Acculturation and eating disorders in Asian and Caucasian Australian adolescent girls

The present study aimed to compare the attitudes and psychopathology of eating disorders between Asian and Caucasian adolescent girls; and investigate the relationship between acculturation and the attitudes and psychopathology of eating disorders in subgroups of Asian girls. Two groups of non-clinical adolescent girls in Perth, Western Australia, were compared using a survey method. There were 17 Asian and 25 Caucasian adolescent girls, aged 14-17 drawn from private high schools in Perth who were screened using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-2), and an acculturation index. The psychopathology scores for eating disorders of the Asian group were significantly higher than that of the Caucasian group in terms of total EDI-2 score, Interpersonal Distrust, Maturity Fears, Impulse Regulation and Social Insecurity subscales. Eating attitudes measured by Dieting subscale of the EAT-26 was significantly different. Within the Asian group, the less acculturated girls had higher scores on the EAT-26 and the EDI-2 than the more acculturated. Less acculturated Asian girls appeared to have unhealthier attitudes and psychopathology toward eating.

Validity of verbal autopsy procedures for determining cause of death in Tanzania

Objectives: To validate verbal autopsy (VA) procedures for use in sample vital registration. Verbal autopsy is an important method for deriving cause-specific mortality estimates where disease burdens are greatest and routine cause-specific mortality data do not exist. Methods: Verbal autopsies and medical records (MR) were collected for 3123 deaths in the perinatal/neonatal period, post-neonatal < 5 age group, and for ages of 5 years and over in Tanzania. Causes of death were assigned by physician panels using the International Classification of Disease, revision 10. Validity was measured by: cause-specific mortality fractions (CSMF); sensitivity; specificity and positive predictive value. Medical record diagnoses were scored for degree of uncertainty, and sensitivity and specificity adjusted. Criteria for evaluating VA performance in generating true proportional mortality were applied. Results: Verbal autopsy produced accurate CSMFs for nine causes in different age groups: birth asphyxia; intrauterine complications; pneumonia; HIV/AIDS; malaria (adults); tuberculosis; cerebrovascular diseases; injuries and direct maternal causes. Results for 20 other causes approached the threshold for good performance. Conclusions: Verbal autopsy reliably estimated CSMFs for diseases of public health importance in all age groups. Further validation is needed to assess reasons for lack of positive results for some conditions.

Estimating cause-specfic mortality from community- and facility-based data sources in the United Republic of Tanzania: options and implications for mortality burden estimates

Objective To compare mortality burden estimates based on direct measurement of levels and causes in communities with indirect estimates based on combining health facility cause-specific mortality structures with community measurement of mortality levels. Methods. Data from sentinel vital registration (SVR) with verbal autopsy (VA) were used to determine the cause-specific mortality burden at the community level in two areas of the United Republic of Tanzania. Proportional cause-specific mortality structures from health facilities were applied to counts of deaths obtained by SVR to produce modelled estimates. The burden was expressed in years of life lost. Findings. A total of 2884 deaths were recorded from health facilities and 2167 recorded from SVR/VAs. In the perinatal and neonatal age group cause-specific mortality rates were dominated by perinatal conditions and stillbirths in both the community and the facility data. The modelled estimates for chronic causes were very similar to those from SVR/VA. Acute febrile illnesses were coded more specifically in the facility data than in the VA. Injuries were more prevalent in the SVR/VA data than in that from the facilities. Conclusion. In this setting, improved International classification of diseases and health related problems, tenth revision (ICD-10) coding practices and applying facility-based cause structures to counts of deaths from communities, derived from SVR, appears to produce reasonable estimates of the cause-specific mortality burden in those aged 5 years and older determined directly from VA. For the perinatal and neonatal age group, VA appears to be required. Use of this approach in a nationally representative sample of facilities may produce reliable national estimates of the cause-specific mortality burden for leading causes of death in adults.

An examination of the effects of print media exposure and contact on subjective social reality and acculturation attitudes

This study draws upon cultivation theory, acculturation theory, and works on intergroup relations to examine the effects of print media exposure and contact on subjective social reality and acculturation attitudes of Chinese immigrants in Australia. Data was gathered via a survey administered to 265 respondents with Chinese origin. Results indicate that exposure to mainstream newspapers is only positively related to one indicator of subjective reality, namely, outgroup perception whereas exposure to ethnic newspapers was not significantly related to any of the indicators of subjective reality. Acculturation attitudes, on the other hand, are more closely related to group perception and contact but not closely associated with exposure to print media. These findings have again challenged the direct effect assumption of cultivation theory, paved the ground for combining mediated communication variables with interpersonal communication variables in acculturation research and suggested policy implications for interethnic coexistence. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acculturation and eating disorders in Asian and Caucasian Australian university students

This study aimed to compare the attitudes and psychopathology of eating disorders of Asian and Caucasian university students using a survey method. The study also investigated the relationship between acculturation, attitudes and psychopathology of eating disorders in sub-groups of Asian girls. There were 130 Asian and 110 Caucasian adolescent girls, aged 18–24 who were screened using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-2) and an Acculturation Index. The Asian group did not have higher mean EAT score than the Caucasian group, but had higher mean score in some sub-scales of the EDI-2. Eating disordered attitudes and psychopathology was not significantly different in the low compared to the high accultured Asian girls. This study suggests that Asian and Caucasian university students in Western Australia are equally susceptible to eating disorders, and that the level of acculturation does not modify the susceptibility of Asian students for eating disorders.

