Is Acculturation Always Adverse to Asian Immigrants Health in the United States?

In explaining the health trajectory of immigrant populations in the U.S., the conventional acculturation theory (uni-dimensional model) has been prevailing. According to this theory, immigrants who are selectively healthy at migration tend to adopt health-deteriorating U.S. culture and behaviours, as their acculturation proceeds. Although there have been arguments that acculturation process may be segmented by their social characteristics (e.g. race, nationality, socioeconomic status and time/age at migration), such perspective has rarely been applied in understanding the health of immigrant populations. Therefore, this study examines if the health trajectory of Asian immigrant populations is different by the segments of acculturation process. The hypotheses are (1) Asian immigrants whose SES is low at migration show a deteriorating health trajectory as they are more acculturated to the U.S. society, and (2) Asian immigrants whose SES is high at migration show a progressive, or at least non-deteriorating, health trajectory as they are more acculturated.