Cultural Differences In Experience Research Articles

Beliefs, Attitudes, and Practices of Latinas Related to Gestational Weight Gain: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis.

Excessive and inadequate gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with a number of negative health outcomes for mother and infant. Approximately two-thirds or more of Latinas gain outside of GWG guidelines. Acculturation plays a role in GWG-related factors, however the views of Latinas are often aggregated in overall study samples, thus trivializing the specific needs of this demographic group. The purpose of the present meta-ethnography was to better understand GWG beliefs, attitudes, and practice among Latinas by synthesizing extant qualitative findings on this topic. Qualitative studies offer an important window into Latinas' views and practices related to GWG. A qualitative meta-ethnography (a form of meta-synthesis) was implemented to synthesize qualitative studies about Latinas' views of GWG-related factors. An initial sample of articles was distilled based on meta-ethnography guidelines from Noblit and Hare (1988) to a final sample of six qualitative articles that included perspectives from Latinas. Six concepts emerged across the studies, they included: shifts in feeling control, inconsistent/lacking information, self vs. other, applied wisdom, isolation vs. support, and everyday practicality. Studies met most quality assessment criteria (Atkins et al., BMC Medical Research Methodology 8:21, 2008). The views of Latinas about GWG-related factors are often buried in with perspectives of other women, which hides important details that are valuable for health program interventions designed to support these women. Future research should further explore the cultural differences in experience among Latinas to produce information and resources that are culturally relevant and relatable.

A Sense of Obligation: Cultural Differences in the Experience of Obligation.

In this investigation of cultural differences in the experience of obligation, we distinguish between Confucian Role Ethics versus Relative Autonomy lay theories of motivation and illustrate them with data showing relevant cultural differences in both social judgments and intrapersonal experience. First, when judging others, Western European heritage culture (WEHC) participants (relative to Confucian heritage culture [CHC] participants) judged obligation-motivated actors more negatively than those motivated by agency (Study 1, N = 529). Second, in daily diary and situation sampling studies, CHC participants (relative to WEHC participants) perceived more congruency between their own agentic and obligated motivations, and more positive emotional associations with obligated motivations (Study 2, N = 200 and Study 3, N = 244). Agentic motivation, however, was universally associated with positive emotions. More research on a Role Ethics rather than Relative Autonomy conception of agency may improve our understanding of human motivation, especially across cultures.

Hubris, Humility & Confucius

ABSTRACTUsing insights from an anthropologist, a sociologist, a psychologist, and a philosopher, this article explores differences in cultural experience, in behaviours, and in expectations concerning the teaching of design by a foreign teacher working with students in their homeland. The author argues that it is substantially different to teach foreign students in the United States than it is to teach them in their own country. The article focuses on the cultural difference between an American teacher and her Chinese Master's-level students in Hong Kong working within the context of a design seminar course that required original research. While the university conducts classes in English and the students' language skills are diverse, other cultural obstacles, including contrasting teaching and learning styles, present a larger challenge. The deeply established Confucian values held by the students contrast with and sometimes support the teaching and learning experience in terms of interactive communicatio...

Quality of life in patients with skin diseases in central Saudi Arabia

BackgroundPrevious national and international studies of quality of life (QoL) in patients with skin diseases have revealed different levels of QoL impairment. The aims of this study were to assess QoL in patients with skin diseases in central Saudi Arabia using the newly validated Skindex-16 instrument and to determine the association between QoL in patients with skin disease, sociodemographic data, and disease characteristics.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 283 adult patients who visited the outpatient dermatology clinics of King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over 3 months. The patients were interviewed using a pretested Arabic version of the Skindex-16 to measure the effect of skin disorders on their QoL during the previous 7 days. Patient characteristics, medical history, and clinical findings were collected. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to relate the demographic and clinical characteristics to the percentage mean QoL score, and P ≤ 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsQoL was good in 69% of the respondents, with a total percent mean score of 31.80 ± 20.16. The emotional domain was the most affected (mean percentage score 44.27 ± 27.06), followed by symptoms (31.45 ± 28.40) and functioning (14.61 ± 22.75). After adjustment for potential confounders, poorer QoL was significantly associated with female gender (P = 0.03), older age (P = 0.003), rural origin (P = 0.03), positive family history of the same lesion(s) (P = 0.01), shorter duration of ≤6 months (P = 0.02), generalized spread (P ≤ 0.02), and lack of isotretinoin treatment (P = 0.02).Conclusion. The QoL results in this study were generally more optimistic than those of many previous studies. This discrepancy may be due to biases in questionnaire responses or to cultural differences in experience of skin disease and perception of disability. Significant predictors of QoL were not the same for the three domains of the Skindex scale. Further studies of specific diseases and educational programs targeting patients at higher risk for QoL impairments are recommended.

Culturing the adolescent brain: what can neuroscience learn from anthropology?

Cultural neuroscience is set to flourish in the next few years. As the field develops, it is necessary to reflect on what is meant by 'culture' and how this can be translated for the laboratory context. This article uses the example of the adolescent brain to discuss three aspects of culture that may help us to shape and reframe questions, interpretations and applications in cultural neuroscience: cultural contingencies of categories, cultural differences in experience and cultural context of neuroscience research. The last few years have seen a sudden increase in the study of adolescence as a period of both structural and functional plasticity, with new brain-based explanations of teenage behaviour being taken up in education, policy and medicine. However, the concept of adolescence, as an object of behavioural science, took shape relatively recently, not much more than a hundred years ago and was shaped by a number of cultural and historical factors. Moreover, research in anthropology and cross-cultural psychology has shown that the experience of adolescence, as a period of the lifespan, is variable and contingent upon culture. The emerging field of cultural neuroscience has begun to tackle the question of cultural differences in social cognitive processing in adults. In this article, I explore what a cultural neuroscience can mean in the case of adolescence. I consider how to integrate perspectives from social neuroscience and anthropology to conceptualize, and to empirically study, adolescence as a culturally variable phenomenon, which, itself, has been culturally constructed.

Self care for chronic illness: older African Americans and whites.

In-person interviews with two hundred and twenty-one older African Americans and whites in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania on their use of self care activities in the care of one of four chronic illnesses (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and arthritis, addressed which types of self care they used for each of these illnesses) the similarities and differences between African Americans and whites in their use of self care and how self care is initiated, modified and integrated into a context that includes help from others. The most common response in each of the illnesses was the use of medications or medical treatments by both African Americans and whites. However, there were some differences in the self care practices used by these two groups by illness type. Whites reported monitoring their illness significantly more than African Americans for diabetes and using assistive devices in the management of COPD significantly more than African Americans. While both African Americans and whites practice self care similarly in the management of heart disease, African Americans reported greater use of exercise in their management of arthritis. The amount of assistance provided by others in support of self care varied by illness and by African American and white. The differences in self care usage may be attributed to many factors, among them, differences in cultural experiences with the illness, health beliefs regarding its efficacy and the amount of assistance received from informal supports.

EVALUATION OF ATTITUDE SURVEY TRANSLATIONS: AN INVESTIGATION USING ITEM RESPONSE THEORY

Abstract The fidelity of a translated survey instrument used to measure attitudes toward mental health was evaluated using statistical methods based on item response theory. Data from French and German versions of the attitude survey wm analyzed, and items that displayed differential item functioning (dif) were identified. Item characteristic curves (ICCs) were examined to determine whether the source of dif could be attributed to errors in translation or differences in cultural experiences or knowledge. The proposal by Humphreys and Hulin for using ICCs to determine the source of dif is evaluated.