The construction of the cultural niche: A biocultural model.

OBJECTIVES: Objective of the study is to develop a more precise model of culture as an evolutionary niche for the human species. Culture is encoded in cultural models and can be decomposed into three basic components: shared knowledge and understanding, referred to as cultural competence; alternate configurations of shared understanding, referred to as residual agreement; and social practice, referred to as cultural consonance. Individuals are thus located in a cultural Euclidean space of shared understanding, patterned divergence from that understanding, and social practice. METHODS: A follow-up sample (n = 64) of a larger survey sample was interviewed to collect data on cultural competence, residual agreement, and cultural consonance in five cultural domains. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling was used to examine dimensional structure. Cluster analysis was used to group respondents along these dimensions. The association of cluster membership with depression was examined using dummy variable regression analysis. RESULTS: Multidimensional scaling was consistent with a three-dimensional structure. Based on measures of cultural competence, residual agreement, and cultural consonance, respondents clustered into three groups: the culturally proficient, the culturally knowledgeable, and the culturally distal. Individuals in the culturally proficient and knowledgeable groups reported fewer depressive symptoms than the culturally distal. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a three-dimensional Euclidean structure of culture in which knowledge is shared, contested, and acted upon. Such a cultural niche likely emerged early in human evolution because of the enhanced survival value of shared and contested knowledge, verifiable through practice.

Flower boys and muscled men: comparing South Korean and American male body ideals using cultural domain analysis.

Body image disturbance and eating disorders are rising all over the world. However, little is known about experiences of body image in men across cultural groups, and measurement tools often fail to account for the profound ways in which culture and gender can affect these data. An American cultural model of the ideal male body was compared with that of South Koreans using cultural domain analysis and residual agreement analysis. Cultural domain analysis gives researchers the ability to systematically study cultural models based on informants' emic understanding of phenomena; residual agreement analysis evaluates the patterns of agreement in disagreement with a larger cultural model. This study shows that Americans and South Koreans often overlap in their assessments of the desirability of male bodily features; however, they also strongly endorse many differing features, as well as similar features for different cultural reasons. For example, Americans endorse muscularity because it indexes physical prowess and health; South Koreans only sometimes endorse muscularity, mainly as an aesthetic choice. As a result, psychometric tools for measuring body dissatisfaction that are uncritically adopted for use in cross-cultural research may miss important information affecting the validity of findings and the efficacy of prevention campaigns and treatment plans.

Medical Disease or Moral Defect? Stigma Attribution and Cultural Models of Addiction Causality in a University Population.

This study examines the knowledge individuals use to make judgments about persons with substance use disorder. First, we show that there is a cultural model of addiction causality that is both shared and contested. Second, we examine how individuals' understanding of that model is associated with stigma attribution. Research was conducted among undergraduate students at the University of Alabama. College students in the 18-25 age range are especially at risk for developing substance use disorder, and they are, perhaps more than any other population group, intensely targeted by drug education. The elicited cultural model includes different types of causes distributed across five distinct themes: Biological, Self-Medication, Familial, Social, and Hedonistic. Though there was cultural consensus among respondents overall, residual agreement analysis showed that the cultural model of addiction causality is a multicentric domain. Two centers of the model, the moral and the medical, were discovered. Differing adherence to these centers is associated with the level of stigma attributed towards individuals with substance use disorder. The results suggest that current approaches to substance use education could contribute to stigma attribution, which may or may not be inadvertent. The significance of these results for both theory and the treatment of addiction are discussed.

The interaction of cultural consonance and a polymorphism in the 2A serotonin receptor in relation to depression in Brazil: failure to replicate previous findings.

OBJECTIVES: To replicate a previously identified gene-environment interaction between a genetic polymorphism in the serotonin 2A receptor and cultural consonance in family life in relation to depressive symptoms (Dressler et al., 2009). METHODS: A sample of 402 individuals in a sample drawn from four different economic strata in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil was interviewed and genotyped. RESULTS: Cultural consonance in family life has an inverse association with depressive symptoms (beta = -0.439, P < 0.001) and with high depressive symptoms (OR = 2.36, P < 0.001), but the interaction with genotype was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The previously identified gene-environment interaction was not replicated. Limitations of the study are discussed. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:936-940, 2016. © 2016Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Culture and the Immune System: Cultural Consonance in Social Support and C-reactive Protein in Urban Brazil.

