Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The impact of acculturation and poor social support as potential risk factors for cardiovascular and metabolic disease amongst Mexican immigrants to the United States (U.S.) is a developing area of research. One theory is that acculturation to U.S. society is negatively associated with health due to the stress of immigration as well as the less healthy diet and lifestyle in the U.S. It is also theorized that positive social support is associated with better health during immigration due to the buffering effect relationships have on stress. Despite these theories, mixed findings have been found regarding the associations between acculturation and social support to health outcomes in this population. Some research has also noted that significant differences exist between the manner in which men and women experience social support and their acculturation patterns. Consequently, the primary purpose of this study was to test the associations between acculturation and health as well as assess gender, social support, and acculturation for potential moderator effects in a sample of Mexican immigrants in Provo, Utah. Acculturation was measured using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARMSA-II) which consists of the Anglo Orientation Scale (AOS) and Mexican Orientation Scale (MOS). Social support was determined using both the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) and Sarason Social Support Questionnaire (SSSQ) which has two dimensions: satisfaction with support network and size of support network. Hierarchical multiple regression did not find significant associations between acculturation or social support and health outcomes as measured by ambulatory blood pressure or blood draw values including triglycerides, Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). A significant association was observed between Anglo Orientation and social support as measured by the ISEL-II. A moderation effect was observed between gender and Anglo orientation with satisfaction in one's support network. No other moderation effects were observed in this study. Implications of the findings, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Studies have identified metabolic health factors to be a major concern in Mexican-Americans, including Mexican immigrants to the United States (U.S.). Acculturation stress has been hypothesized to be a factor in the development of many health-related concerns in this population. Specifically, previous studies have shown that acculturation stress contributes to health concerns, including metabolic health concerns (e.g., diabetes, metabolic syndrome). The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cultural orientation, a measure of acculturation designed to provide more information than traditional acculturation measures, and metabolic health outcomes. Specific acculturation-related stressors (social support, job-related stress, and depression) were hypothesized mediators in this relationship among a convenience sample of 98 foreign-born Mexicans living in Utah County, Utah controlling for age, gender, socio-economic status (SES), and years in the U.S. Data were collected twice with a three year interval to examine change over time. Changes in these constructs were examined through the use of Growth Modeling with Bayesian estimation. The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans (ARSMA-II) was used to measure Anglo Cultural Orientation and Mexican Cultural Orientation. Standard blood analyses were used to measure metabolic health outcomes, which included glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin, and glucose. The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12) was used to measure social support, the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) was used to measure job-related stress, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to measure depression. No change was identified in Anglo Cultural Orientation or Mexican Cultural Orientation over time in the majority of subjects. A positive relationship between Anglo Cultural Orientation and HbA1c was found, as was a negative relationship between Mexican Cultural Orientation and HbA1c. Mediation analyses showed a mediation effect of depression on the relationship between Anglo Cultural Orientation and glucose. Implications of findings, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.