Dissertation Research: Culture Change, Stress and Immune Function in Western Samoan Youth

对健康和文化变化的人类学研究强调，这种变化往往是心理社会压力的一个重要来源。大量研究表明，应激对人体免疫功能有负面影响。这项研究建议将发展的视角引入压力和文化变化的人类学研究，并将免疫学方法纳入压力和适应的人类学。将对6个正在经历不同程度现代化的西萨摩亚村庄的个人进行爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒抗体水平(细胞介导的免疫功能的衡量标准)、皮质醇(反应性的衡量标准)和C反应蛋白(病原体暴露的标志)的评估。这些措施将与卫生署的丝虫病年度调查合作，从通过手指棒状血样收集的干血迹中获得。还将收集有关压力和文化变化的多个维度的数据。本研究以跨文化视角探讨应激与免疫功能之间的关系，并将发展视角应用于现代化应激问题。

Anthropological studies of health and culture change emphasize that such change is frequently a significant source of psychosocial stress. Numerous studies have now consistently demonstrated the negative effects of stress on human immune function. This study proposes to introduce a developmental perspective to anthropological studies of stress and culture change, and to incorporate immunological measures into the anthropology of stress and adaptation. Individuals from 6 Western Samoan villages undergoing varying degrees of modernization will be assessed for Epstein-Barr virus antibody levels (a measure of cell-mediated immune function), cortisol (a measure of reactivity), and C-reactive protein (a marker of pathogen exposure). These measures will be obtained from dried blood spots collected via finger-stick blood samples in collaboration with the annual Department of Health filariasis survey. Data also will be collected on multiple dimensions of stress and culture change. This study pursues a cross-cultural perspective on the relationships between stress and immune function and applies a developmental perspective to the problem of modernization stress.