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Religion and spirituality are deemed an important aspect of human diversity, found to be important to people, and have significant impact on different aspects of functioning. Given the rising numbers of international students on U.S. campuses, it becomes important to examine how religion/spirituality impacts their sojourn in the U.S. This study explored the religious/spiritual experiences of Indian international students here in the U.S. using a qualitative approach. Thirteen Indian international students pursuing graduate degrees in the U.S. were interviewed. The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using a synthesis of hermeneutic methods informed by Kvale (1996). The following themes emerged through the analysis of data: religion is a highly personalized and complex concept, coming to a foreign land brings about changes in the practice of religion, context is important in the experience of religion, certain religious ideas and practices are seen as helpful, and new experiences lead to an evolved way of thinking about religion. The findings suggest that religion/spirituality does tend to be important for Indian international students, though often in an indirect manner. These results offer ideas about ways in which advisement and counseling center staff, international student associations, and university personnel can best serve Indian international students through an open and welcoming approach that acknowledges and respects this important aspect of human diversity.

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Background: Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 8% of the world’s population. Individuals of South Asian ancestry tend to develop metabolic abnormalities, leading to diabetes, at lower measures of absolute obesity and approximately 10 years earlier than white Caucasians. Current literature is unclear on the source of this ethnic heterogeneity; the variation in risk cannot be explained by lifestyle factors alone. The overarching aim of this thesis is to explore the role of genetic variants and epigenetic differences to explain the greater risk for type 2 diabetes among South Asians. Methods: We first conducted a systematic review of the literature to ascertain the genetic risk from known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among South Asians. We then compared these risk estimates to those from white Caucasians in a cohort of 69,033 individuals. Second, using the EpiDREAM prospective cohort study of individuals at high-risk for diabetes, we assessed the impact of genetic burden for impaired pancreatic beta-cell function alone and together with abdominal obesity on glucose traits. Ethnic heterogeneity in this interaction was also studied. Lastly, using data from two Canadian birth cohorts of South Asian and white Caucasian ancestry, we investigated ethnic differences in the epigenetic architecture for genes known to be implicated birth weight and length, as both are associated with the future risk of adult diabetes. Results: The systematic review identified 15 SNPs robustly associated with type 2 diabetes in both South Asians and white Caucasians. The magnitude of risk and allele frequency of these genetic variants did not differ between the ethnic groups. Additionally, we identified 8 novel polymorphisms implicated in diabetes only among South Asians. Second, using data from the EpiDREAM study, we identified an interaction between cumulative genetic burden of beta-cell impairment, measured using an un-weighted genotype score, and abdominal obesity on glucose traits in South Asians, but not white Caucasians. Third, our investigation of differential DNA methylation between the ethnic groups revealed seven CpG sites for which changes in methylation corresponded to alterations in birth weight among white Caucasians, but not South Asians. An independent agnostic genome-wide search identified methylation levels at three CpG sites that appear to uniquely modulate birth weight in South Asians. Conclusions: Overall, our results indicate that the greater risk for metabolic traits in South Asians likely does not result from common genetic variants shared by both South Asians and white Caucasians. Rather, differences in risk may be additionally influenced by unique risk variants in South Asians. Furthermore, it appears that the risk from a genetic impairment in South Asians may be magnified by abdominal obesity. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Background: Folate and vitamin B12 have interdependent metabolic functions that are essential for neonate growth outcomes (i.e. birth weight) based on studies from India. The objective of this research was to evaluate the association of maternal folate and vitamin B12 concentrations with neonate birth weight in South Asian (SA) and white European (WE) populations. Methods: In this cross-sectional analysis of prospective cohort studies, maternal and neonatal data were collected during the second trimester from 3758 mother-child dyads living in Canada. Maternal diet and supplement use were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Biochemical indicators were analyzed in a subset of SA mothers. Birth weight was measured within 72 hours of delivery. All regression analyses were performed unadjusted and with adjustment for identified covariates. Results: Maternal folate and vitamin B12 (dietary, supplemental and total) were not associated with neonate birth weight in SA and WE pregnant women. Higher consumption of milk products by SA women was associated with higher birth weight (β=0.06; p=0.01), whereas higher consumption of egg by WE women was associated with lower birth weight (β=-0.19; p<0.01). Folate and vitamin B12 deficiency in the SA subgroup was 13.7% and 17.8%, respectively. Maternal serum vitamin B12 status was inversely associated with birth weight (β=-0.16; p=0.03). Conclusions: Folate and vitamin B12 may be proxies for poor nutritional status. Therefore, folate and vitamin B12 may have an association with neonate birth weight in a less developed area (i.e. India) rather than in a highly developed area (i.e. Canada). Highly developed countries have an adequate intake of folate and vitamin B12 and thus a higher nutritional baseline status. These findings complement current research on folate and vitamin B12 concentrations with birth weight in well-nourished populations. