Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110647

Vilma Enriquez-Haass, MPH, School of Public Health/Community Health Sciences, UCLA, 10925 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, 310 850-9784, veh@ucla.edu

Description: Over the past thirty years, empirical research finds that Latino immigrants follow protective cultural practices, which lead to positive health behaviors. Yet with increased time in the United States these positive health behaviors are found to erode. The paper critically examines the concept of selective acculturation, a concept which asserts that Latino immigrants can learn to discern between positive and negative health behaviors of Latino and American Cultures, which enable them to promote and cultivate protective health behaviors that are inherent in Latino culture and positive health practices of American culture.

Methodology: The paper utilizes a conceptual framework that summarizes the literature on Latino health behaviors and their relationships to health outcomes. The framework is useful to understand and conceptualize how Latino immigrants' protective health practices through the process of the intergeneration transmission.

Findings: This paper identifies the positive health behaviors that Latino immigrants follow in the context of structural constraints. This paper also discusses the policy implications of selective acculturation and proposes multilevel interventions to cultivate and reinforce the protective aspects of Latino culture across generations.

Learning Objectives: