American People Research Articles

An Exploration of China’s Image Perception, Influencing Factors and Communication Strategies from a Latin American Perspective — An Empirical Study Based on the 2001–2023 Latin American Barometer

The world is undergoing a great change that has not been seen in a 100 years, and the international situation and international pattern are changing profoundly. In order to promote China’s “going out” and explore China–Latin America relationship to build a better national image, this paper, based on the 2001–2023 Latin American Barometer, 2001–2023 Pew Global Attitudes Survey, China Knowledge Network database and 2001–2023 Chinese government website’s reports on Latin America, government website’s reports on Latin America and Africa, tries to discuss Latin American people’s perceptions of China’s national image. This study mainly used Octopus, SPSS and other tools to crawl and analyze the data. The study found that there is a correlation between China’s national image and its national image.

Capturing the perspectives of African American informal dementia caregivers: a phenomenological study

ABSTRACT Dementia can be overwhelming to families and their caregivers. Informal caregiving is a widespread mode of providing dementia care in African American communities, yet impact of caregiving on informal or family caregivers in African American communities is burdensome. This study aimed to describe the lived experiences of informal caregivers of African American People Living with Dementia (PLWD) to understand their perceptions of dementia and dementia care, caregiver support needs, and service needs. Interpretive phenomenological qualitative inquiry guided this study to understand caregivers’ experiences and needs. Ten family caregivers of African American PLWD in the community participated in this study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and a diary study approach to document and interpret caregivers’ experiences. The data analysis was based on procedures of content analysis. Four major themes emerged from the in-depth interviews: caregiver burden, familism, lack of information and community-based resources, and desire and need for culturally appropriate community-based resources. Triangulated diary entry data complemented the in-depth interviews with similar themes. This study highlights how African American informal caregivers of PLWD face various caregiving needs and challenges in dementia care including lack of culturally appropriate community resources and information. The study illustrates that African American cultural beliefs of familism are significant aspects of their caregiving experience and their coping strategies. These study results provide a useful foundation for various stakeholders to develop culturally targeted interventions and programs to support African American informal caregivers and their family members with dementia.

Ethnic/racial and sex disparities in obstructive sleep apnea among adolescents in southern California.

Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common; however, inclusion of adolescents and especially those of ethnic/racial minorities in research is scarce. We hypothesized that ethnic/racial minority adolescents undergoing polysomnography have higher prevalence and more severe OSA compared to those who are non-Hispanic (NH) White. Retrospective review of 1,745 adolescents undergoing diagnostic polysomnography. Demographic characteristics, age, body mass index percentile, and polysomnography parameters were obtained. Descriptive statistics comparing race/ethnicity were analyzed. Linear regression of log-transformed obstructive apnea-hypopnea index, and logistic regression of moderate-severe OSA (obstructive apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 5 events/h) adjusting for covariates were analyzed. A total of 58.2% adolescents were Hispanic, 24.1% NH-White, 4.3% NH-Asian/Pacific Islander, 4.2% NH-Black/African American, and 6.6% NH-other. Compared to the NH-White group, the Hispanic group had higher obstructive apnea-hypopnea index and any level of OSA severity, the Black/African American group had higher any level of OSA, and the NH-Asian group had higher moderate-severe OSA. Multiple linear regression of log-obstructive apnea-hypopnea index identified a positive association with Hispanic ethnicity (β: 0.25, P value < .05). Compared to the NH-White group, the Hispanic and the Asian/Pacific Islander groups were 1.45 (95% confidence interval: 1.10, 1.93) and 1.81 (95% confidence interval: 1.05, 3.10) times more likely to have moderate-severe OSA, respectively, after adjusting for relevant covariates. Stratified analysis by sex identified an association only among males between Hispanic ethnicity (odds ratio: 1.85, 95% confidence interval: 1.27, 2.70) and Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity (odds ratio: 2.62, 95% confidence interval: 1.35, 5.11) and moderate-severe OSA, compared to the NH-White group. Among adolescents undergoing polysomnography evaluation, we identified OSA racial/ethnic and sex disparities in Hispanic and NH-Asian adolescents. Community level studies with adequate representation of these minority groups are needed to identify factors associated with the reported increased susceptibility. Landeo-Gutierrez J, Ryu J, Tantisira K, Bhattacharjee R. Ethnic/racial and sex disparities in obstructive sleep apnea among adolescents in southern California. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024;20(10):1637-1645.