In this article, we examine the distribution of a marker of immune system stimulation-C-reactive protein-in urban Brazil. Social relationships are associated with immunostimulation, and we argue that cultural dimensions of social support, assessed by cultural consonance, are important in this process. Cultural consonance is the degree to which individuals, in their own beliefs and behaviors, approximate shared cultural models. A measure of cultural consonance in social support, based on a cultural consensus analysis regarding sources and patterns of social support in Brazil, was developed. In a survey of 258 persons, the association of cultural consonance in social support and C-reactive protein was examined, controlling for age, sex, body mass index, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, depressive symptoms, and a social network index. Lower cultural consonance in social support was associated with higher C-reactive protein. Implications of these results for future research are discussed.

Eating Disorders: Cultural Model and Consensus Regarding Food.

The cultural model of food was applied to 112 adult patients with eating disorders (PG) and 36 healthy adult women (CG) of similar age. The Free List and Ranking of Foods was used to group foods and verify consensus and cultural aspects. Calories, health, and taste were the dimensions used by the participants to group the foods, and strong consensus was achieved in regard to calories and health. There were, however, inter- and intra-group divergences in regard to these ideas, especially in the PG. The CG used distinct criteria, showing a more complex model.

The Domestication of Machismo in Brazil: Motivations, Reflexivity, and Consonance of Religious Male Gender Roles.

The relationship between culture and the individual is a central focus of social scientific research. This paper examines motivations that mediate between shared culture norms and individual actions. Inspired by the works of Leon Festinger and Melford Spiro, we posit that social network conformation (the perceived adherence of one's social network with norms) and internalization of cultural norms (incorporation of cultural models with the self-schema) will differentially shape behavior (cultural consonance) depending on the domain and individual characteristics. For the domain of gender roles among Brazilian men, religious affiliation results in different configurations of the individual and culture. Our findings suggest that, due to changing and competing cultural models, religious men are compelled to reflexively "think" about what masculinity means to them, rather than subconsciously conform to social (hegemonic) expectations. This study demonstrates the importance of considering the impetus of culturally informed behaviors and, in doing so, provides a methodological means for measuring and interpreting such motivations, an important factor in the relationship between culture and the individual.

A Longitudinal Study of Cultural Consonance, Personal Agency, and Psychological Distress in Urban Brazil.

The relationship between culture, as a set of norms that structure human social practice, and agency, as the human capacity to act, has been debated for decades. Achieving clarity in how these constructs intersect has been hampered by difficulty in measuring either one, and theory has not suggested how a model linking culture and agency might be specified. We present a model in which culture is measured as cultural consonance, or the degree to which individuals actually incorporate prototypes for behavior encoded in cultural models into their own behavior. This measurement is then integrated with a measure of individuals' sense of personal agency. In a previous study in urban Brazil, we found that personal agency was associated with higher cultural consonance, which in turn was associated with lower psychological distress; however, those data were from a cross-sectional survey, thus limiting the causal inference. Here we present the results of a follow-up study in which a subset of respondents was re-interviewed on average four years later. These data are consistent with a model in which cultural consonance is the proximate causal influence on psychological distress, while personal agency is a distal or exogenous influence. The implications of these results for the relative roles of culture and agency as influences on subjective well-being are discussed.

Correction: Andrews et al. Age at Arrival and Depression among Mexican Immigrant Women in Alabama: The Moderating Role of Culture. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 5342.

Several errors were introduced after proofreading, and the authors hence wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...].

Distance from a cultural model of substance use risk, internalization, and self-stigma in urban Brazil.

Introduction: A cognitive theory of culture as socially distributed cultural models has proven useful in research. Cultural models exist in two forms: the model shared by individuals in a social group, and individual versions of that model modified by personal experience. In previous research we documented a shared cultural model of substance use risk among a general population sample in urban Brazil. Here we examine how this model is distributed among persons under treatment for substance use/misuse and the implications for perceived and self-stigma. Methods: A convenience sample of 133 persons under treatment rated the influence of risk factors for substance use/misuse. The configuration of those ratings and the cultural distance of persons under treatment from the general population model were calculated. Degree of stigma perceived in the wider society and degree of self-stigma were also assessed. Results: Persons under treatment aggregate risk factors to a greater extent than the general population. Using a cultural distance metric, the more distant persons under treatment are from the general population model, the lower their self-stigma regarding substance use. Discussion: Some individuals under treatment separate their understanding of substance use/misuse from shared perspectives in the wider society, which in turn reduces self-stigma. These findings add an additional perspective on the relationship of culture and the individual.

