors and perceptions about weight and body image, while the focus for older adults was end-of-life issues. Two important themes have emerged: barriers to health care, with a focus on cultural and language barriers, and violence and its impact on immigrants' mental health.

Managing health in inequitable contexts: Health capacities as integral to life course health development

Health behavior models are widely used in prevention research with children and adolescents; yet, many of these models were developed based on adult experiences and fail to consider the development of health constructs. The concept of health capacity development is a theoretical model of how health capacities, the health-related developmental sociocultural resources individuals use to regulate their coactions with their environments to sustain health, develop. Health capacities are formed through person-environment transactions and thus, are informed by, and help individuals manage, the opportunities and constraints situated in their environments. The extent to which health capacities support long-term adaptive health development varies; yet, health capacities may be leveraged for adaptative functioning. Grounded in the Life Course Health Development (LCHD) framework and the principles of Relational Developmental Systems (RDS) metatheory, the development of three health capacities, their role in managing person-environment coactions, and their potential for facilitating displays of resilient functioning in inequitable contexts are described. Implications of the model, its limitations, and avenues for future research are discussed.

Perceived parenting styles, cognitive flexibility, and prosocial behavior in Chinese Youth with an immigrant background: A three-group comparison

Previous research has revealed cross-cultural differences in parenting styles and in how these may relate to adolescents’ prosocial behavior. Nevertheless, little is known about the role of cognitive flexibility – a key component of executive function –and the immigration context in these associations. Using a person-centered approach, the current study aimed to (1) explore perceived parenting profiles among Chinese immigrant-origin youth in Italy in comparison to their nonimmigrant ethnic majority peers in the country of origin (China) and in the country of destination (Italy), and (2) examine the moderating role of cognitive flexibility in the expected parenting-prosocial behavior link in the three cultural groups. Participants (N = 444; M (Age) = 11.88 years; SD = 1.08; 50.7% girls; 27.4% Chinese immigrant-origin, 35.4% Chinese ethnic majority; 37.2% Italian ethnic majority) completed a parenting questionnaire and a computerized cognitive flexibility task, while teachers rated their prosocial behavior. Latent profile analysis revealed three perceived parenting styles: “harsh” (15.8%), “supportive” (40.5%), and “strict-affectionate” (43.7%). Chinese immigrant-origin, Italian ethnic majority, and Chinese ethnic majority youths were overrepresented in each of these profiles, respectively. In regression analyses, the association between parenting profiles and prosocial behavior varied as a function of adolescents’ cognitive flexibility and cultural group. Specifically, cognitive flexibility strengthened the supportive parenting-prosocial behavior link for Chinese immigrant-origin youth, and buffered against the detrimental effect of harsh parenting on prosocial behavior for their Italian ethnic majority peers. Findings emphasize the influence of cultural and immigration-related factors on adolescents’ perceived parenting styles, and provide further evidence for the beneficial role of cognitive flexibility in the positive adjustment of youth with and without an immigrant background.

Using Bayesian Meta-Regression to Advance Prevention Science Research: an Introduction and Empirical Illustration

Driven by the movement of evidence-based practices, Bayesian statistical methods have become increasingly popular. This paper introduces a Bayesian approach to meta-regression, focusing on the use and implementation in prevention science research. We first compare Bayesian meta-analysis and meta-regression to a frequentist approach. Thereafter, we illustrate Bayesian methods in meta-regression, highlighting advantages, providing detailed interpretation, and presenting results. The example is completed using several R packages. We also provide annotated R code for readers as a foundation for their own research.

The impact of public policies on acculturation: A mixed-method study of Latinx immigrants' experiences in four US states

AIMS

This study sought to understand the impact of public policies on Latinx immigrants' acculturation.

METHODS

Four hundred thirty-eight first generation Latinx immigrants completed survey measures and a subset (n = 73) participated in 12 focus groups across four US states with distinct immigration-related policies: Arizona, New Mexico, Maryland, and Virginia.

RESULTS

Latinx immigrants living in states with more restrictive immigration-related public policies were less likely to make cultural changes in the ways they desired. Policies impacted acculturation directly by requiring and restricting certain cultural expressions, and indirectly through cultivating the community's climate. Multiple factors appeared to shape policies' influences on acculturation, including confusion from swift policy changes, inconsistent policy implementation, competing policies at divergent ecological levels, and individuals' relative privilege from intersecting personal characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

More inclusive and supportive immigration-related policies may improve Latinx immigrants' abilities to acculturate in their preferred ways.