Associations of role, area deprivation index, and race with health behaviors and body mass index among localized prostate cancer patients and their partners.

To examine the associations of role (localized prostate cancer (PCa) patient vs. their intimate partner), area deprivation index (ADI-higher scores indicating higher neighborhood deprivation levels), and race (Black/African American (AA) vs. White) with health behaviors and body mass index (BMI) among PCa patients and partners. The behaviors include smoking, alcohol consumption, diet quality, sedentary behaviors, and physical activity (PA). This study used the baseline data collected in a clinical trial. Given the nested structure of the dyadic data, multi-level models were used. Significant role-race interaction effects on smoking, ADI-race effects on alcohol consumption, and role-ADI effects on BMI were found. Meanwhile, patients smoked more cigarettes, decreased alcohol consumption, had less healthful diets, spent longer time watching TV, did fewer sedentary hobbies, had more confidence in PA, and had higher BMIs than their partners. High ADI was independently associated with lower odds of drinking alcohol, using computer/Internet, and doing non-walking PA, and higher BMI compared to low ADI controlling for role and race. Black/AA dyads had less smoking amount and alcohol consumption and higher sedentary time and BMI than White dyads when adjusted for role and ADI. This study identified significant interaction and main effects of role, ADI, or race on health behaviors and BMI. Future behavioral interventions should address divergent individual needs between patients and partners, social and neighborhood barriers, and cultural indicators of racial groups to promote healthful behaviors and improve the quality of survivorship for PCa patients and partners.

Rationale, design, and participant characteristics of the FAITH! Heart Health+ study: An exploration of the influence of the social determinants of health, stress, and structural racism on African American cardiovascular health

BackgroundAfrican Americans (AAs) face cardiovascular health (CVH) disparities linked to systemic racism. The 2020 police killing of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated adverse psychosocial factors affecting CVH outcomes among AAs. This manuscript describes the study protocol and participant characteristics in an ancillary study exploring the relationship between biopsychosocial factors and CVH among AAs. MethodsUsing a community-based participatory approach, a mixed-methods ancillary study of 58 AA participants from an overarching randomized control trial (RCT) was conducted. Baseline RCT health assessments (November 2020) provided sociodemographic, medical, and clinical data. Subsequent health assessments (February–December 2022) measured sleep quality, psychosocial factors (e.g., high-effort coping), biomarkers (e.g., cortisol), and cardiovascular diagnostics (e.g., cardio-ankle vascular index). CVH was assessed using the American Heart Association Life's Simple 7 (LS7) (range 0 to 14, poor to ideal) and Life's Essential 8 (LE8) scores (range 0 to 100, low to high). Correlations between these scores will be examined. Focus group discussions via videoconferencing (March to April 2022) assessed psychosocial and structural barriers, along with the impact of COVID-19 and George Floyd's killing on daily life. ResultsParticipants were predominantly female (67%), with a mean age of 54.6 [11.9] years, high cardiometabolic risk (93% had overweight/obesity and 70% hypertension), and moderate LE8 scores (mean 57.4, SD 11.5). ConclusionThis study will enhance understanding of the associations between biopsychosocial factors and CVH among AAs in Minnesota. Findings may inform risk estimation, patient care, and healthcare policies to address CVD disparities in marginalized populations.

Religion and Migration in Latin America and Among Latin American People in Other Parts of the World

Religion and Migration in Latin America and Among Latin American People in Other Parts of the World

Hypertension Prevalence and Related Risk Factors Among Mexican American Adults Are Increasing: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999 to 2018.