How culture shapes the body: cultural consonance and body mass in urban Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article is to develop a model of how culture shapes the body, based on two studies conducted in urban Brazil. METHODS: Research was conducted in 1991 and 2001 in four socioeconomically distinct neighborhoods. First, cultural domain analyses were conducted with samples of key informants. The cultural domains investigated included lifestyle, social support, family life, national identity, and food. Cultural consensus analysis was used to confirm shared knowledge in each domain and to derive measures of cultural consonance. Cultural consonance assesses how closely an individual matches the cultural consensus model for each domain. Second, body composition, cultural consonance, and related variables were assessed in community surveys. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the association of cultural consonance and body composition, controlling for standard covariates and competing explanatory variables. RESULTS: In 1991, in a survey of 260 individuals, cultural consonance had a curvilinear association with the body mass index that differed for men and women, controlling for sociodemographic and dietary variables. In 2001, in a survey of 267 individuals, cultural consonance had a linear association with abdominal circumference that differed for men and women, controlling for sociodemographic and dietary variables. In general, as cultural consonance increases, body mass index and abdominal circumference decline, more strongly for women than men. CONCLUSIONS: As individuals, in their own beliefs and behaviors, more closely approximate shared cultural models in socially salient domains, body composition also more closely approximates the cultural prototype of the body.

Age at Arrival and Depression among Mexican Immigrant Women in Alabama: The Moderating Role of Culture.

Mexican-born women in the U.S. are at high risk of depression. While acculturation is the primary analytical framework used to study immigrant mental health, this research suffers from (1) a lack of specificity regarding how cultural models of living and being take shape among migrants converging in new destinations in the U.S., and (2) methods to empirically capture the impact of cultural positioning on individual health outcomes. Instead of relying on proxy measures of age at arrival and time in the U.S. to indicate where an individual is located on the acculturation spectrum, this study uses cultural consensus analysis to derive the substance and structure of a cultural model for la buena vida (the good life) among Mexican immigrant women in Birmingham, Alabama, and then assesses the extent to which respondents are aligned with the model in their everyday lives. This measure of 'cultural consonance' is explored as a moderating variable between age at arrival in the U.S. and number of depressive symptoms. Results demonstrate that for those who arrived at an older age, those with lower consonance are at the highest risk for depression, while those who are more aligned with la buena vida are at lower risk.

Cultural consonance, body image, and disordered eating among young South Korean men.

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses, but little research explores non-Western men's cultural experiences of body image and what affects their risks of disordered eating. Drawing on data collected over 17 months (August 2019 to January 2021) of fieldwork in Seoul, South Korea, the lens of intersectionality is employed alongside multiple regression and moderation analysis to understand how two axes of identity which emerged as important from the ethnography-sexual identity and university prestige-shape the ways in which young Korean men's cultural consonance with their local model of the ideal male body, influenced heavily by the kkonminam (flower boy), relates to risk for developing an eating disorder. Among young Korean men, intersections of university prestige and sexual identity frame embodiment of cultural models of male body image as a strategy for the making and maintenance of social relations and the advancement of social status in a precarious neoliberal economy.

Time in the United States and diabetes among Mexican immigrant women: The moderating role of culture.

Mexican immigrants in the U.S. show high incidence of type 2 diabetes, and increased risk is associated with longer duration of residency. This study considers the impact of culture over time for Mexican immigrant women in a southern U.S. city. Using cultural consensus analysis to empirically derive the substance and structure of a cultural model for la buena vida (the good life) among Mexican immigrant women in Birmingham, Alabama, we assess the extent to which respondents are aligned with the model in their everyday lives. This measure of 'cultural consonance' is explored as a moderating variable between length of time living in the U.S. and level of Hemoglobin A1c. Results demonstrate that for those with more time in the U.S., those with lower consonance are more likely to have diabetes, while those who are more aligned with la buena vida are at lower risk.

Cultural consonance, a 5HT2A receptor polymorphism, and depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study of gene x culture interaction in urban Brazil.

In this study in urban Brazil we examine, as a predictor of depressive symptoms, the interaction between a single nucleotide polymorphism in the 2A receptor in the serotonin system (-1438G/A) and cultural consonance in family life, a measure of the degree to which an individual perceives her family as corresponding to a widely shared cultural model of the prototypical family. A community sample of 144 adults was followed over a 2-year-period. Cultural consonance in family life was assessed by linking individuals' perceptions of their own families with a shared cultural model of the family derived from cultural consensus analysis. The -1438G/A polymorphism in the 2A serotonin receptor was genotyped using a standard protocol for DNA extracted from leukocytes. Covariates included age, sex, socioeconomic status, and stressful life events. Cultural consonance in family life was prospectively associated with depressive symptoms. In addition, the interaction between genotype and cultural consonance in family life was significant. For individuals with the A/A variant of the -1438G/A polymorphism of the 2A receptor gene, the effect of cultural consonance in family life on depressive symptoms over a 2-year-period was larger (beta = -0.533, P < 0.01) than those effects for individuals with either the G/A (beta = -0.280, P < 0.10) or G/G (beta = -0.272, P < 0.05) variants. These results are consistent with a process in which genotype moderates the effects of culturally meaningful social experience on depressive symptoms.

