LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE IN AN INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE: THE CASE OF INDONESIAN FEMALES’ LANGUAGE CHOICE IN CANADA

This study aims to investigate Indonesian females’ language choice in their interracial family in the home domain and factors that contribute to their language choice. Ultimately, the study seeks to describe the influence of language choice on maintaining the Indonesian language amidst multilingual Canada. Semi-structured interviews and observations were employed to collect the data. The participants of this study were three female Indonesians with their Canadian spouses living in Canadian cities. The study revealed that English was chosen as the language spoken at home in each family despite having an Indonesian mother. Although all (Indonesian) mothers code-switch between the Indonesian language and English, the study discovered that the children are passive speakers of Indonesian, some do not even understand their mother language. Social context and motivation are some factors that influence the participants’ language choice. The findings also indicate that language shifts from Indonesian to English were taking place in the participants’ repertoire.

Health of adolescents with migration background in Germany: cross-sectional results from KiGGS wave 2

Background Although 36.5% of minors in Germany had a migration background (MB) in 2017, data on their health situation is scarce. The project ‘Improving Health Monitoring in Migrant Populations’ (IMIRA) initiated in 2016 aims to expand health reporting on the health situation of people with MB, for which a core indicator set was developed. We are describing the health situation of adolescents based on selected core indicators. Methods Data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS wave 2) (2014-2017) are used; adolescents from 11 to 17 years are considered. Prevalences and 95% confidence intervals are calculated for the following indicators: General health status, overweight, hazardous alcohol consumption and use of pediatric or general practitioner’s services. These indicators are stratified along socio-demographic (gender, age, socio-economic status (SES)) and migration-related characteristics (MB, parents’ duration of stay, language spoken at home). Results There are hardly any migration-related differences in the general health status and the use of general medical services. While adolescents with MB are more often affected by overweight (without MB: 11.2%, one-sided: 18.9%, both-sided: 19.8%), they show less often risky alcohol consumption (without MB: 14.5%, one-sided: 7.8%, both-sided: 4.4%). There are differences in health behavior according to SES, parents’ duration of stay in Germany and language spoken at home. Conclusions Overall, the health of adolescents is good, regardless of their MB, and general medical services are used equally. Differences in health behavior cannot be reduced solely to the (non-)existence of a MB, but need a deeper consideration of more specific migration-related characteristics and the SES. Key messages The general health status and health care utilization do not differ between adolescents with and without MB. In contrast, the results on indicators of health behavior vary.

Limba Maternă

This creative arts-based inquiry explores an individual case of Mother Language shift and loss through poems and paintings. Language shift is often defined in the Canadian context as the process whereby “individuals abandon their native language as the principal language spoken at home and adopt another” (Sabourin & Bélanger, 2015, p. 727). But is abandon the right verb? And what about adopt? A abandona inseamnă ca ai avut o alegere de făcut. A adopta also means you had a choice and you consciously made it. What if your limba maternă hid in your body, s-a ascuns, out of fear? And what if it still lives inside of you at the cellular level, in your body’s home, adânc, aşteptând momentul potrivit to resurface? These poems and paintings explore the feelings of home as mother tongue, and the effects on identity of gradually losing a first language.

Comparison of Ideal Cardiovascular Health Attainment and Acculturation among Asian Americans and Latinos

Objective: To determine the association between language and ideal cardiovascular health among Asian Americans and Latinos.Design/ Study Participants: Cross-sectional study using 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of Asian Americans (n=2,009) and Latinos (n=3,906).Interventions: Participants were classified according to language spoken at home (only/mostly English spoken, both English and native language spoken equally, or mostly/only native language spoken).Outcomes: Ideal, intermediate and poor cardiovascular health status for smoking, blood pressure, glucose level, and total cholesterol.Results: The majority of Asian Americans and Latinos had ideal smoking status, but those who only/mostly spoke English were more likely to smoke compared with those who spoke only/mostly spoke their native language. Approximately one third of Asian Americans and Latinos had intermediate (ie, borderline or treated to goal) levels of cardiovascular health for blood pressure, glucose level and total cholesterol. In ad­justed models, those who spoke only/mostly their native language were significantly less likely to have poor smoking or hyperten­sion status than those who spoke only/ mostly English. Among Latinos, only/mostly Spanish speakers were more likely to have poor/ intermediate glucose levels (PR=1.35, 95% CI =1.21, 1.49) than those who spoke only/ mostly English, becoming statistically non-significant after adjusting for education and income.Conclusion: We found significant variation in ideal cardiovascular health attainment by language spoken at home in two of the larg­est immigrant groups in the United States. Findings suggest the need for language and culturally tailored public health and clinical initiatives to reduce cardiovascular risk in di­verse populations.Ethn Dis.2019;29(2):287- 296; doi:10.18865/ed.29.2.287

Differences in Tobacco Use Among a Sample of At-Risk Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese Adult Men Living in the SF Bay Area

Background: Smoking among Asian men has been studied, but differences in tobacco and cigarette use among US- and non-US-born Asian subgroups, especially those at risk for substance use or sexually transmitted diseases, has not been well-studied. Aims: To learn about the smoking of cigarettes or blunts among Asian ethnic groups, and whether place of birth, age, or primary language spoken at home is associated with smoking. Methods: Study participants were 125 adult (age > 18 years) Chinese, Filipino, or Vietnamese men living in San Francisco, Daly City, or San Jose, California, who self-reported substance use in the past 30 days. Information collected included sexual orientation, past year contact with the criminal justice system, place of birth, and primary language spoken at home. Bivariate analyses were used to compare the differences in self-reported smoking of cigarettes or tobacco-marijuana blunts by ethnicity, age, place of birth, and primary language spoken at home. Results: Filipinos had significantly higher rate of cigarette use (51%; P = .02) and smoking blunts (28%; P = .02) compared with Chinese (23% and 5%, respectively) or Vietnamese (34% and 17%, respectively); US-born Filipinos also had more days of cigarette use in the past 30 days (16 days; P = .05) compared with Chinese (8 days) or Vietnamese (6 days) participants. Conclusions: This study found differences in self-reported rates of cigarette and blunt use among Asian ethnic groups which suggest opportunities for targeted interventions. Future studies of tobacco or blunts use for these largely immigrant groups should take into account country of birth and language spoken at home in developing tobacco prevention services for this population.

Use of Pediatric Primary Care Telephone Advice by Families Whose Usual Language Spoken at Home Is Not English

Language barriers and access to telephone advice have been shown to affect patient care. Less is known about access to telephone advice for families whose usual language is not English. The objective was to characterize the use of pediatric primary care telephone advice by families based on usual language spoken at home. A total of 277 surveys were completed by families presenting for sick visits at an academic pediatric primary care practice. No meaningful differences in the use of telephone advice when a child was sick were found by language category. Overall, 80.5% reported calling the clinic first when the clinic was open, but 77.6% went to the emergency department when the clinic closed. In conclusion, use of telephone advice was similar among families regardless of usual language. Most families reported going to the emergency department when the clinic was closed. More research is needed to identify barriers to the use of telephone advice, particularly after hours.