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Should Acculturation be a variable in Health Research?

Acculturation has become a popular variable in research on health disparities among certain ethnic minorities, in the

absence of serious reflection about its central concepts and assumptions. Key constructs such as what constitutes a

culture, which traits pertain to the ethnic versus ‘‘mainstream’’ culture, and what cultural adaptation entails have not

been carefully defined. Using examples from a systematic review of recent articles, this paper critically reviews the

development and application of the concept of acculturation in US health research on Hispanics. Multiple

misconceptions and errors in the central assumptions underlying the concept of acculturation are examined, and it is

concluded that acculturation as a variable in health research may be based more on ethnic stereotyping than on

objective representations of cultural difference.

 

 

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