Intracultural diversity in food knowledge in southern Brazil.

This research explores the social distribution of food knowledge in Ribeirão Preto, a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Through an analysis of the distribution of individual expertise in regard to the cultural model of food along the dimensions of healthfulness, practicality, and prestige, this research demonstrates that knowledge of the cultural model of food is most strongly shared in the upper class of the city. Qualitative and quantitative ethnographic research suggests that the social patterning of health-related food knowledge in Ribeirão Preto may serve to maintain class distinction.

A prospective study of cultural consonance and depressive symptoms in urban Brazil.

Cultural consonance refers to the degree to which individuals, in their own beliefs and behaviors, approximate the prototypes for belief and behavior encoded in shared cultural models. In previous cross-sectional studies, lower cultural consonance in several cultural domains was associated with worse health outcomes, including greater psychological distress. The current paper extends these findings in three ways. First, the effect of cultural consonance on depressive symptoms is tested in a prospective study. Second, it is hypothesized that the effect of cultural consonance in a specific cultural domain will depend on the degree of cultural consensus within that domain: the higher the cultural consensus, the greater the effect of change in cultural consonance in that domain on depressive symptoms. Third, it is hypothesized that cultural consonance will have an inverse effect on depressive symptoms independent of the occurrence of stressful life events (a well-known risk factor for depression). We tested these hypotheses in a study conducted in urban Brazil, and found that change in cultural consonance (assessed as a general construct) was associated with depressive symptoms at a 2-year follow-up. Furthermore, cultural consonance in the domains in which there was highest cultural consensus--the domains of family life and lifestyle--was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms at follow-up than cultural consonance in domains with lower cultural consensus. Finally, all of these effects were independent of stressful life events. These results lend further support to the importance of cultural consonance in relation to human health.

A cross-cultural perspective on obesity and health in three groups of women: the Mississippi Choctaw, American Samoans, and African Americans.

This study compares obesity as assessed by Body Mass Index (BMI) and the relationship of BMI to hypertension and diabetes in adult females from three populations, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw (N=50), American Samoa (N=155), and an African American community in West Alabama (N=367). These groups were surveyed in the early to mid 1990s. All three groups of women have very high levels of overweight and obesity, with the Samoans being most extreme in this regard. While there are indications that all three groups of women consume a calorically dense diet, low activity appears to be the most likely causal factor in the high rates of obesity. Relaxed negative attitudes toward an overweight/obese body image may also play a role in the high rates. The prevalences of hypertension and diabetes are alarmingly high in all three groups. There are, however, very different associations between BMI, hypertension, and diabetes in the three groups of women. The Samoans are substantially more obese (and older), but they have lower rates of hypertension than the African American women and lower rates of diabetes than the Choctaw women. While the genetic background of the three groups no doubt plays a role, it is also likely that a BMI of 30+, the common cutoff for obesity, means different things in these different populations. These results provide further support for the idea of variation in the relationship of BMI to disease in different populations.

What You Know, What You Do, and How You Feel: Cultural Competence, Cultural Consonance, and Psychological Distress.

Describing the link between culture (as a phenomenon pertaining to social aggregates) and the beliefs and behaviors of individuals has eluded satisfactory resolution; however, contemporary cognitive culture theory offers hope. In this theory, culture is conceptualized as cognitive models describing specific domains of life that are shared by members of a social group. It is sharing that gives culture its aggregate properties. There are two aspects to these cultural models at the level of the individual. Persons have their own representations of the world that correspond incompletely to the shared model-this is their 'cultural competence.' Persons are also variable in the degree to which they can put cultural models into practice in their own lives-this is their 'cultural consonance.' Low cultural consonance is a stressful experience and has been linked to higher psychological distress. The relationship of cultural competence per se and psychological distress is less clear. In the research reported here, cultural competence and cultural consonance are measured on the same sample and their associations with psychological distress are examined using multiple regression analysis. Results indicate that, with respect to psychological distress, while it is good to know the cultural model, it is better to put it into practice.