High quality social environment buffers infants' cognitive development from poor maternal mental health: Evidence from a study in Bhutan

Poor maternal mental health negatively impacts cognitive development from infancy to childhood, affecting both behavior and brain architecture. In a non-western context (Thimphu, Bhutan), we demonstrate that culturally-moderated factors such as family, community social support, and enrichment may buffer and scaffold the development of infant cognition when maternal mental health is poor. We used eye-tracking to measure early building blocks of cognition: attention regulation and social perception, in 9-month-old Bhutanese infants (N = 121). The cognitive development of Bhutanese infants in richer social environments was buffered from poor maternal mental health, while for infants in environments with lower rates of protective social environment factors, worse maternal mental health significantly predicted greater costs for infant attention, a fundamental building block cognition. International policies and interventions geared to improve maternal mental health and child health outcomes should incorporate each regions' unique family, cultural, and community support structures.

Positive Youth Development in 2020: Theory, Research, Programs, and the Promotion of Social Justice

We use Hamilton's (1999) tripartite conception of the positive youth development (PYD) literature - that is, PYD as a theoretical construct, PYD as a frame for program design, and PYD as an instance of specific youth development programs - as a framework for reviewing scholarship involved in the PYD field across the second decade of the 21st century. Advances were made in all three domains and, as well, new issues emerged; chief among them was a focus on the promotion of social justice. We discuss ways in which social justice issues are being addressed within each of these domains and we present a vision for enhancing the PYD-social justice relation in future scholarship involving theory, research, program design, and community-based PYD programs.

Self-regulatory processes in early childhood as predictors of Hispanic children's BMI z-scores during the elementary school years: Differences by acculturation and gender

Over the last decade, longitudinal research has shown that children's general, top-down self-regulation during early childhood is negatively associated with children's weight status in elementary school. The samples in these previous studies have been primarily White, and no study to date has examined this issue in a sample of Hispanic children from low-income families-a population at high risk for childhood obesity. The present study followed 130 Hispanic children over a time period of three to just under five years, examining the degree to which multiple measures of general, top-down self-regulation, along with a measure of appetite regulation (eating in the absence of hunger), predicted children's BMI z-scores in the early elementary school years. Results showed that children's ability to delay gratification in the preschool years was negatively associated with later BMI z-scores and that children's eating in the absence of hunger was positively associated. In separate models by gender, these relationships were significant only for girls. Moreover, analyses run separately for children of mothers low or high on acculturation showed that the relationship between delay of gratification and later BMI z-scores was significant only for children whose mothers were low on acculturation. Possible socialization and environmental factors contributing to these findings are considered.

The Missing Side of Acculturation: How Majority-Group Members Relate to Immigrant and Minority-Group Cultures

In many countries, individuals who have represented the majority group historically are decreasing in relative size and/or perceiving that they have diminished status and power compared with those self-identifying as immigrants or members of ethnic minority groups. These developments raise several salient and timely issues, including (a) how majority-group members’ cultural orientations change as a consequence of increasing intercultural contact due to shifting demographics; (b) what individual, group, cultural, and socio-structural processes shape these changes; and (c) what the implications of majority-group members’ acculturation are. Although research across several decades has examined the acculturation of individuals self-identifying as minority-group members, much less is known about how majority-group members acculturate in increasingly diverse societies. We present an overview of the state of the art in the emerging field of majority-group acculturation, identify what is known and needs to be known, and introduce a conceptual model to guide future research.

Toward complementarity: Specificity and commonality in social-emotional development: Introduction to the special section

What are the roles of specificity and commonality in social-emotional development? We begin by highlighting the conceptual context for this timely and timeless question and explain how responses to it can inform novel lines of theoretical and empirical inquiry, as well as sociocultural generalizability. Next, we describe how the selection of papers included in this special section contributes to our understanding of specificity and commonality in social-emotional development. We then explain how applying the complementarity principle to social-emotional development can inform a future research agenda in this domain. Lastly, we discuss how specificity and commonality fundamentally impact the way we conceptualize and implement interventions aimed at nurturing social-emotional development in every child.