Acculturation affects hypertension prevalence among Hispanic people, but there have been no recent analyses specifically focused on Mexican American (MA) people. We sought to determine age-adjusted hypertension prevalence, abdominal obesity, and acculturation trends among MA adults and non-Hispanic White adults. Data from the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) were analyzed in 2-year increments to observe trends in hypertension and risk factors (age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, abdominal obesity, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), education, and income). Acculturation was based on three commonly used measures. The sample included 30 920 adults. Age-adjusted hypertension prevalence is higher in MA adults (52.7%) than White adults (48.3%). Hypertension risk factors-age, obesity prevalence, WHtR, acculturation-all significantly increased among MA adults, while smoking declined. Higher acculturation scores increased hypertension likelihood (odds ratio [OR], 1.44 [95% CI, 0.91-1.97]) for MA adults compared with those with lower acculturation scores. White adults with elevated WHtR >0.5 had a 40% higher risk of hypertension than those with WHtR <0.5, but among MA adults, elevated WHtR did not increase risk for hypertension. There was a significant increase in hypertension prevalence among MA adults from 2003 to 2018 at an average biennial rate of 2.23%. There was no change in hypertension prevalence among White adults from 1999 to 2018. Over 20 years of NHANES, more highly acculturated MA adults were at greater risk for hypertension, despite declines in smoking and controlling for age, sex, obesity status, education, and income. Finding ways to promote more traditional lifestyle and eating habits for MA adults could be a beneficial approach to reducing hypertension risk factors in this population.

Association Between COVID-19 and Planned and Postponed Cancer Screenings Among American Indian Adults Residing in California and Oklahoma, March-December 2020.

Little is known about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected cancer screenings among American Indian people residing in California and Oklahoma, 2 states with the largest American Indian populations. We assessed rates and factors associated with cancer screenings among American Indian adults during the pandemic. From October 2020 through January 2021, we surveyed 767 American Indian adults residing in California and Oklahoma. We asked participants whether they had planned to obtain screenings for breast cancer, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer (CRC) from March through December 2020 and whether screening was postponed because of COVID-19. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for factors associated with reasons for planned and postponed cancer screening. Among 395 participants eligible for breast cancer screening, 234 (59.2%) planned to obtain the screening, 127 (54.3%) of whom postponed it. Among 517 participants eligible for cervical cancer screening, 357 (69.1%) planned to obtain the screening, 115 (32.2%) of whom postponed it. Among 454 participants eligible for CRC screening, 282 (62.1%) planned to obtain CRC screening, 80 of whom (28.4%) postponed it. In multivariate analyses, women who lived with a child (vs did not) had lower odds of planning to obtain a breast cancer screening (AOR = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3-1.0). Adherence to social distancing recommendations was associated with planning to have and postponement of cervical cancer screening (AOR = 7.3; 95% CI, 0.9-58.9). Participants who received (vs did not receive) social or financial support had higher odds of planning to have CRC screening (AOR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-3.9). The COVID-19 pandemic impeded completion of cancer screenings among American Indian adults. Interventions are needed to increase the intent to receive evidence-based cancer screenings among eligible American Indian adults.

Conspiracy Framing and Intratextual Elements: Chryons and Clips in the FOX News Coverage of the Brett Kavanaugh Hearings

Background Coverage of the Brett Kavanaugh hearing was continual, the commentary constant, and the conspiracy theories advanced, by both Kavanaugh and Fox News, were consequential. Methods Using conspiracy as a lens, this article examines the Fox News coverage of the Senate Judiciary Confirmation Hearing of Brett Kavanaugh on September 27, 2018. On that day, Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony detailing an alleged sexual assault was heard, as was Kavanaugh’s statement in defense of himself. Specifically, the article looks at the entire day of coverage including the commentary during breaks in the hearing as well as the Fox News programming run after the completion of the day’s testimony. Results Adopting a conspiracy frame demonstrates how Fox News coverage revolved around a conspiracy by Democrats. Democrats were constructed as an unappeasable, evil force; Blasey Ford was presented as a pawn used by Democrats; and Kavanaugh was positioned as a symbolic representative of white patriarchy -- the persecuted hero fighting for the American people and way of life. Conclusions Unpacking the consequences of this narrative framing reveals the way news elements and intratextual elements of coverage (clips and chyrons) construct an interpretive frame for viewers. In the Kavanaugh case, the conspiratorial interpretive frame allowed for the dismissal of Blasey Ford, justified Kavanaugh’s aggressively defensive tone, and associated his defense with the necessary defense of American justice.

