Title |
Acculturation Versus Cultural Retention: The Interactive Impact of Acculturation and Co-ethnic Ties on Substance Use Among Chinese Students in the United States
|
---|---|
Published in |
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, May 2017
|
DOI | 10.1007/s10903-017-0598-0 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Xiaozhao Yousef Yang, Fenggang Yang |
Abstract |
Acculturation is often found to increase substance use among immigrants in the U.S., but such effect may depend on how immigrants are attached to their co-ethnic community. Meanwhile, the high socioeconomic status of some new immigrant groups also challenges the classical assumption that ties to co-ethnic community are associated with deviance. With a sample (n = 960) collected from a population of Chinese students in a large public university in the U.S., we tested how do the interplays between acculturation and co-ethnic ties affect substance use. This study establishes that: (1) different dimensions of acculturation have opposite effects on substance use; (2) acculturative stress does not explain the association between acculturation and substance use; (3) acculturation increases the likelihood of substance use only when one has weak attachment to their co-ethnic community. The findings are consistent for three dependent variables: smoking, drinking, and drunkenness, and for the different constructs of acculturation and co-ethnic ties. Ties to co-ethnic community may provide important social support for immigrants, while acculturation may alleviate the insular subculture that promotes at-risk behaviors. We encourage policy makers to consider the cooperative nature of acculturation and cultural retention for the improvement of health among this growing population. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 68 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 11 | 16% |
Other | 8 | 12% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 6 | 9% |
Student > Master | 6 | 9% |
Student > Bachelor | 5 | 7% |
Other | 10 | 15% |
Unknown | 22 | 32% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 19 | 28% |
Social Sciences | 12 | 18% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 3 | 4% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 3 | 4% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 2 | 3% |
Other | 6 | 9% |
Unknown | 23 | 34% |