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Infant birth weight is an indicator of health and disease risk in adult life. The mother’s vitamin intake can influence the weight of the infant. This research aimed to study whether the mother’s folate and vitamin B12 status is related to infant birth weight. Dietary and supplemental data along with blood samples from South Asian and white European pregnant women living in Canada were collected during the second trimester. The mother’s dietary, supplemental and total folate and vitamin B12 intakes were not related to infant birth weight. In South Asian mothers, higher milk intake was related to higher birth weight and in white Europeans, higher egg intake was related to lower infant birth weight. Higher vitamin B12 in the blood was related to lower infant birth weight in South Asians. More research is needed to determine the relationship between folate and vitamin B12 with infant birth weight.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, to fulfil the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg 2016 / Fordsburg, in central Johannesburg (Joburg) is a globally connected locality hosting 15-20 thousand visitors every month from all over the world. Fordsburg is a microcosm of Johannesburg’s cosmopolitanism and bears a distinctly South Asian flavour. With a growing south Asian and Indian presence, it has assumed the name ‘Indian market of Johannesburg’. The dedication of the shopkeepers to keep prices low and the options of good bargains for consumers has helped the area to develop its own identity. The passion to rise upwards among newly arrived south Asian migrants marks the mood throughout Fordsburg market.1 This thesis will provide insights on Fordsburg as an area for Indian businesses deriving stories of businessmen, and labourers from various backgrounds, professions and nationalities. [No abstract provided. Information taken from introduction] / MT2017

This thesis examines intergenerational change in prevalence of and attitudes to physical activity by comparing first and second-generation South Asians in Britain. British South Asians have poorer health outcomes including a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes than White British people. Physical inactivity is one of the risk factors for CVD and diabetes. Physical activity levels are lower among British South Asians than the White British population, for reasons that include cultural factors related to being South Asian, the low socioeconomic status of some South Asian groups, and living in deprived neighbourhoods. However, existing literature on physical activity levels does not clearly distinguish between first and second-generations. Understanding generational differences in the influences on physical activity among South Asians is important for developing appropriate interventions. First, I review the existing quantitative and qualitative literature on physical activity in second-generation South Asians. There is some evidence that second-generation South Asians are more physically active than the first-generation. Despite this, second-generation South Asians remain less active than White British people. Neither the quantitative nor the qualitative literature has adequately explored the reasons for these findings. I then use data from the Health Survey for England to explore the ways that adult Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are physically active. When analysed by age and sex, all South Asians and the White British group were physically active in different ways to each other. However, there was little difference between younger Indians and younger White British people in the contribution of walking to total activity. Finally, I present a qualitative analysis of how ethnicity influences physical activity in second-generation South Asians. I interviewed 28 Indian women living in Manchester, England. I found that a British schooling and messages from the media had strongly influenced second-generation Indian women's attitudes to physical activity. Consequently, their motivations and barriers to physical activity were generally very similar to those reported for White British women. Second-generation Indian women had mostly adopted Western gender roles, with Indian gender expectations having a limited impact on their physical activity. In contrast, the traditional roles of Indian women constrained the leisure-time physical activity of the first-generation Indian women. There was no generational difference in how the local neighbourhood influenced physical activity. This thesis demonstrates clear differences in physical activity prevalence and attitudes between first and second-generation South Asian women in the UK. Interventions aimed at improving local environments for physical activity are likely to help all people living in deprived areas, regardless of ethnic background. Changing generic Western social norms around femininity and being physically active may be more important than tailored interventions for second-generation Indian women.

