Archives of Public Health
Volume 58, Issue 1, 2000, Pages 1-5

Measuring acculturation among immigrants (Article)

Buekens P.* , Manson A. , Delvaux T.
  • a Dept. of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, United States
  • b Dept. of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, United States
  • c Dept. of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, United States

Abstract

The term "acculturation" refers to the process of cultural change in which one group or members of a group assimilate various cultural patterns from another. Acculturation could influence the health status of immigrants in Belgium. Acculturation might be detrimental when it is associated with changes such as increase in smoking, less healthy diet, and loss of social networks. Measures of acculturation are needed to understand the evolution of the health status of immigrants in Belgium. Existing instruments to measure acculturation should be validated in the Belgian context, and new instruments should be developed. Simple Indexes mostly measuring language should be compared to a more detailed instrument, which should be based on a good understanding of acculturation in Belgium.

Author Keywords

Belgium Migrants Acculturation

Index Keywords

controlled study rating scale measurement health status birth immigrant instrument language cultural factor Belgium Article residential home human geography
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0034465993&partnerID=40&md5=f3e637546135913eaa3eec46b3ec0e9d
ISSN: 07787367
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English