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Is Acculturation the Culprit? Acculturative Discordance and Immigrants' Later-Life Health
1University of Toronto - St George Campus, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Journal of Health and Social Behavior
|June 3, 2026
Summary
Immigrant health advantage declines with age, but acculturation doesn't always harm health. Acculturative discordance, where immigrants face mixed acculturation experiences or exclusion, is linked to poorer health outcomes in later life.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Gerontology
- Public Health
Background:
- Immigrants often exhibit a health advantage upon arrival to the U.S.
- This advantage diminishes in later life, leading to similar or higher disability levels compared to the U.S.-born.
- The role of acculturation in this health transition remains debated, with mixed evidence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between multidimensional acculturation and disability among immigrants in later life.
- To test the theory of acculturative discordance as an explanation for immigrant health trajectories.
- To investigate differential health returns to acculturation based on race/ethnicity and experiences of inclusion/exclusion.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the American Community Survey (N=958,211) to construct multidimensional acculturation measures (linguistic, residential, marital, civic).
- Employed regression analyses to assess the relationship between acculturation dimensions and disability.
- Examined interactions between acculturation dimensions and demographic/socioeconomic factors, including race/ethnicity.
Main Results:
- Immigrants lose their health advantage between ages 65 and 80.
- Most acculturation measures were associated with lower, not higher, disability.
- Acculturative discordance—experiencing mixed acculturation or exclusion—was linked to poorer health outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Acculturation's impact on immigrant health is complex and not uniformly negative.
- Acculturative discordance, particularly for minoritized immigrants facing structural exclusion, significantly contributes to health disparities.
- Policies addressing structural exclusion and promoting equitable acculturation may improve immigrant health in later life.
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