Though it is known that eating disorders (EDs) affect individuals of all racial/ethnic backgrounds (Cheng, Perko, Fuller-Marashi, Gau, & Stice, 2019), people of color tend to be overlooked in the ED literature. South Asian Americans, a specific subset of individuals traditionally categorized within the larger umbrella group of “Asians,” have been notoriously neglected in both the broader mental health literature, and in the ED literature (Inman, Devdas, Spektor, & Pendse, 2014; Iyer & Haslam, 2003, 2006). Currently, very little information exists on the etiology and presentation of EDs amongst South Asian communities. Even less is known about culturally-specific barriers to treatment-seeking for this population. To begin to address these issues, this study used focus group methodology with South Asian American women to identify salient themes. Thematic analysis revealed several key themes for body image and EDs, as well as perceived barriers and facilitators of ED treatment-seeking behavior for this group. Notably, South Asian American women are subjected to multiple appearance ideals, experience unique cultural stressors related to living in the United States, and perceive relatively high expectations and pressures from multiple social domains, including parents and community members. Both generalized and social stigma about mental health, parents’ mental health concerns, lack of knowledge about EDs, and healthcare providers’ biases were important barriers to treatment-seeking. To address these obstacles, participants recommended that clinicians facilitate intergenerational conversations about mental health, create ED psychoeducational health campaigns, and train providers in culturally-sensitive practices for detecting and treating mental health and ED concerns. Findings can inform the assessment, prevention, and treatment of EDs via the development of a culturally-sensitive ED assessment measure designed specifically for South Asian American women.

This qualitative dissertation uses an Indian dance studio based in the suburbs of a mid-sized Florida city as an entry point to examine how racism impacts the local upwardly mobile Asian Indian community. Utilizing two and a half years of ethnographic data collected at the studio as a Bollywood instructor, 24 in-depth interviews with Indian immigrant parents and their children, 12 self-portraits drawn by children during their interviews, and home visits with 13 families, this project examines the strategies of accommodation and resistance that Indian families use to construct a sense of home and belonging. Applying socialization, visual research methods, critical race, and feminist scholarship to the exploration of how the local Indian immigrant community builds a sense of home and belonging within a nation whose success is a product of racial domination, this project makes four innovative and distinctive contributions to sociological research on socialization, U.S. immigration, and contemporary race relations. In the first data chapter, I coin and develop the term cultural cultivation to describe strategic ethno-cultural socialization efforts immigrant parents use to preserve a culture ‘left behind’ (Ram 2005). Cultural cultivation adds a nuanced dimension to ethno-cultural socialization studies by demonstrating that these efforts are laborious, often regarded as women’s work, and effectively operate as an ‘added step’ to Hochschild and Machung’s (2003) work on the “second shift.” The second data chapter utilizes an innovative research technique of having children draw self-portraits. While cultural cultivation helps children develop a meaningful attachment to Indian culture, self-portraits and interview data uncovered experiences of being teased and feeling ‘left out.’ As a result, many children forged what Portes and Rumbaut (2001) call a “reactive ethnicity” as a way to cope with prejudice and discrimination and construct a sense of identity and belonging. The third data chapter examines the ways families minimized and internalized experiences of prejudice and discrimination. Rather than recognizing them as a part of structural racism, many immigrant parents regarded racial offenses as a deserved response to individual misbehaviors or inadequacies that were to be pointed out and corrected. This internalization prompted several of the interviewees to police their and their children’s actions when in the presence of non-Indians in an attempt to preemptively minimize prejudicial statements and discrimination. For the last data chapter, by revealing the enduring hardships related to socialization and assimilation, I argue that high levels of assimilation and acculturation were also commonly accompanied by what I call immigrant outsiderness, or the subjective dimensions of the migration experience which are marked by 1. Lack of cultural inclusion, 2. Lack of social inclusion, and 3. Feelings of emotional disconnect. Data demonstrate that in spite of meeting the objective benchmarks typically associated with successful structural integration, acculturation, and assimilation, the immigrant experiences of this “model minority” are bounded and characterized by cultural and social exclusion as well as an emotional disconnect. This dissertation concludes by urging both a critical exploration and integration of how Asian Indians and South Asians fit into the contemporary racial landscape beyond terms like “model minority” and “honorary white” so that we can have a more honest and complex understanding of the role racial domination plays in our everyday lives.