Ethnic-Racial Socialization, Ethnic-Racial Identity, and Depressive Symptoms in Korean Adolescents in the United States and China

The United States and China are top two receiving countries of Korean immigrants in modern history. Minority families in ethnically-racially diverse societies, such as the US and China, use various ethnic-racial socialization practices (cultural socialization, promotion of mistrust, preparation for bias) to help their children navigate the world, yet research in non-U.S. contexts is scarce. To examine the specificity versus generalizability of ethnic-racial socialization and its implications, this study compared the prevalence of ethnic-racial socialization reported by Korean American (n = 408; M_age = 14.76, SD = 1.91; 48.30% female) and Korean Chinese (n = 267; M_age = 15.24, SD = 1.66; 58.90% female) youth. Moreover, this study examined how various ethnic-racial socialization practices relate to the youth's ethnic-racial identity, and subsequently, depressive symptoms. Although Korean American youth reported more frequent ethnic-racial socialization compared to their Korean Chinese counterparts, cultural socialization (but not preparation for bias nor promotion of mistrust) had a comparable negative indirect association with depressive symptoms via ethnic-racial identity across both groups. Thus, although the rates of parental ethnic-racial socialization are context-specific, parental cultural socialization may be similarly beneficial for Korean ethnic-racial minority youth's identity development, and in turn, psychological outcomes, whether in a Western individualistic society or an Eastern collectivistic society.

Building an assessment of community-defined social-emotional competencies from the ground up in Tanzania

Two studies were conducted in 2017 to investigate children's competencies seen as important by communities in Mtwara, Tanzania. Qualitative data from 95 parents (34 women) and 27 teachers (11 women) in Study 1 indicated that dimensions of social responsibility, such as obedience, were valued highly. In Study 2, the competencies of 477 children (245 girls), aged 4–13 years, were rated by teachers and parents. Factor analysis found the obedient factor explained the most variance in parent rating. In line with predictions, urban residence, parental socioeconomic status (SES), and parental education were all positively associated with ratings of curiosity, and parental SES was negatively associated with obedience and emotional regulation. Findings illustrate the need for culturally specific frameworks of social‐emotional learning.

Stressful Experiences, Connection, and Depressive Symptoms Among Taiwanese Han and Indigenous Youth

This study examined Taiwanese Han and indigenous (Tayal) youth’s experiences of stressful life events, the association between stressful experiences and depressive symptomology, and also the indirect and interactive effects of connection on the relationship between stressful experiences and depressive symptomology. Taiwanese Han (97%) is the majority group, whereas indigenous people make up 2.3% of Taiwan’s population. Taiwanese indigenous people have experienced disparities across socio-historical, educational, and economic aspects of their lives. This study included 291 eighth-grade participants (40% from the Tayal tribe, 48.8% female, and M_age = 13.44). The Han sample in this study all lived in cities, and the Tayal sample all lived in the tribal areas of the Northern Taiwan mountain regions. Person-centered (latent class analyses) and cumulative (sum of items) approaches were used to investigate family and school stressful events, respectively. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted separately for the Han and Tayal participants to examine the role of family and school connection in relation to family and school stressors and depressive symptomology. Our results showed that stressful experiences are clearly linked to depressive symptomology and family connection was important to both Tayal and Han youth in supporting their coping with depressive symptoms. However, Tayal youth might be particularly vulnerable to family stressful events because family stressors disrupted their connection with their parents and thereby minimized the protective function of family relationships. To decrease the likely onset of depression during early adolescence, our results suggest that it is important for parents and other family members to monitor adolescents’ daily experiences of stress and provide support when needed. Furthermore, mental health interventions need to be tailored specifically for youth in specific racial, social, and economic contexts. Tayal youth mental health might benefit particularly from increasing school connection and decreasing stresses experienced in family contexts. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

A motivational framework of acculturation

A key distinction in motivational processes is between motivations and the means for pursuing motivations. Despite being a motivated process, existing models of acculturation do not make this distinction, neither empirically nor theoretically. A motivational framework that is informed by theories of goal constructs to understand the process of acculturation is proposed. This model is tested in two distinct samples comprising immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel (N = 239) as well as immigrants from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to Britain (N = 236). Results revealed that the motivation to preserve one's heritage culture and the motivation to adopt one's host culture were each uniquely associated with the respective means for doing so. Furthermore, outcomes in acculturation were determined by the match between acculturation motivations and acculturation means. These findings demonstrate the theoretical and practical implications of analyzing the process of acculturation using a motivational framework.

