Investigating the Relationship between Acculturation, Health and Quality of Life

The degree to which an immigrant to a country adapts to the new culture can have an influence on many different aspects of his or her life. Acculturation orientation measures this degree of adaption. The relation between acculturation orientation and immigrant health behaviors has not been thoroughly researched, yet is an important topic, given the immigrant populations often suffer poorer health and quality of life than populations native to a country. This research therefore investigated acculturation orientation among an immigrant population in Canada. Questionnaires were used to assess acculturation orientation, and its interrelation with health in terms of physical activity, nutrition behaviors, and quality of life. Results suggest that Integration serves as the most positive orientation, related to better physical activity behaviors, nutrition behaviors and quality of life, while Marginalization seems to be the least positive. In the case of Integration, this may be related to factors such as being more aware of current health messages, where and how to fulfill preferred physical activity, which healthy foods to buy and where, or preventative medical screening. The Marginalization orientation, on the other hand, may be related to being less aware of health messages, where and how to be physically active, which foods to buy and where, and how one can obtain preventative medical screening. Local efforts should be made to help facilitate the process of Integration, and reach out to groups that may be at risk of Marginalization. Further implications will be discussed.

Keywords: acculturation, health behaviors, quality of life, Canada