The purpose of this study is to examine the cultural difference that exists between a Chinese-American family and a Black-American family. In addressing this purpose, the review will aim at exploring the question regarding some of the cultural differences between a Chinese American family and a Black American family (African American). More and more cultures continue to emerge in the context of the United States. Based on this, it is appropriate to explore and examine the emerging cultural diversities among two of the largest ethnicities in America.
Cultural Attributes and Health
Researchers have focused on the exploration of diverse cultural attributes and practices with specific aspects of society. One of the critical aspects is the case of health. Culture plays a crucial role in the course of determining health practices and behaviors among society members. In this aspect, it is appropriate to use health as a determinant of the cultural difference among the Chinese Americans and the African Americans in the context of the United States. One of the research articles on this domain is Miyawaki (2015). The purpose of the research article is to explore the cultural domains of the caregivers associated with Asian culture. According to Miyawaki (2015), in the case of the Chinese Americans, caregivers tend to have strong element or sense of filial responsibility with varying implications of the experiences of the caregivers. There is also the essence of reciprocity, as well as familism associated with the role of caregivers among Chinese Americans. There is also the role of the generations in influencing the cultural practices and activities of the caregivers as they aim to achieve their goals and targets. In the article, Miyawaki (2015) captures the rapid transformation of the society from the cultural and demographic perspectives, thus, the emergence of the caregivers who are sensitive to the specific or racial, as well as cultural diversities in informing policy development and practice for improved healthcare outcomes.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The article also captures the influence of filial responsibility, immigrant generation, socioeconomic resources, and status. In aiding this discussion, XinQi et al. focused on the assessment of the cultural views of the issues to do with healthy aging, barriers, as well as knowledge to services, and perception of the Chinese older adults within the Chicago’s Chinatown. According to the findings of the study, the Chinese Americans focused on the utilization of their cultural attributes to describe the conception of health through social support, cognitive function, physical function, and psychological well-being. The approach also did create room for the article to conceptualize the role of issues such as affordability, cultural, and availability barriers associated with the healthcare services as some of the contributors to the negative outcomes inhibiting the fulfillment of the health outcomes or needs of the aforementioned ethnic group.
In terms of their culture, the article highlights the growing influence of the teachings of Daoism and Confucianism. These cultural affiliations are vital in shaping the comprehension of the health, treatment, and stress-coping features among the Chinese Americans in the context of the cultural United States. For instance, from the article, one of the critical cultural features is the provision of care to older adults, which is a cultural belief. Among the Chinese Americans, this remains an important cultural attribute on from the health perspective, particularly in the life of the older adults, as well as their respective families associated with the Chinese culture.
Moreover, because of the increased migration in the context of the United States, there is an increased aspect of individualism as the Chinese Americans begin to adopt or integrate Western culture and values on their practice. The article highlights the consistent transformation of the traditional Chinese values concerning respect for the older adults, as well as harmony within the family and the aspects of filial care. In understanding the features of the African American culture, Vance (2018) focused on the assessment of the effects of culture, food, and race on the health of the group. The finding of the research article is an expression of the growing role and influence of culture in determining health outcomes. In the preparation of their meals, African Americans have had the chance to incorporate diverse cultures concerning Western and European influences.
For African Americans, there is the influence of food as a cultural identity rather than a tool for mere survival. In the ethnic group, for the Chinese Americans and African Americans, food is communal; thus, the role of speaking to the history of the cultural group. More and more researchers have had the chance to use food preparation approaches to determine the traces of traditions creating room for the relationship between the contemporary generations and the ancient ethnic groups. African Americans, similar to their Chinese Americans’ counterparts, focus on the use of environmental influences in the determination of their food. This highlights the growing influence of acculturation in consumption behaviors, as well as other tools for the achievement of the eating characteristics.
Social Anxiety
Another aspect of cultural diversity is the issue of social anxiety. In this aspect, Fan & Chang (2014) focused on the exploration of social anxiety, which is specific to the case of Chinese culture. According to the research above study, there have been numerous studies on the social anxiety associated with the Western populations without substantial information concerning other cultures. As opposed to the cases of other cultures, in the case of China, the focus of the Chinese is on harmony, as well as interdependence when relating to other social entities. The article captures the prominent aspects of social anxiety among Chinese Americans with other cultural attributes such as attachment, attitude toward groups, and parenting. The article creates room for the adoption and implementation of the culturally sensitive tool in the exploration of social anxiety among the Chinese Americans evident in the increased instances of immigration.
Socioeconomic Success
In the achievement of socioeconomic success, culture continues to play a critical role. In this aspect, previous researchers have had the chance to examine the contribution of culture on the success of different ethnic groups. The issue is evident in the case of Lueck (2018), which sought to explore the socioeconomic success among the Asian immigrants within the context of the United States. In this quantitative research, the focus was on the assessment of the cultural, social, and transnational factors associated with the immigrants in the United States including the Chinese among the 1371 research participants. The findings highlight the influence of gender superiority in the cultural attributes of the Chinese contributing to higher success rates among the men compared to the women in the society. In aiding these research findings, Yi et al. (2016) focused on the exploration of the activity behaviors, as well as the essence of acculturation among the Chinese Americans concerning the case of the New York City.
