The influence of routine and leisure family activities on the ability of young Asian Americans to maintain a healthy lifestyle: findings from a nationwide survey

Abstract

Family is uniquely influential in the health of young Asian Americans (AAs), yet little is known on the impact of specific shared family activities. This study explores different types and frequencies of AA young adult shared family activities on perceived familial influence on the ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle (diet, physical activity, sleep, social relationships, stress, and risky substances). A nationwide sample of 18–35-year-old AAs was surveyed in March 2021 on a list of 30 shared family activities with mothers, fathers, siblings, or extended family. Overall, 984 unique family relationships reported by 616 young AAs were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis synthesized a reliable two-factor (routine, leisure activities) 10-item Shared Activities with Family (SAF) scale. Mothers were most influential (mean 3.25, SD = 1.14), although shared activities among South Asians or with extended family were most associated with changes in perceived influence. Routine shared activities were more strongly associated with perceived influence on sleep, diet, and risky substances, while leisure shared activities were more associated with influence on developing healthy social relationships. Family-based, dyadic interventions for young AAs may incorporate shared activities (both routine and leisure) to promote healthy behaviors, although further research to explore mechanisms and directionality of influence is needed to inform action. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10865-022-00352-z.

Comparing the role of social connectivity with friends and family in depression among older adults in China: evaluating the moderating effect of urban–rural status

“…Although it was hypothesized that less multigenerational living and interactions would occur between older adults and family members in urban settings, it was observed that older adults in urban areas were more likely to live with family members, think their children exhibited filial piety (albeit still having more social connectivity with friends) than those in rural areas. This high connectivity with family members was observed in urban settings despite familial connectivity having a lesser effect on reducing depression compared to rural settings, suggesting that the types of family interactions in such settings (rather than simply their overall degree) may be important to consider in the context of health promotion, which was also investigated in an study about the impact of specific shared family activities on the health of young Asian Americans (56). Moreover, one study using data from the China Health and Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) examined the moderating effect of rural or urban residence on the association between social support and depressive symptoms among Chinese adults and found that across all types of social support, the degree of association with changes in depressive symptoms was not significantly different between urban and rural areas (57), which differed from our study findings.…”

Family Involvement in Asian American Health Interventions: A Scoping Review and Conceptual Model

“…However, attention is increasing on the family role in the health of young adult or second-generation Asian Americans, who also face a growing range of complex mental and physical health issues. 75,76 The experiences of socialization and acculturation are different for young and older Asian Americans, which may contribute to unique implications in how best to involve family members and their biggest domains of influence [75][76][77] ; further efforts to systematically document the development, process, and evaluation of family member involvement in young Asian American adult interventions is needed.…”

Social Media Utilization Within Asian American Families and Its Role in Healthy Lifestyle Behavioral Influence: Results From a Nationwide Survey

“…Data were collected as part of a larger cross-sectional online survey of 18- to 35-year-old Asian Americans to understand the different facets of young Asian American family interaction patterns and the influence of family members on lifestyle behaviors (see Ali et al, 2022, for more information about the study). While the larger survey examined a wide array of family interaction and lifestyle behavior-related variables, this analysis focuses on social media interaction patterns.…”