The Oxford Handbook of Acculturation and Health

The Oxford Handbook of Acculturation and Health expertly brings together two very distinct, but complementary, streams of work and thought: theoretical and methodological work on acculturation, and the applied work linking acculturation to various health outcomes among international migrants and their families. In this important volume, the work of landmark acculturation theorists and methodologists come together to showcase applied epidemiologic and intervention work on the issues facing acculturation and public health today.

Edited by Seth J. Schwartz and Jennifer B. Unger, this Handbook is divided into two important parts for readers. Part one features chapters that are dedicated to theoretical and methodological work on acculturation, including definitional issues, measurement issues, and procedures for studying acculturation across immigrant groups and national contexts. The second part focuses on the links between acculturation and various health outcomes, such as obesity, physical activity, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health, delinquency, and suicide.

Notably, because a majority of the research on acculturation and health has been conducted on Hispanic immigration, this volume contextualizes that research and offers readers compelling insight for how to apply these principles to other immigrant groups in the United States and around the world.

Seth J. Schwartz is Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. His research focuses on personal and cultural identity among diverse groups of adolescents and emerging adults, as well as acculturative processes among immigrants, and the effects of these identity and cultural processes on health outcomes.

Jennifer B. Unger is Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the psychosocial and cultural influences on health behaviors, tobacco regulatory science, entertainment-education approaches to health promotion for low-literacy populations, and dissemination of health information through social media.