Two Peas in a Pod? An Exploratory Examination Into Cancer-Related Psychosocial Characteristics and Health Behaviors Among Black Immigrants and African Americans

Abstract

Introduction. Most studies lump Black immigrants (BIs) and African Americans (AAs) as “Black/African American” during investigation. Such categorization assumes that the sociocultural determinants that influence BIs are the same as for AAs. This study attempts to disentangle the AA and BI subgroups to recognize the differences in cancer-related psychosocial characteristics and health behaviors. Methods. Merged data from the Health Information National Survey (2011–2017) were used. Two groups were created: those who identified as AA and those who identified as AA but were born outside the United States (BI). Between-group differences were assessed with Mann–Whitney U and chi-square tests. Results. Positive communication patterns with health care providers were significantly higher among AAs ( M [mean] = 3.41, SD [standard deviation] = 0.68) compared with BIs ( M = 3.28, SD = 0.71) ( p = .004). A greater proportion of BIs indicated that their health was excellent (14.2%), compared with AAs (7.9%). AAs reported higher cancer family history (75.1%) than BIs (46.5%). More AAs had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime (41.5%) than BIs (16.7%). BIs consumed significantly more fruits each day ( M = 2.77, SD = 1.43) than AAs ( M = 2.40, SD = 1.44) ( p < .001). BIs also reported more physical activity ( M = 2.62, SD = 2.15) than AAs ( M = 2.37, SD = 2.18) ( p = .030). AA women were more likely to have had a pap smear test ( M = 2.07, SD = 1.44) compared with BI women ( M = 1.73, SD = 1.21) ( p = .002). Discussion. Evidence suggests the need to disentangle the “Black/African American” ethnic grouping. Lumping the BI populations together with the AAs, who have been in the United States for generations, may limit the ability to uncover and consequently address culturally driven disease prevention efforts and promote understanding of the biological, environmental, and psychosocial risk factors within Black heterogeneous populations.