The effects of markers of shared identity on inflammation and stress

Identity transcends individuals, shaping social interactions and senses of shared belonging. Despite their importance as signifiers of social belonging, visible markers of identity have received limited attention in terms of their attendant impacts on health. This study will thus investigate how consonance with cultural values around specific markers of identity impacts health.

The researchers will measure a series of biological markers of endocrine and immune function among individuals with and without visible markers of identity who report varying degrees of shared identity. The project will train students from backgrounds underrepresented in the sciences. Additional outputs will serve the public, including free online teaching modules, museum exhibits, a book and a documentary film identity markers and health.

The goals of this 3-year project are to investigate identity markers as important facets of shared belonging, testing the degree to which expressing belonging can influence health. The first phase of research involves developing a culturally valid questionnaire about the relative importance of social signifiers of identity to participants' senses of belonging.

The second phase correlates results of the questionnaire to measures of health, including immunoglobulin A, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, alpha-amylase, and cortisol derived from saliva samples. The biocultural approach taken utilizes a mixture of proven methods for empirically measuring the internalization and impact of culture and advanced field techniques for assessing immune and endocrine response, providing a holistic sense of how signifiers of identity contribute to or depart from shared belonging and in turn impact health.

The results will contribute to theories of embodiment and cultural consensus theory. This project is jointly funded by Cultural Anthropology and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.