Remote acculturation and physical activity among adolescent-mother dyads in Jamaica: A developmental dyadic moderation

• In Event: Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Topic - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Abstract

Background. Remote acculturation (RA) is a modern type of globalization-facilitated acculturation common among adolescents that occurs through indirect and/or intermittent exposure to a distant non-native culture, often via media (Eales et al., 2020). RA towards European American culture (hereafter, U.S. culture) is a demonstrated risk factor for consuming unhealthy foods advertised in U.S. media (Ferguson et al., in press), smoking (Lorenzo-Blanco et al., 2019), and psychological health (Ferguson & Adams, 2016). The current study is the first to examine the associations between RA to U.S. mainstream culture and physical activity levels among Jamaican mother-adolescent dyads.
Hypotheses (preregistration: osf.io/89hjd): (1) There will be a positive association between U.S. orientation and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), which will be stronger for mid-adolescents than early adolescents because of their higher sensitivity to extrinsic motivations presented in U.S. media (Gavin et al., 2014); (2) Mothers’ U.S. cultural orientation may increase their support for adolescents’ self-expression via MVPA. Therefore, we hypothesize that mother’s U.S. orientation will have partner effects on their child, and these will be stronger for mother-daughter dyads vs. mother-son dyads (Ferguson et al., 2018) and for early adolescents versus mid-adolescents, due to the greater importance of parental support for facilitating MVPA (Edwardson & Gorely, 2010). (3) There will be a weak or non-significant correlation between Jamaican cultural orientation and MVPA due to little evidence that the international success of Jamaican athletes has influenced the broader Jamaican fitness culture.
Method. The sample included 330 mother-adolescent dyads From Kingston, Jamaica, including 170 early-adolescents (Mage=12.27, SD=.74) and 160 mid-adolescents (Mage=15.45, SD=.81). RA was assessed with two scales measuring cultural identity (Birman & Trinkett, 2001) and behavioral acculturation (Ferguson et al., 2012), and MVPA was assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form (Booth, 2000; Craig et al., 2003). Actor-Partner Interdependence Moderation Models (APIMoM) were used to test actor and partner effects of U.S. cultural orientation on physical activity levels, as well as the moderation of these effects by developmental stage and gender. Participants also reported influences on their physical activity levels (Table 1).
Results. The full APIMoM model with moderation by developmental stage had excellent fit (X2/df=0.33, CFI=1; RMSEA=0), and the moderated adolescent actor effect and mother partner effect were marginally significant (p=0.058-0.061). An alternate “trimmed” model predicting only the moderated effects on youth’s MVPA was fit (X2/df=0.356, CFI=1.00; RMSEA=0), revealing the same two paths (Figure 1). Disaggregation showed a contrast pattern (Garcia et al., 2015) in which mother’s U.S. orientation had a positive effect for early adolescents’ MVPA, while adolescent’s U.S. orientation had a positive effect for mid-adolescents; effects were reversed at the other developmental age. Gender did not moderate. As hypothesized, Jamaican cultural orientation was not associated with MVPA. Mothers (71.8%) and adolescents (23.0%) reported that media influenced their MVPA.
Conclusions. Our results underscore the impact of media on physical activity among youth in the Global South, for whom RA to U.S. culture may be a risk factor, a protective factor, or neither depending on the health domain and developmental stage.

Authors

• Sarah Gillespie, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  Presenting Author

• Lauren Eales, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  Non-Presenting Author

• Dalicia Donielle Simpson, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gail M Ferguson, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
  Non-Presenting Author