Cross-Cultural Associations of Four Parenting Behaviors With Child Flourishing: Examining Cultural Specificity and Commonality in Cultural Normativeness and Intergenerational Transmission Processes

Families from nine countries (N = 1,338) were interviewed annually seven times (M_age child = 7-15) to test specificity and commonality in parenting behaviors associated with child flourishing and moderation of associations by normativeness of parenting. Participants included 1,338 children (M = 8.59 years, SD = 0.68, range = 7-11 years; 50% girls), their mothers (N = 1,283, M = 37.04 years, SD = 6.51, range = 19-70 years), and their fathers (N = 1,170, M = 40.19 years, SD = 6.75, range = 22-76 years) at Wave 1 of 7 annual waves collected between 2008 and 2017. Families were recruited from 12 ethnocultural groups in nine countries including: Shanghai, China (n = 123); Medellín, Colombia (n = 108); Naples (n = 102) and Rome (n = 111), Italy; Zarqa, Jordan (n = 114); Kisumu, Kenya (n = 100); Manila, Philippines (n = 120); Trollhättan & Vänersborg, Sweden (n = 129); Chiang Mai, Thailand (n = 120); and Durham, NC, United States (n = 110 White, n = 102 Black, n = 99 Latinx). Intergenerational parenting (parenting passed from Generation 1 to Generation 2) demonstrated specificity. Children from cultures with above-average G2 parent warmth experienced the most benefit from the intergenerational transmission of warmth, whereas children from cultures with below-average G2 hostility, neglect, and rejection were best protected from deleterious intergenerational effects of parenting behaviors on flourishing. Single-generation parenting (Generation 2 parenting directly associated with Generation 3 flourishing) demonstrated commonality. Parent warmth promoted, and parent hostility, neglect, and rejection impeded the development of child flourishing largely regardless of parenting norms.

The Importance of Positive Psychological Strengths in Well-Being and Adjustment of Romanian Emerging Adults: A Pattern and Variable-Oriented Approach

Transition to adulthood in countries that have seen recent historical structural changes in society as well as changes in what it means to be an adult represents important contexts for investigations of ways in which positive development and transition to adulthood are experienced. Situated in such context, this cross-sectional study aimed to (1) describe profiles of positive psychological strengths, as measured by the Five Cs of positive youth development (PYD) and (2) document how identified profiles might differ in relation to other aspects of positive and problematic development. Participants were 272 Romanian emerging adults attending university (76% female; aged 19-29 years old, M _age = 21 years old). Latent class analysis was performed to identify patterns of psychological strengths using the Five Cs theory of positive youth development. Pairwise Wald chi square difference tests were then conducted to determine if the identified Five Cs profiles were associated with significant differences in other key outcomes. Findings indicated that, a two-class model emerged as the best fitting model, and in this model, Class 1 was similar to Class 2 on strengths of competence, confidence, and connection. However, the two classes were distinguishable by caring and character, with Class 2, the numerically more common profile (89%), being elevated on character and caring relative to Class 1 (which was a less frequently occurring profile, 11%). This finding highlights the importance of examining the diversity of positive development, even within the same theoretical framework. Further results indicated that the two identified classes showed similarities in problematic behaviors as well as in purpose in life and psychological complaints. Other group difference tests by profile/class indicated that Class 2 was higher in general and social well-being relative to Class 1, with a trend in the same direction for hope. However, an unexpected finding was that Class 2 was also elevated in somatic complaints relative to Class 1. These are important findings not only because of the contribution to the generalizability of the Five Cs theory and measure but also because of the implications of the findings to research, policy, and practice in the Romanian context and beyond.

Mixed methods study protocol to explore acculturation, lifestyles and health of immigrants from the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries in two Iberian contexts: how to face uncertainties amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

INTRODUCTION

Studies which focus on the process of acculturation in the lifestyles, nutritional status and health of immigrants from the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) in the Iberian Peninsula are still scarce. This study aims to explore the influence of the acculturation process and dietary acculturation on the lifestyle and nutritional and health status of CPLP immigrants in Portugal and Spain, focusing on two Iberian contexts: Lisbon Metropolitan Area and the Basque Country.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A mixed methods sequential explanatory design, combining cross-sectional studies and semistructured interviews. Official data will also be analysed. Primary data will be collected through a questionnaire and assessment of nutritional status and body composition. The estimated samples sizes are 1061 adults (≥18 years old) in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and 573 in the Basque Country. Time-location sampling will be used for the quantitative component and non-probabilistic sampling for the qualitative component. If safety conditions are not guaranteed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online studies will be conducted. The semistructured interviews will complement the questionnaire data and extend knowledge about the process of acculturation of CPLP immigrants and their relationship with eating habits and physical activity. Thematic analysis will be used for qualitative data. Triangulation of data derived from different methods will be carried out. An integrative approach will be used to address potential discrepancies in findings and limitations inherent to the study design. As inter-method discrepancies may occur, triangulation protocol will be used, elaborating a 'convergence coding matrix' to display findings emerging from each component of the study.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval was obtained through the IHMT Ethics Council (Doc No 20/2020), Portugal, and it was submitted to the Ethics Committee of the UPV/EHU (Doc No under revision), Spain.