The relationship between shared versus disparate notions of culture and health

How does culture shape and compel human behaviors, and what are the health consequences of adherence or deviance with socially prescribed norms? This research project investigates the motivations for adhering to, or deviating from, cultural norms and the well-being outcomes of these behaviors. Research shows that conforming to group expectations, and the norms and values of one’s culture, facilitates the construction of social networks, acceptance, and well-being.

Conversely, being deviant from shared cultural values is often stressful due to negative social feedback and lack of a sense of belonging. Yet, individuals within groups are not homogenous. Rather their behaviors are shaped by internal (e.g., personal beliefs) and external (e.g., social pressures) motivational forces, and limited by structural constraints (e.g., socioeconomic status).

This research involves an international collaboration of anthropologists, psychologists, and biologists, and the training of graduate students, in ethnographic and biomarker data collection and analysis. It disseminates its findings broadly to academic and non-academic audiences.

This research utilizes ethnographic and cognitive anthropological methods to evaluate ways by which culture values are shared, internalized, and enacted into behavior. Investigators employ cultural consensus and cultural consonance, and related approaches to identify shared cultural norms and individuals’ adherence to versus separation from such values.

Health outcomes, particularly those associated with psychosocial stress, are measured through mental health surveys, as well as biomarkers such as blood pressure, and hair cortisol concentrations. This combination of health outcomes provides both acute and chronic measurements of psychosocial stress. A longitudinal research design evaluates changes in cultural behaviors and health and provides insight to potential causal associations. In doing so, this study furthers a biocultural understanding of how culture shapes health.

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.