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Much research on migrants has focused on single individuals; however, the large-scale movement of people from one society to another often includes families made up of parents, their children and other relatives. Over time, these families and their members settle into their new society; they experience the process of acculturation and eventually adapt to their new circumstances. The processes of acculturation and adaptation are highly variable across cultural groups, societies of settlement, families and individuals. Sometimes this process is challenging, and may engender disagreements and conflicts among members of a family about how to acculturate. Variations in these patterns allow for the examination of which acculturation experiences and strategies lead to better adaptations. This paper reviews some of the core concepts and frameworks for examining them, and presents some findings on how families and youth acculturate and adapt. It concludes with some suggestions for how to acculturate using the integration strategy to improve family and individual adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The culture plays an important role in sexuality. Although each ethnocultural group has its own sexual attitudes, in multicultural contexts, the acculturation process could modify the sexual attitudes of these groups. The aim of the study was to perform a systematic literature review of the studies that have examined the relationship between acculturation and sexual attitudes. Method: The review was carried out in the ProQuest and Scopus databases. There was no time restriction in literature search. Results: A total of 25 studies met the inclusion criteria. The year of publication of the studies ranged from 1982 to 2020. The studies were conducted in the USA and/or in Canada and included mainly Asians and Latinos/Hispanics. Proxy indicators, unidimensional, and bidimensional measures were used to measure acculturation. In general, results show that mainstream acculturation is positively related to liberal or positive sexual attitudes. Relevant interaction and mediation effects were also found: (1) mainstream dimension moderates the relationship between heritage dimension and sexual attitudes, (2) heritage dimension moderates the relationship between mainstream dimension and sexual attitudes, (3) acculturation moderates the relation between gender and sexual attitudes, (4) gender moderates the relation between acculturation and sexual attitudes, (5) the ethnocultural origin moderates the relationship between acculturation and sexual attitudes, and (6) sex guilt mediated the relationship between mainstream acculturation and sexual desire. Conclusion: The acculturation process is related to sexual attitudes. Policy Implications: Knowing the acculturation process could be important to achieve greater equity in sexual health among different groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to health implies, among other things, that individuals and communities must be allowed to have a voice in decisions concerning the definition of their well-being. The article argues for a more active participation of ethnocultural minorities in healthcare decisions and highlights the relevance of strategies aimed at creating a bottom-up engagement of people and groups, as well as of measures aimed at a broader organizational flexibility, in order to meet migrants' and minorities' needs. Finally, the article clarifies that these strategies are not simply the outcome of a welcoming attitude of the Western healthcare system but may be interpreted as a specific duty resulting from the notion of "particularly vulnerable groups," as formulated by the ECtHR in its case law: when vulnerable groups are at stake, every decision about state actions and rules regarding healthcare should start from an a consideration of the specific conditions and needs of people belonging to vulnerable minority groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mayor advancements have been achieved in research on the cultural adaptation of prevention and treatment interventions that are conducted with diverse ethnocultural groups. This commentary addresses conceptual, ethical, contextual, and methodological issues related to cultural adaptations. The articles in this special issue represent a major contribution to the study of cultural adaptations in prevention science. We frame our analysis of fidelity to core intervention components using a conceptual approach that examines (a) the propositional model (theory of change), (b) the procedural model (theory of action, methods), and (c) the philosophical assumptions that undergird these models. Regarding ethics, we caution against imposing the norms, values, and world views of the Western dominant society onto vulnerable populations such as ethnocultural groups. Given that the assumption of universality in behavioral science has been questioned, and as randomized clinical trials (RCTs) seldom examine the ecological validity of evidence-based interventions and treatments (EBI/T), imposing such interventions onto ethnocultural groups is problematic since these interventions contain values, norms, beliefs, and worldviews that may be contrary to those held by many ethnocultural groups. Regarding methods, several innovative designs are discussed that serve as alternatives to the RCT and represent an important contribution to prevention science. Also, we discuss guidelines for conducting cultural adaptations. Finally, the articles in this special issue make a major contribution to the growing field of cultural adaptation of preventive interventions with ethnocultural groups and majority-world populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cigarette smoking behavior is highly determined by social influences during childhood