The “bridge character”: Carl Schurz and West German–American rapprochement

In 1952, West Germans and Americans held a joint, year-long observation celebrating the centennial of the arrival of German-born Carl Schurz in the USA. The collaborative, transatlantic celebration served to publicize a historical and cultural relationship between the German and American peoples through the memory of Carl Schurz. State and non-state participants publicly remembered Schurz as the quintessential German–American and a “bridge character” that transcended national borders, occupied an important ideological space, legitimized the Cold War relationship between erstwhile enemies, and perpetuated an on-going process to construct a transnational, cultural identity rooted in Western liberal-democratic political culture. For the US government, the historical character of Carl Schurz also became a means of promoting a liberal heritage in the face of on-going Soviet accusations of American imperialism, warmongering, and poor race relations.

Let us play something else: Thoughts on ‘games are different’ and game scholarship in the Trump era

This piece takes its cue from a pair of incidents – a not unfamiliar theme in game studies – relating to game scholarship and its engagement with right-wing politics. In the first case, well-known game scholar Bonnie ‘Bo’ Ruberg called on editors and reviewers to stop insisting that scholars include a reference to a certain online campaign of harassment, doxing and threats of physical violence. In the second case, I had a reviewer insist that I had to include a reference to the ‘Fortnite to alt-right pipeline’ because clearly games were causing alt-right lunacy. To be sure, these both constitute genre criticism – among others – at its most reductive and cynical, deciding what the institutional and audience expectations entail based on an assumption of the industrial ones. Then, biographical criticism and assertions about authorial intent or the necessary ‘touchstones’ began to appear. There seems to be a consistent and persistent insistence that somehow even the best and most accomplished scholars should forget decades of scholarship because ‘games are different’ and this tendency has been conditioned and shaped by reading games through the ‘lens’ of the Trump presidency. This is important because it confirms that essays about games still tend to fit into one of the two boxes Ruberg ticks: game scholars who are not necessarily adept at the specific content area or specialists in a given field who are not really game scholars. It is telling and symptomatic of the centripetal and centrifugal movements in game studies; that is, from within and without. Admittedly, games are different, but not so different that we should forget or ignore decades of scholarship or worse, do not bother to find out if it exists at all. Not only are many of these positions ahistorical – ignoring the fact that, as some much maligned games quite cleverly point out repeatedly within, the same things have been said about the corrupting power of soap operas, romance novels, comic books, wrestling, rap and hip hop, backwards masking in heavy metal and plain old rock ‘n’ roll – the positions are also tacitly or unwittingly ageist, classist and/or occasionally racist, homophobic and transphobic even as the author purports to be concerned with inequitable representations. Moreover, there are peculiarly US American concerns that are transposed onto ostensibly universal ones. These reveal that even the most ‘woke’ of the American left can be a cultural imperialist and that American exceptionalism is inescapable if not ineluctable.

Author Meets Critics: Selling the American People: Advertising, Optimization, and the Origins of Adtech

Author Meets Critics: Selling the American People: Advertising, Optimization, and the Origins of Adtech

Reflective smartphone disengagement as a coping strategy against cyberbullying: A cross-country study with emerging adults from the United States and Indonesia

Cyberbullying is a highly prevalent phenomenon among emerging adults, and it may lead to severe psychosocial harm for some targets. Understanding how emerging adults can cope with cyberbullying by altering their media use but without risking one of their crucial social lifelines, mobile social media, during the process is essential. To this end, this study examines a stress-coping process that involves cyberbullying as a stressor and reflective smartphone disengagement as a well-balanced coping strategy, accounting for gender-related, dispositional, and cultural specificities of emerging adults (aged 16–25, N = 4029) from the United States and Indonesia. With substantial invariance across countries, findings show that cyberbullying is related to higher perceived stress, especially for men and people with high levels of self-esteem, which, then again, is associated with reflective smartphone disengagement, in particular among American men and people with higher self-esteem.

