title: Pathways between acculturation and health behaviors among residents of low-income housing: the mediating role of social and contextual factors.
abstract: Acculturation may influence health behaviors, yet mechanisms underlying its effect are not well understood. In this study, we describe relationships between acculturation and health behaviors among low-income housing residents, and examine whether these relationships are mediated by social and contextual factors. Residents of 20 low-income housing sites in the Boston metropolitan area completed surveys that assessed acculturative characteristics, social/contextual factors, and health behaviors. A composite acculturation scale was developed using latent class analysis, resulting in four distinct acculturative groups. Path analysis was used to examine interrelationships between acculturation, health behaviors, and social/contextual factors, specifically self-reported social ties, social support, stress, material hardship, and discrimination. Of the 828 respondents, 69% were born outside of the U.S. Less acculturated groups exhibited healthier dietary practices and were less likely to smoke than more acculturated groups. Acculturation had a direct effect on diet and smoking, but not physical activity. Acculturation also showed an indirect effect on diet through its relationship with material hardship. Our finding that material hardship mediated the relationship between acculturation and diet suggests the need to explicate the significant role of financial resources in interventions seeking to promote healthy diets among low-income immigrant groups. Future research should examine these social and contextual mediators using larger, population-based samples, preferably with longitudinal data.
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, USA. Electronic address: jennifer.allen@tufts.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer Dacey
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, USA.
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caspi
authors.affiliation: New England Research Institute, USA.
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leyva
authors.affiliation: New England Research Institute, USA.
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tamers
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, USA.
authors.forename: Reginald D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Tucker-Seeley
authors.affiliation: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, USA.
authors.forename: Glorian C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Sorensen
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D011638:Public Housing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acculturation; Health behavior; Immigrant; Public housing; Social context; United States