title: Biocultural linkages--cultural consensus, cultural consonance, and human biological research.
abstract: Cultural consensus analysis tests for shared models of behavior in various cultural dimensions. Cultural consonance is used to assess the degree to which individuals behave in a way that is consistent with these cultural models. Results are presented from two studies using cultural consensus and consonance analysis (CCCA) on health risk in an African American population and on diet in a mixed sample from West Alabama. In the African American case study, cultural consonance in lifestyle and social support are demonstrated to have a significant effect on blood pressure. In the diet study, significant differences in cultural consonance on the health dimension of diet between groups espousing different dietary preferences were demonstrated in spite of all groups sharing the same model of healthy foods. These studies are used to argue that more sophisticated measures of culture in human biological research are readily available and accessible for most studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0210, USA. jbindon@tenhoor.as.ua.edu
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bindon
mesh_terms: D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D003469:Culture; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D012107:Research Design; D012944:Social Support