Racial differences in baroreflex function: Implications for the cardiovascular conundrum

Study objectiveAfrican Americans (AAs) show early signs of vascular dysfunction paired with elevated blood pressure (BP) and total peripheral resistance (TPR), which is thought to underlie their increased rates of cardiovascular health complications relative to European Americans (EAs). AAs paradoxically have higher cardiac vagal tone, indexed by heart rate variability (HRV), which is cardio-protective. This paradox has been termed the Cardiovascular Conundrum. The physiological mechanism underlying this phenomenon is not well understood. We examined race differences in baroreflex function, which might be an important mechanism underlying the Cardiovascular Conundrum. DesignParticipants completed a 5-minute baseline period where resting cardiac metrics were assessed. SettingLaboratory. Participants130 college-aged individuals (54 women, 57 AAs). Main outcome measuresBaroreflex function was indexed as baroreflex sensitivity (BRS; the magnitude of changes in cardiovascular activity in accordance with BP changes) and effectiveness (BEI; the ratio of BP changes that elicit changes in cardiovascular activity) in the cardiac, vascular, and myocardial limbs. Results and conclusionsResults showed AAs to have higher HRV and cardiac BRS in comparison to EAs, suggesting the baroreflex is more sensitive to correcting the heart period for changes in BP among AAs compared to EAs. However, AAs showed lower vascular BEI relative to EAs, suggesting less effective control of TPR. In sum, lower BEI in the vascular branch might be an important mechanism underlying the Cardiovascular Conundrum (i.e., higher HRV and BP) and by extension, health disparities in cardiovascular diseases between AAs and EAs.

“The American People's National Party and its decline 1891-1896”

يعد حزب الشعب الوطني الاميركي، او كما عرف لاحقا بالحزب الشعبوي، من بين أبرز الأحزاب الثالثة، وفق نظام الحزبين المهيمن في الولايات المتحدة الاميركية، التي كان لها تأثيرا جماهيريا كبيرا في العقد الأخير من القرن التاسع عشر، وعده الأساس للحركة الشعبوية اللاحقة حتى الوقت الحاضر. يهدف البحث الى تسليط الضوء على تأسيس الحزب وافوله بشكل موجز، لإظهار الأساس الذي تطور منه، وبيان الصعوبات التي رافقت تأسيسه ومطالبه السياسية التي عبر عنها في برامجه السياسية. وبسبب تخلي حزب الشعب الوطني عن الكثير من مطالبه الإصلاحية والتركيز على قضية الفضة الغير محدودة، واندماجه مع الحزب الديمقراطي في انتخابات عام 1896 الرئاسية أدى الى ضياع هوية الحزب واستقلاليته. وكان لخسارة الحزب الديمقراطي في الانتخابات أثره الكبير على حزب الشعب، بعد عودة الالاف من اعضائه الى صفوف الحزب الديمقراطي والجمهوري، ونهاية دوره على المستوى الوطني واضمحلاله

How Compliments and Compliment Responses Differ for American and Chinese People on Instagram

This paper reports a qualitative study on complimenting behaviors and response strategies of American English speakers (AES) and Chinese speakers (CS). It explores how the two speech groups differ in their patterns of compliment and response behaviors on Instagram. There are 26 participants who have answered a questionnaire that asks them to rate certain statements and let them give examples of compliments and responses. This paper will discuss the interpretations of the questionnaire and link them to linguistic politeness in virtual contexts and second language learning. Some limitations regarding each step of the research are that the sample size is too small to generalize the result to a greater population and that some questions in the questionnaire were not carefully designed. Future research should take note of the limitations and avoid them as much as possible.

