181818 Parent-Child Acculturation Gap and its Role in Childhood Obesity

Monday, October 27, 2008

Sarika Thakur, MA, MPH , Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Amanda Drews, PhD , Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Patricia Reyes, BA , Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Alejandra Contreras , Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
James McCracken, MD , Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
BACKGROUND: The presence of an acculturation gap, described as a difference in acculturation between parent and child, has been associated with stress and risky behaviors such as smoking and parent-adolescent conflict. While degree of child acculturation has been shown to be positively correlated with weight, the acculturation gap in Latino families and impact on weight status has yet to be examined. The potential relationship between an acculturation gap and childhood obesity is particularly salient given the increasing number of immigrants from Latino nations to the United States, and the disproportionate number of Latino youth affected by obesity.

OBJECTIVE: This study addressed the acculturation gap in Mexican and Mexican-American families as a potentially important factor in the presence and degree of childhood obesity.

METHODS: The sample included 48 mother-child dyads recruited from a larger study of childhood obesity in Mexican-American families. Children in half the pairs (n= 29) were categorized as “obese,” while the other half (n= 29) were categorized as “normal weight” according to CDC criteria. Each member of the mother-child dyad completed a self-report acculturation questionnaire; the acculturation gap was computed as the difference between parent and child standardized acculturation scores.

RESULTS: Although acculturation gaps were common, a comparison of the two groups showed no significant differences in the degree of acculturation gap between families of obese and normal weight children. These results suggest that public health initiatives considering the degree of child acculturation remain important to mitigating the effect of childhood obesity, irrespective of a parent-child acculturation gap.

Learning Objectives:
1. To examine the existence and magnitude of a parent-child acculturation gap in Mexican and Mexican-American families living in the US 2. To determine if a parent-child acculturation gap is a potentially important factor in the presence and degree of child obesity in Mexican and Mexican-American families 3. To address the potential role of parent-child acculturation gaps in public health initiatives relating to childhood obesity in the Hispanic population.

Keywords: Obesity, Adolescent Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the research project manager and statistician on the presented research study at UCLA. I am also pursuing my Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University, with my focus in public health education and leadership.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Latino Immigrant Youth and Their Families: Nutrition, Violence and Mental Health Issues
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