An examination of the factors that influence identification and acculturation

This paper investigated the effects of print media exposure and intergroup contact on ethnic identification and acculturation attitudes of Chinese immigrants. Data was gathered from a survey participated by 265 respondents of Chinese origin. Findings indicated that exposure to the print media did not have a significant effect on ethnic identification and/or acculturation orientation. However, when the factor of intergroup contact was taken into consideration, differences began to occur. Specifically, for respondents from low intergroup contact group, ethnic identification increased with the desire to integrate into the large culture. For respondents from high intergroup contact group, opposite trends were found, i.e. as ethic identification increased, the tendency to adopt integration orientation decreased. Findings from this study suggested the need to combine factors of both interpersonal and mediated communication in the examination of ethnic identification and acculturation. This paper also drew some implications for the media industry and government policies.

Reconciliation through communication in intercultural encounters: potential or peril?

As we reflect on the events of September 11th and their aftermath, there is strong motivation in many places to improve intercultural and international relations through communication. This laudable aim implicates the long history of research into intercultural encounters, which has always bad this goal. To achieve it, researchers and trainers must go beyond conceptualizing intercultural encounters as like interpersonal ones, except that participants have different and sometimes conflicting cultural rules and values. We must develop programs to train metaskills in analyzing miscommunication and its negative consequences. This requires the recognition that, in many interethnic and intercultural contexts, participants are not. motivated to communicate well. In such cases, the larger sociopolitical situation must be addressed, or skills training may even exacerbate the conflict. It is also crucial to understand intercultural communication as simultaneously intergroup and interpersonal, to incorporate both aspects into interventions, and to advocate for such training to improve intercultural relations.

Role of culture in gambling and problem gambling

There has been a significant gap in the gambling literature regarding the role of culture in gambling and problem gambling (PG). This paper aims to reduce this gap by presenting a systematic review of the cultural variations in gambling and PG as well as a discussion of the role cultural variables can play in the initiation and maintenance of gambling in order to stimulate further research. The review shows that although studies investigating prevalence rates of gambling and PG among different cultures are not plentiful, evidence does suggest certain cultural groups are more vulnerable to begin gambling and to develop PG. Significant factors including familial/genetic, sociological, and individual factors have been found in the Western gambling literature as playing important roles in the development and maintenance of PG. These factors need to be examined now in other cultural groups so we can better understand the etiological processes involved in PG and design culturally sensitive treatments. In addition, variables, such as cultural values and beliefs, the process of acculturation, and the influence of culturally determined help-seeking behaviors need to be also examined in relation to the role they could play in the initiation of and maintenance of gambling. Understanding the contribution of cultural variables will allow us to devise better prevention and treatment options for PG. Methodological problems in this area of research are highlighted, and suggestions for future research are included. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Serological survey of Babesia bovis and Anaplasma marginale in cattle in Tete Province, Mozambique

A serological survey of bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis in communal cattle was conducted in the northwestern province of Tete, Mozambique. Blood was collected from cattle ranging from 4 to 15 months old from randomly selected farms from six districts. Thirty-nine per cent of all 478 calves tested in Tete Province were seropositive to the ELISA for Babesia bovis antibodies and 63% of all calves were seropositive in the card agglutination test for Anaplasma marginale. Seroprevalence of B. bovis ranged from 22.8% in Tete City District to 48.1% in Angonia District. For A. marginale, it ranged from 34.4% in Angonia District to 87.3% in Moatize District. The dominant factor affecting seroprevalence for both haemoparasites was district and there was a trend for higher intensity of tick control to be associated with a higher seroprevalence of B. bovis and a lower seroprevalence of A. marginale. The obvious differences were the low prevalence of B. bovis in Tete City Council District and the low prevalence of A. marginale in Angonia District. The levels of exposure to B. bovis seen in our study are well below any that could be considered to be consistent with endemic stability, yet they are sufficiently high to ensure that clinical disease would be a risk. The seroprevalence of A. marginale, however, suggests that endemic stability with respect to this disease could exist in districts other than Angonia. There was no strong and consistent relationship between the intensity of control and the likelihood of seropositivity to either of the diseases.

Predictors of cultural adjustment: Intergroup status relations and boundary permeability

We examined intergroup predictors of cultural adjustment among Asian international students in Australia. Sociostructural beliefs (status, legitimacy, and permeability) and initial adjustment were assessed (N = 113) at Time 1, and measures of adjustment were obtained (N = 80) at Time 2 eight weeks later. International students who perceived their cultural group to be relatively low in status experienced lower levels of psychological adjustment. Also, as expected, the effects of status were moderated by perceptions of both the permeability of intergroup boundaries and the legitimacy of the status differential. At high levels of legitimacy, perceptions of permeable group boundaries were associated with better psychological, sociocultural, and academic adjustment among international students perceiving their group to be low in status, but lower levels of adjustment among students who perceived their group to be high in status. At low levels of legitimacy, irrespective of group status position, perceived permeability was not related to adjustment.