Remote Acculturation

Abstract

Globalization has accelerated the exposure of nonmigrants to remote cultures in which they have never lived, producing remote acculturation (RA). The health implications of RA may reach further than those of immigrant acculturation because nonmigrants constitute the majority of the world’s population. This chapter describes the conceptualization of RA, reviews the body of empirical research on RA, discusses measurement of RA, and explores the health implications of RA. The review suggests that RA to faraway cultures may have both negative and positive health outcomes, some of which are also common to immigrants (e.g., acculturation gap between adolescents and parents). Acculturation and health researchers, as well as health practitioners, need to be alert to this new cultural landscape if they are to effectively address the health needs of modern individuals who may be acculturating remotely in their own backyards.

U.S. Media Enjoyment without Strong Media Literacy Undermines Adolescents' and Mothers' Reported Efforts to Reduce Unhealthy Eating in Jamaica

“…Therefore, future studies with larger samples can replicate and extend these findings, especially probing potential interaction effects that may be stronger for one partner than the other. Also, findings apply to urban Jamaican youth and mothers, given that remote acculturation is largely an urban phenomenon related to globalization in urban settings (Ferguson et al, 2017). Findings may differ among out-of-school adolescents and for fathers-adolescent dyads, both of whom have been under-studied.…”

“…Remote acculturation is a modern form of acculturation arising from indirect and/or intermittent con-tact with distant non-native cultures via modern globalization whereby some individuals can adopt behaviors, values, or identities from one or more cultures in which they have never lived, holding them alongside local cultural identities and behavioral styles . Like traditional immigrant acculturation, also referred to as proximal acculturation, remote acculturation is a bi/tri/multidimensional process allowing multiple cultural affiliations to varying degrees rather than an "either-or" choice (Ferguson et al, 2019), and it can occur in one or more domains of life including one's behavioral preferences, values, and/or identity (see Ferguson, Tran, Mendez, & van de Vijver, 2017). Remote acculturation, therefore, aligns with the tenets of polycultural psychology that cultural affiliations are now plural (not singular) and partial (only some components of any given culture are internalized versus all) (Morris, Chiu, & Liu, 2015).…”

“…Therefore, the current study focuses on U.S. culture orientation as a predictor. According to Ferguson and colleagues' framework of remote acculturation variables outlined in Figure 1, the high status, availability, and convenience of U.S. consumer products in Jamaica (acculturation conditions) naturally fuel enjoyment of U.S. cable TV along with conscious or unconscious adoption of U.S. dietary attitudes and preferences (acculturation orientations), which in turn promote unhealthy eating choices (acculturation outcomes; Ferguson et al, 2017). In line with this, a remote acculturation study with 238 adolescents in Kingston showed that a stronger European American orientation was correlated with eating more U.S. fast food and beverages (Ferguson & Bornstein, 2015).…”

“…In Jamaica, despite national policy priorities targeting healthy nutrition (Stennett, Meeks Gardner, & Ferguson, 2017), nearly three in four adolescents drink soda at least once per day and nearly one in three adolescents are overweight or obese (Atkinson, 2017). Remote acculturation theory pinpoints an individual difference-U.S. media enjoyment-that puts some Jamaican adolescents at even higher risk of unhealthy eating (Ferguson et al, 2017). Additionally, taking a bioecological systems lens, this process unfolds in the proximal family context and Jamaican mothers' U.S. cable viewing has been found to be associated with their adolescents' unhealthy eating (Ferguson et al, 2018).…”

Perceived Parental Remote Acculturation Gaps Among Divorced Coparents and Children’s Adjustment in Turkey

“…Remote acculturation, a modern form of nonmigrant acculturation based on globalization (G. M. Ferguson, Tran, Mendez, & Van de Vijver, 2016), is a novel framework to investigate whether coparents in Turkey are differentially adopting U.S. behaviors and identities, and the potential implications for children’s adjustment.…”