The Politics of American Values in Barack Obama’s Life Narratives: A Rhetorical Analysis of National Ethos

Barack Obama weaves a sequence of his personal story rhetorically to evoke American national ethos, with a special emphasis on American values making them an integral part of his memoirs, especially his The Audacity of Hope (2006). This paper interrogates why he narrates the story of typical American values in his political memoir in general and ascertain them in a dedicated section titled ‘Values’ in particular to explore the implicit dimensions of his storytelling. Form the theoretical parameters of Walter R Fisher’s ‘narrative paradigm’ this paper contends that, by way of recognizing (assimilating or internalizing) typical American values, Obama prepares a ground for Fisher’s ‘narrative rationality’ to identify himself with American character and American people, and thereby evokes American national ethos to assume a statesmanship.

The channels underlying the effect of COVID-19 on trust in physicians

ABSTRACT We use a nationally representative panel to examine the channels through which the COVID-19 pandemic induced higher trust in physicians in China. We find that respondents who closely followed news services, in which the contribution made by medical professionals was extensively praised, were more likely to express higher trust in physicians. These respondents also expressed significantly lower trust in American people, reflecting criticism in the Chinese media of the handling of the pandemic in the United States, lending further support to the public opinion guidance channel. We also find that respondents who had more contact with physicians prior to COVID-19 were less influenced by good news stories about the heroics of doctors in the pandemic.

Reading Black Theology of Liberation in the African American Christian Experience of the 1900s–2000s

ABSTRACT Like other forms of theology, Black Theology emerges out of the critical thinking, reflection, and Christian practices of African American people. Theology is generally developed out of Christian people's experiences at different times. Since theology is not mentioned in the Bible, people would continue to formulate theologies using scripture to answer their theological questions. This article discusses African Americans’ questions, thinking, and reflection through their Christian experience and a few responses to Black Theology in the United States. Since the emergence of Black Theology, there have been questions and criticism raised by European theologians. This article reflects on a few of those questions to further examine the context and purpose of Black Theology.

"They don't care to study it": Trust, race, and health care experiences among patient-caregiver dyads with multiple myeloma.

Medical mistrust, rooted in unethical research, is a barrier to cancer-related health care for Black/African American (AA) persons. Understanding trust, mistrust, and health care experiences is crucial, especially in multiple myeloma (MM), which disproportionately burdens Black/AA persons in incidence and survival. This study qualitatively examines the experiences of Black/AA and White dyads (patient with MM and adult caregiver) to gain insights into these phenomena. From November 2021 to April 2022, we recruited 21 dyads from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Participants completed a sociodemographic survey and a 60-90 min semi-structured interview. We used ATLAS.ti v9 for project management and to facilitate data analysis using the Sort and Sift, Think and Shift approach (ResearchTalk Inc). We interviewed 21 racially concordant dyads (11 Black/AA, 10 White) with mean patient ages of 70 (Black/AA) and 72 (White) at enrollment. Both Black/AA and White caregivers had a mean enrollment age of 68. The mean duration from MM diagnosis to enrollment for all patients was 5.5 years. Four key themes emerged: (1) knowledge and trust, (2) heightened emotions and discomfort, (3) differing mental constructs of health care experiences, and (4) mitigating mistrust, which varied by self-identified race. Black/AA participants had greater knowledge of historical events like the U.S. Public Health Service Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee and carried the emotional burden longer. They also emphasized self-learning and self-guided research about MM for informed medical decision-making. Both Black/AA and White dyads emphasized the pivotal role of patient-provider relationships and effective communication in fostering trust and addressing concerns. Our study offers contextual insights into the enduring challenges of medical mistrust, particularly within the Black/AA community, and its implications for patients and caregivers accessing and receiving MM-related care. Future studies should leverage these insights to guide the development of multilevel interventions addressing medical mistrust within the Black/AA community.