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Acculturation and biological stress markers: A systematic review
Laura Scholaske1, Pathik D Wadhwa2, Sonja Entringer3
1German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), Mauerstr. 76, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Psychology, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
|July 10, 2021
Summary
Acculturation impacts immigrant health through stress. This review found mixed associations between acculturation and stress biomarkers, highlighting the need for better research methods to understand these links.
Area of Science:
- Health disparities
- Psychoneuroimmunology
- Immigrant health
Background:
- Acculturation's impact on immigrant health is often mediated by stress.
- Stress biology plays a role in the acculturation-health association.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize empirical findings on acculturation's relationship with stress biomarkers.
- To review associations with inflammatory, endocrine biomarkers, and allostatic load (AL) scores.
Main Methods:
- Literature search in PubMed and PsycInfo databases.
- Included studies empirically testing acculturation and stress biomarkers or AL scores.
- Focused on English-language publications.
Main Results:
- 41 articles reviewed; most published post-2010, focused on U.S. Hispanic adults, and used cross-sectional designs.
- Acculturation associated with stress biomarkers in 29 studies, with varied effect directions.
- Different acculturation measures (language vs. nativity/generation) showed distinct associations with biomarkers and AL scores.
Conclusions:
- Majority of studies show associations between acculturation and stress biomarkers, but with inconsistent directions.
- Heterogeneity may stem from cross-sectional designs and unidimensional acculturation measures.
- Need for longitudinal studies and multidimensional acculturation measures to clarify biobehavioral pathways.
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