and adolescence. This phenomenon has not been fully evaluated in the Hispanic/Latino population. Purpose To examine the association between exposure to household cigarette smoking behavior (HCSB) and adult cigarette smoking among a diverse Hispanic/Latino population living in four US urban centers. The effect of acculturation on cigarette smoking was also evaluated. Methods Data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) (n = 13,231, ages 18-74 years, collected between March 2008 and June 2011) were analyzed using logistic regression. Results HCSB exposure was an independent risk factor for adult current cigarette smoking in Hispanic/Latinos (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.4, 2.1) after controlling for relevant confounders including socio-demographic and cultural factors. Cubans and Puerto Ricans had the highest prevalence of HCSB exposure (59% and 47% respectively) and highest prevalence of current cigarette smoking (26% and 32%) compared with other Hispanic/Latino groups, (p < .01). Conclusions Our data suggest that exposure to HCSB in Hispanics/Latinos living in the US is an independent predictor of adult cigarette smoking, and this association appears to be strongest in Cubans and Puerto Ricans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Canada announced a policy of multiculturalism in 1971. The goal of the policy was to improve the quality of intercultural relations. Two main elements of the policy were proposed as steps towards achieving this goal: support for the maintenance and development of cultural communities (the cultural component); and promotion of intercultural contact along with the reduction of barriers to such participation (the intercultural component). Research on these issues can provide a basis for the development and implementation of multiculturalism policies and programmes. A review of psychological research on multiculturalism over the past 40 years is summarised. Topics include: knowledge about the multiculturalism policy; acceptance of multiculturalism; acceptance of ethnocultural groups; acceptance of immigrants; discrimination and exclusion; and attachment and identity. Research assessing three hypotheses derived from the policy is also briefly reviewed. Current evidence is that there is widespread support for these features of the multicultural way of living in Canada. Of particular importance for the success of multiculturalism is the issue of social cohesion: is the first component (the promotion of cultural diversity) compatible with the second component (the full and equitable participation and inclusion of all ethnocultural groups in civic society)? If they are compatible, together do they lead to the attainment of the fundamental goal of attaining positive intercultural relations? Current psychological evidence suggests that these two components are indeed compatible, and that when present, they are associated with mutual acceptance among ethnocultural groups in Canada. I conclude that research in Canada supports the continuation of the multiculturalism policy and programmes that are intended to improve intercultural relations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examined the level of happiness among adolescents whose families are from India, in comparison to Portuguese adolescents who did not go through an acculturation process. It also examined if happiness can be predicted by demographic and mental health factors. There were 542 adolescent participants. Of these, 366 were Portuguese and 175 belonged to families coming from India. The participants completed the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale and a short biographical form. The hypotheses were partially supported. Indian adolescents from an immigrant background living in Portugal showed more happiness than Portuguese adolescents. Psychological constructs (self-esteem, satisfaction with life and loneliness) were more important in the prediction of happiness than the sociodemographic variables. With immigrant youth showing good psychological adaptation, our study lends further support to several studies from the USA suggesting that immigrant children generally adapt well and in some cases better than their national peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to understand preferences in acculturation strategies among adolescents with immigrant background in Portugal. The study sample consisted of 313 adolescents (mean age=15.00 years; SD=1.88). The mean duration of sojourn in Portugal for the sample was 8.2 years (SD=4.8). Responses obtained from the questionnaire indicated that Integration is the most preferred acculturation strategy for all ethnic groups. With the exception of Cape Verdean, assimilation was the second most preferred strategy. Different demographic, intercultural and personality factors were found to account for 13% of the explained variance in assimilation, 46% of integration, 32% of separation and 11% of marginalization. Acculturation strategy preference was found to depend in part on one''s ethnicity (as a category or as an identity), majority identity, in-group social interaction, perceived discrimination, stressful experience adaptation, gender, age, and symptomatology. Out-group social interaction, majority language proficiency, as well as mastery and self-esteem were no important predictors of one acculturation strategy. These findings can be used as a prophylactic measures toward the adaptation of these youngsters. Understanding the complex relationships between demographic, intercultural and psychosocial adjustment factors, and acculturation strategies can help the social scientist to develop and apply adequate intervention strategies and to give some suggestions for the development of adequate socio-political acculturation programmes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]