Does perceived support moderate the link between acculturative stress and problematic eating behaviors? The role of family, significant other, and friend support.

OBJECTIVE: Acculturative stress, often experienced by members of minority groups, is related to problematic eating behaviors. What remains poorly understood is the function of perceived social support in this link. This study evaluated the moderating role of perceived support from family, the significant other, and friends in the association between acculturative stress and problematic eating behaviors, including emotional eating, uncontrolled eating, and cognitive restraint eating. METHOD: An online cross-sectional study was conducted with 497 Asian and Latinx college students using standardized questionnaires. Three hierarchical multivariable models were analyzed, with each eating behavior included as the outcome variable. Demographic variables (Step 1), general perceived stress (Step 2), and predictor variables (i.e., acculturative stress, perceived support; Step 3) were added using Method Enter. Interaction terms were entered using Method Stepwise (Step 4) to test for moderation effects. RESULTS: As perceived family support increased, the magnitude of the link between acculturative stress and higher uncontrolled eating increased (p = .002). When perceived significant other support was higher, the magnitude of the relationship between acculturative stress and higher emotional eating increased (p = .02). Higher perceived friend support was directly related to reduced uncontrolled eating (p = .002). DISCUSSION: This study highlights the heterogeneous effects of various sources of perceived support on the link between acculturative stress and problematic eating behaviors. Findings imply that problematic eating prevention and intervention programs might benefit from considering not only the acculturative stress experienced by racial/ethnic minority young adults but also the sources of support perceived. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Perceived support from family and the significant other increased the magnitude of the link between higher acculturative stress and increased problematic eating behaviors, whereas support from friends showed a direct relationship with reduced uncontrolled eating. The results highlight the nuanced functions of various sources of perceived social support and contribute to a deeper understanding of potential moderators in the relationship between acculturative stress and problematic eating behaviors among racial/ethnic minorities.

Acculturative stress and eating disinhibition among Asian young adults: The role of depressive symptoms and gender.

Acculturative stress is associated with health behaviors that have downstream consequences for health outcomes. Eating disinhibition, a behavior characterized by eating emotionally and uncontrollably in the presence of disinhibiting stimuli, has been consistently associated with acculturative stress, but the underlying mechanism is not well-understood. The current study sought to test the role of depressive symptoms and gender on these associations. Asian undergraduate students (N = 477; 78% female) participated in an online cross-sectional study. Higher acculturative stress was associated with higher eating disinhibition (b = 3.45, 95% CI = [0.75, 6.15]), and depressive symptoms showed a partial indirect effect on this association (indirect effect = 0.57, 95% CIboot = [0.13, 1.34]). Among male young adults (b = 0.98, 95% CIboot = [0.24, 2.39]), the indirect correlation was stronger than among female young adults (b = 0.44, 95% CIboot = [0.05, 1.20]; non-significant trend), implying individual differences underlying the indirect effect of depressive symptoms in the acculturative stress and eating disinhibition correlation. The Intercultural Relations dimension of acculturative stress appeared to drive the observed associations. This study is among the first highlighting the role of acculturative stress, depressive symptoms, and gender in eating disinhibition and provides evidence that can inform health professionals to target at-risk Asian individuals with eating problems.

Empowerment, Stress, and Depressive Symptoms Among Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Attending Personal Empowerment Programs.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects one in three women and can have long-lasting psychological effects, with abuse survivors typically exhibiting elevated stress and depressive symptoms. However, women with greater personal empowerment resources (i.e., self-care, agency, self-efficacy) and who practice relaxation techniques generally exhibit lower stress and depressive symptoms. The present study investigated the effectiveness of Personal Empowerment Programs (PEP) and practicing relaxation techniques in promoting empowerment and lowering stress and depressive symptoms. Ninety women were recruited from PEP classes conducted at domestic violence agencies in Orange County, California. Salivary cortisol and affect were assessed before and after one PEP class. Perceived stress, depressive symptoms, empowerment, and relaxation techniques were also assessed. Practicing relaxation techniques correlated with more empowerment. For women without sexual abuse experiences only, having completed more classes (>5 classes) in the program was associated with greater empowerment, less stress, and fewer depressive symptoms. Implications extend to future studies and interventions for IPV survivors.

Perceived stress and cortisol reactivity among immigrants to the United States: The importance of bicultural identity integration.

Migration experiences are inherently stressful and may negatively affect the health of immigrants. Bicultural identity integration (BII), individuals' views of their multiple cultures as compatible and complementary, and their ability to easily integrate these cultures into their daily lives, has been linked with health outcomes. The main goal of the present study was to determine whether perceived stress and cortisol, a hormone of the HPA axis implicated in the biopsychological pathway linking stress and disease, are associated with BII. The sample consisted of 127 male and female, primarily Latino (68.3%) university and community college students (M = 20.4 yrs, SD = 2.1) who were either foreign-born or had at least one foreign-born parent. Regression analyses indicate that individuals scoring low on the cultural harmony subscale of the BII reported more perceived stress, overall model, F(2,126) = 18.04, p < .001, and had higher salivary cortisol levels following a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test), as indicated by a more pronounced cortisol mean increase, F(2,111) = 5.11, p = .01, and a larger cortisol area under the curve with respect to ground, F(2,108) = 5.85, p = .004, controlling for neuroticism. Our findings link perceived stress and cortisol reactivity with the BII cultural harmony subscale, above and beyond the known effects of neuroticism, suggesting that this construct is important to consider in biopsychosocical studies of immigrant stress and health.

A systematic review of concepts related to women's empowerment in the perinatal period and their associations with perinatal depressive symptoms and premature birth.

BACKGROUND: The perinatal period, which we here define as pregnancy and the first year postpartum, is a time in women's lives that involves significant physiological and psychosocial change and adjustment, including changes in their social status and decision-making power. Supporting women's empowerment at this particular time in their lives may be an attractive opportunity to create benefits for maternal and infant health outcomes such as reductions in perinatal depressive symptoms and premature birth rates. Thus, we here systematically review and critically discuss the literature that investigates the effects of empowerment, empowerment-related concepts and empowerment interventions on reductions in perinatal depressive symptoms, preterm birth (PTB), and low birthweight (LBW). METHODS: For this systematic review, we conducted a literature search in PsychInfo, PubMed, and CINAHL without setting limits for date of publication, language, study design, or maternal age. The search resulted in 27 articles reporting on 25 independent studies including a total of 17,795 women. RESULTS: The majority of studies found that, for the most part, measures of empowerment and interventions supporting empowerment are associated with reduced perinatal depressive symptoms and PTB/LBW rates. However, findings are equivocal and a small portion of studies found no significant association between empowerment-related concepts and perinatal depressive symptoms and PTB or LBW. CONCLUSION: This small body of work suggests, for the most part, that empowerment-related concepts may be protective for perinatal depressive symptoms and PTB/LBW. We recommend that future theory-driven and integrative work should include an assessment of different facets of empowerment, obtain direct measures of empowerment, and address the relevance of important confounders, including for example, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.