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Acculturation and bicultural efficacy effects on Chinese American immigrants’ diabetes and health management

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Abstract

The primary goal of this study was to examine effects of bicultural efficacy, or perceived confidence in dealing with bicultural acculturation stressors, on type 2 diabetes management and health for first-generation, Cantonese-speaking, Chinese American immigrants (N = 162) recruited for a larger community-based diabetes intervention study (Chesla et al. in Res Nurs Health 36(4):359–372, 2013. doi:10.1002/nur.21543). The current study also tested whether a new Bicultural Efficacy in Health Management (BEFF-HM) scale is a more robust predictor of diabetes and health outcomes than proxy (years in the U.S.) and general acculturation measures. Hierarchical regression analyses of cross-sectional data revealed that high BEFF-HM was significantly related to positive outcomes on five of six diabetes and health measures as hypothesized after accounting for participant characteristics, proxy and general acculturation measures, and social support. Proxy and general acculturation measures failed to predict any study outcome supporting our secondary hypothesis that BEFF-HM is a better predictor of Chinese American immigrants’ diabetes and health management. An immigrant-focused research approach advances understanding of acculturation and bicultural efficacy effects on health by identifying key acculturation domains for study.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research (1R01NR010693).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Kevin M. Chun

  2. Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Christine M. L. Kwan

  3. Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR, USA

    Lisa A. Strycker

  4. Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Catherine A. Chesla

Authors
  1. Kevin M. Chun
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  2. Christine M. L. Kwan
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  3. Lisa A. Strycker
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  4. Catherine A. Chesla
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Correspondence to Kevin M. Chun.

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Conflict of Interest

Kevin M. Chun, Christine M. L. Kwan, Lisa A. Strycker, and Catherine A. Chesla declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and animal rights and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Chun, K.M., Kwan, C.M.L., Strycker, L.A. et al. Acculturation and bicultural efficacy effects on Chinese American immigrants’ diabetes and health management. J Behav Med 39, 896–907 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9766-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9766-2

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