One of the prevalent issues in the lower levels of the physical activities among the Chinese Americans in comparison to other cultural or ethnic groups such as African Americans. In spite of this, there is limited information on the social, as well as cultural attributes associated with physical activity levels among the group. Based on this, the research article documents the potential influence of acculturation in increasing the level of the physical activities for leisure among the Chinese Americans, thus, the chance to incorporate these attributes to become normative behaviors. Tang et al. (2018) focused on the utilization of the quantitative research design as a platform to examine the role of acculturation in the engagement in the diverse activities such as social, cognitive, and religious activities while using older Chinese Americans as the research participants. In this study, it is essential to note that the activity engagement, as well as levels of acculturation were relatively low by the findings from the study sample. From this perspective, high level of acculturation is a critical contributor to the increased engagement in the social, cognitive, and religious activities among the Chinese Americans.
The research article also highlights the potential use of media to mediate on the increased role of acculturation while increasing availability of information among the older adults. Chinese Americans believe that participation in such activities creates room for the improvement of the well-being of the society members, thus, the chance to addressing the growing health disparities associated with the minority older populations within the American society. In another quantitative research associated with this research, it is essential to note that Nan & Katherine (2003) sought to use food or dietary pattern as an approach to examining the culture of the Chinese Americans in Pennsylvania associated with the issue of acculturation.
From this aspect, the research article focused on the utilization of the existing dietary patterns to help identify the relationship between such habits and demographics, as well as acculturation factors. In this context, the research article did articulate the role and influence of age, gender, and presence of children, as well as regional background on the dietary patterns among the Chinese Americans. Besides, according to the findings of the study, more and more Chinese Americans tend to have low consumption of dairy products. The findings of the study are vital, particularly for the nutritionists or educators dealing with the Chinese Americans, thus, the chance to use the available information as a motivation to help generate ideal programs for the ethnic group.
In her article, Brown (2013) focused on the exploration of the cultural perspective among African Americans. One of the critical features of this culture is the essence of unity, which the article attribute to the influence of migration as the main factor of the migration of blacks to the United States. There is the growing influence of storytelling as one of the socialization tools among African Americans. The article also captures the influence of the tradition created home aimed at determining the personal freedom of the group seeking to escape the rapid poverty associated with enslavement in pursuit of an established way of life through tradition.
The African Americans, as opposed to the Chinese draw their cultural attributes for religion from the Biblical stories in the Old and New Testaments as attributes to hope for better lives. The article also highlights the role of singing to impress the mind, as well as enhance interaction with reality. The concept of seeing emanates from the historical bondage of slavery as more and more slaves would sing while working in their respective farm plantations. In this aspect, the culture seems to be rich in poetry evident in the blues, spiritual, and rap music genres. In the assessment of the issue of culture among the African Americans, Oney, DePaulo, Lewis, and Selllers (2015) focused on the assessment of the eating behaviors, as well as cultural attitudes among the African American men and women in the contemporary society. In the endorsement of the strong orientation, the article did highlight elements such as less dieting, anorexic behaviors and attitudes, and bulimic. In the African American culture, there is the influence of the cultural oppression with diverse demand for attention because of the political and economic inequalities. In his article, Schiele (2005) believes that in spite of the Eurocentric domination with unfavorable consequences on the people of color, African Americans remain the most conspicuous victims, particularly in the American criminal justice system.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of this literature review, culture comes out as a fundamental guide regarding diverse facets of the lives of an individual or a community. Culture proves to be dynamic, historical, and symbolic in its representation within society. Culture refers to the learned behaviors, as well as ideas based on the tradition and their attached values. The transmission of culture from one generation to another occurs through education and mimicry among other approaches. In the case of the African Americans and Chinese Americans, culture is part of their lives concerning daily activities as evident in the meaning of food, as well as eating practices or behaviors. Culture affects the way of life of a community. The review creates room to understand the existing information associated with the purpose of the study, which is examination of the cultural difference that exists between a Chinese-American family and a Black-American family. The study will build on the existing knowledge to improve understanding of the cultural attributes of the two ethnic groups under the influence of acculturation and other environmental factors.
References
Brown, A. K. (2013). Cultural Perspective on African American Culture. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies , 1 (2), 54-68.
Dong, X., Chang, E., Wong, E., Wong, B., Skarupski, K. A., & Simon, M. A. (2010). Assessing the health needs of Chinese older adults: Findings from a community-based participatory research study in Chicago's Chinatown. Journal of aging research , 2010 .
Fan, Q., & Chang, W. C. (2015). Social anxiety among Chinese people. The Scientific World Journal , 2015 .
Lueck, K. (2018). Socioeconomic success of Asian immigrants in the United States. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies , 44 (3), 425-438.
Lv, N., & Cason, K. L. (2003). Current dietary pattern and acculturation of Chinese Americans in Pennsylvania. Topics in Clinical Nutrition , 18 (4), 291-300.
Miyawaki, C. E. (2015). A review of ethnicity, culture, and acculturation among Asian caregivers of older adults (2000-2012). SAGE Open , 5 (1), 2158244014566365.
Oney, C., DePaulo, D., Lewis, R., & Sellers, R. (2015). Eating behaviors and related cultural attitudes of African American men and women. Health Psychology Open , 2 (2), 2055102915605974.
Schiele, J. H. (2005). Cultural oppression and the high-risk status of African Americans. Journal of Black Studies , 35 (6), 802-826.
Stella, S. Y., Beasley, J. M., Kwon, S. C., Huang, K. Y., Trinh-Shevrin, C., & Wylie-Rosett, J. (2016). Acculturation and activity behaviors in Chinese American immigrants in New York City. Preventive medicine reports , 4 , 404-409.
Tang, F., Zhang, W., Chi, I., & Dong, X. (2018). Acculturation and activity engagement among older Chinese Americans. Gerontology and geriatric medicine , 4 , 2333721418778198.
Vance, K. E. (2018). Culture, Food, and Racism: The Effects on African American Health.
